About this title: A history of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which longstanding enmity between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes resulted in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the extremist Hutu majority. Gourevitch contrasts horrific eyewitness accounts told by Rwandans with the muted responses of the rest of the world. He also assesses ...
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Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Picador USA
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780312243357ISBN:0312243359
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Tight binding, a little wavy, pliable, little edge wear, clean pages. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 355 p. Bestselling Backlist. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. 1998-Hardcover---may contain minor shelf-wear-Used-Acceptable-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
"This was an incredibly fascinating book, and if I could give it 10 stars I would. In fact, if I had the power, I would make this required reading for everyone I know, and all school systems. It is a remarkable work of truth in a situation of endless corruption and propaganda.
This book is written by a journalist, and though there are stories throughout the book, it is not set up to be story after story of people who experienced the genocide in Rwanda. It's written as a very long set of newspaper/magazine articles, which culminate nicely into chapters of this book. It's not the easiest read in the world as it is certainly information heavy, but that information is incalculably valuable, and has forced me to turn a critical eye on staples in my life, such as Women for Women International, and their support of "refugees" in the Congo (exonerated, by the way, I spent the afternoon researching the people they actually support, and there are MANY members of minority women in their program there), the Clinton administration for their unwillingness to recognize this as a genocide to prevent themselves from looking like "chumps" again after the debacle in Somalia (although, he did finally admit that it had been a genocide 4 years later, and apologized to the Rwandan people)and even Wikipedia, which I love, for the pro-Hutu power/French propaganda that is displayed within the article on current President Kagame who is keeping a country together full of people who have killed their neighbors, and the survivors of these atrocious acts and trying to protect them all from further acts of violence by the Interahamwe.(I'm thinking about editing it)
This book was amazing for several reasons. First, it provided a long term history of the people of Rwanda, and showed in depth how the Hutu Power movement began, and how they were able to manipulate the population masses to "got to work" and kill their neighbors in an endless bloodbath. It is a clear example of persuasion over a long period of time that was fascinating and understandable, while being revolting at the same time. It was also interesting to read about how successfully they were able to manipulate the large foreign powers, in addition to their own people.
In addition, the book went over many examples of atrocities committed by "leaders" within the community that allowed to to recognize how terrifying this situation really was for the people who were trying to escape.
Finally, it talked in depth about the horrendous treatment of the survivors, versus the billions of dollars spent on the fugitives who left Rwanda to escape justice/restitution, and how that "support" by the international community has led to the continued acts of violence in Rwanda, and the Second War in the Congo.
An exceptional book, and a reminder to never read anything without a critical eye."
"One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. A shocking indictment of the so-called global community's complicity in the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s. While the Hutu Power movement systematically exterminated hundreds of thousands of their Tutsi countrymen (and any fellow Hutus who refused to engage in the genocide themselves), the United Nations sat on its hands; the United States was more concerned with appearances and semantics than with putting a stop to the bloodshed; and France provided active support to prolong the killing. Gourevitch also highlights examples of heroic opposition to the genocide, but for me this is mostly a story about humanity at its worst: the perpetrators who committed the crimes and the international observers who allowed it to happen."
"Okay, it's only been three years. I started We wish to inform you yesterday, but the details were so grim I had to stop reading for a while and do something a little less painful.
This morning, I was startled to read an interview in Oprah with Paul Rusesabagina, the man who hid 1,268 people in his hotel during the terrible civil war described in We wish to inform you. A hard book to read, but obviously it is one I should be reading.
Later: A very hard book for me to read. In the years it has been sitting on my shelf, I've picked it up a hundred times and then put it back down...too dark, I thought...too bleak...too depressing.
It is every one of these things, dark, bleak, depressing. But it cannot be ignored. We must look closely at this horror, to understand it, to think about it, to know this is also part of who we are as human beings, awful as that is to admit. Can we figure out the whys of how this happened? Can we find ways to stop it from happening again? I am not sure, but I know that I want to try."
"This book is an amazing accomplishment in terms of the scope of complexity, perspectives, and analysis it covers. Gourevitch at first begins with descriptions of the Rwandan genocide, describing the perspective of survivors and alleged genocidaires. We soon begin to understand the size of the genocide's impact and how a nation was driven to kill its neighbors, family members, and anyone who was perceived to sympathize for Tutsis, with machetes and hand tools. It is almost incomprehensible that an entire ethnic group and political-ideologue could be convinced to murder on such a scale, but Gourevitch does a good job of trying to rationalize the madness. It's still unclear exactly what leads people to murder, but he illustrates that the following were factors: a mixture of the first focusing event (death of Hutu President Habyarimana), underlying resentment from past colonial favoritism and subsequent political strife between two ethnic groups, Hutu Power's escalation through media/public radio, individual sense of entitlement, fear of punishment for dissenting, and desensitization to killing.
The book moves beyond the genocide, discussing the international community's reactions and the implications of non-intervention. Gourevitch is very critical towards the UNHCR and other western powers, whom he perceived to possess the resources to mitigate the conflict but refused to commit. He is critical of the international relief groups that established camps which provided refuge to escaping Rwandans, mostly Hutu Power extremists that would continue to persecute innocents in the camp. These Hutu Powerists were reciprocally persecuted by the rebel RPF army which had dislodged it from power. He describes how the genocide spilled across borders and finally back home in Rwanda again.
Gourevitch is critical of the West's faux commitment to bringing killers to justice. After the genocide, killers and victims returned to their communities, living side by side. Clearly, it is psychologically damaging to be exposed to the person who killed your entire family on a daily basis, knowing they walk the streets with impunity. International law governance structures prove to be a failure because of the scope of murderers involved and because of the lack of commitment to pursue them; this only leads Africans to greater disappointment as justice seems lost. It only convinces them that Africans are left to fend for themselves; the international community does not care unless it serves their interests in some way.
As someone who aspires to work in international development, this book illustrates that African politics and history require careful attention. Foreign aid can only go so far and in the light of political conflict; the donor communities maintain a hands-off approach. Even if relief groups provide post-conflict assistance, they often don't get it right. It was a difficult book to read because its raw stories offer no solutions, even Gourevitch seems hopeless by the end when he asks the two ethnic groups to stop dividing themselves and start believing they are all Rwandans."
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