A Washington, D.C., man who is being praised for opening his home to protesters so they could escape arrest thinks the people he helped are the real heroes. Rahul Dubey is a first generation Indian-American and a health care entrepreneur.
“I hope that my 13-year-old son grows up to be just as amazing as they are,” Rahul Dubey, 44, told ABC news channel WJLA Tuesday after nearly 70 protesters left his home as the city’s curfew lifted at 6 a.m.
Writer journalist Lavina Melwani describes the impact of his work in this way in an article for CNBC India affiliate:
You will hardly ever see a story about an Indian-American without details of his immigration saga, where his parents came from, what they did and what he does. It is usually about educational prowess, degrees garnered and dollars made. In telling Rahul Dubey’s story, none of those merits ink.
Yet he feels he did nothing special. He shrugs it off as “I just opened a door.” But in reality he did much more than opening a door—he showed the best of human nature when the worst of human nature was playing out on the streets. He told The New York Times, “I don’t think what I did was anything special. If it is, we have a ton of work to do in this country.”
Rahul Dubey did not check the colour, caste or class of the wave of humanity that swept into his home. He was the perfect symbol of the Sanskrit dictum Atithi Devo Bhava—the guest is God.
Perhaps with allies like him it is possible to heal America and begin the long road to reconciliation and justice.