Mandatory as a begining to know the reasons for what happened in Rwanda

books:

	• We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda Philip Gourevitch Picador, 1999 - 356 pages average customer review:based on 215 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mandatory as a begining to know the reasons for what happened in Rwanda

First of all, if you've watched "Hotel Rwanda" and thinks that the movie was based on this book, well, it was not. While "Hotel Rwanda" is a great, beautiful and emotional movie, featuring top actors (Don Cheadle is fantastic) and directing, it is only a tiny part, an almost isolated event of what happened in Rwanda in 1994. Sure, Paul Rusesabagina is featured in this book, but in only four or five paragraphs, at most. Watch the movie, but read this book too.

Philip Gourevitch's book begins as a series of isolated tales of people that have survived (or were the makers of) the genocide war in Rwanda in the middle of the 90s. By choosing to begin the book with these tales, Gourevitch makes the reader get an image of the horror of being first a tootsie, then a hutu. Graphic ideas of the massacre, the feeling of impotence, saddistic actions, sentiments of neighboorhood and friendship forsaken for an ideal that never really should have existed.

After the reader is completely terrorized (and even sickened), asking what could have brought a nation to this state of affairs, Gourevitch presents us with a condensed but perfectly clear history of the region - Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Zaire - what happened during colonization, how traumatic was the process of independence from the european countries and what kind of legacy was left behind after their departure.

In the end, Gourevitch shows an account of the region after the genocide wars, and leaves us with a sentence that I found most interesting: if this conflict had happened in the northern hemisphere, it would have been called another World War.

Philip Gourevitch writes in an unusual way, not like a standard war-correspondent; having spent almost an entire year in Rwanda (and doing research and interviews in the US), he not only relates to the african country and its people, but he is also able to convey their emotions to the reader. "We wish to inform you..." is not an esterile reading; it is, in fact, bloody, dirty. And mandatory.

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A Riveting and Haunting Account!!!

This book provides a thoughtful, in-depth look at a horrendous human tragedy that was essentially ignored as it unfolded and sadly remains overlooked and misunderstood to this day. Gourevitch's courage, passion, and determination to chronicle the events surrounding and fueling the Rwandan genocide is absolutely remarkable. He faces the most difficult of tasks: to explain the inexplicable...to describe the indescribable...and perhaps most importantly, to make us think about the unthinkable. He admirably accomplishes all of these tasks with great insight and understanding. He takes us on an amazing, humbling, and often disturbing journey through the killing fields of Africa. He skillfully explores the destructive impact of political and economic greed and general hedonism on the human condition. I believe most readers will come away from this compelling account with a novel perception of themselves and their place in the world around them.

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Wonderful narration of a very disturbing incidence

On April 6 1994, President Habyarimana of Rwanda's plane was shot and all on board were killed. Starting from that night, for the three months, the Hutu military and interahamwe militia groups killed around 80,000 Tutsis and Hutu (moderates) in a process that would be known later by the world as the "Rwandan Genocide".

"We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda" by Philip Gourevitch tells the story of the Rwandan Genocide from of the perspectives o history, politics, economics and personal accounts of people who witnessed the genocide and its aftermath.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part mainly deals with the survivor stories relating the events of the genocide period and authors account of the political and social construction of Rwandan society. Or in other words, the first part is a micro description whereas the second part gives a big picture of the massacre.

The country is predominantly Hutu but have a sizeable minority of Tutsi population as well, who historically are thought to have come from Ethiopia and during the colonial era were promoted as the "superior race" as per the Hamitic myth. Then the implementation of national identity cards to permanently mark the ethnicity as either Hutu or Tutsi further divided the country forever on ethnic lines.

Mainly through the stories of Odette Nyiramilimo, a doctor who had several members of her family killed, and Paul Rusesabagina (a Hutu by ethnicity), a hotel manager (refer to movie Hotel Rwanda) who protected 1,000 or more Tutsis from harm. The book begins with the story of how pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, the clergyman who received the famous letter that gave the title of this book, but who chose to ignore the pleas.

The second part goes on to give details about the post genocide period when the Rwandese Patriotic Front took over. The details of horrific deaths continues in the refugee camps in the borders and some of the international war tribunal cases. The main interviewee is Major General Paul Kagame, who became the vice president and minister of Defense Minister (he is current president of Rwanda). He tries to make sense of what happened during and the post genocide period and said that "People are not inherently bad. But they can be made bad. And they can be taught to be good." The book haunts the readers by challenging questions of reconciliation between the victims and the victimizers. How can the Tutsis just forgive the Hutus?

After going through all the contextual details of what could lead ordinary people to take on machetes and kill other ordinary people, the author comes up with a combined set of explanations. In page 180, Gourevitch tries to make a sense of the genocide and democide. The author argues that nothing really explains that what could motivate hundreds of thousands of people to murder nearly a million of their neighbors in the course of a few weeks. However if you take all possible factors, like "pre colonial inequalities, hierarchical administration, the Hamitic myth, the Hutu revolution of 1959, the economic collapse of late 1980's, [President] Habyariamana's refusal to accept the Tutsi refugees back, the multi party confusion, the RPF attack, the propaganda, the practice massacres, the importation of arms, the extreme poverty, ignorance, the indifference of the outside world (page 180)" then you would have an "excellent recipe for genocide."

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Worth every penny

Gourevitch's book detailing the causes, events, and aftermath of the 1994 Rwanda genocide is a must-read for any serious student of African history, contemporary affairs, or cultural issues. His ability to convey not only the historic aspects of the genocide but also the human ones as well is worth note. By using personal stories, interviews, and hard data, Gourevitch has created a work that will stand the test of time. I was most pleased by the way that he tied the history of Rwanda's ethnic struggles with the past 12 years.

I am a high school world history teacher and this is first recommendation that I give to my students of intellectual and emotional maturity. It will change the way you perceive African affairs and our own human nature.

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simply a must-read for rwandan genocide....

for anyone who is eager (or desperate) to learn about the actualities of the rwandan genocide, this is the book to read. gourevitch, who was one of a sorry few allowed into rwanda to see the brutal and inhumane horror that, sadly and ironically, only we humans appear able to inflict on ourselves. he was 'there', talking and sharing with those involved and scarred by the autrocity and wholly understands what occurred. this is mmediately apparent in his telling of the rwandans bloody tale.

more importantly, it is how gourevitch tells the awful events that shows just how well this book is written. his exploration into the bloody mess that was rwanda during and immediately after the genocide is remarkable. few could take the horror he witnessed and, without losing its tragedy and gut-churning awfulness, relay it to readers so smoothly.

and, moreover, it is his deep understanding, explanation and discussion of why this bloody episode of modern african history occurred that make 'we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories of rwanda' more than a great read but a must read. i would even endeavour to say that this book should be included in modern history class/courses so that more of us can learn not only why such events like this happen and who did the killing but why it was allowed to go ahead and how bloody (read: guilty) the hands of the UN and its 'members' (particularly the us and belgium) in playing a significant role in the outcome. it is a shining lesson into the real workings of the world and the value that some place on the lives of others.

i have been reading about, researching and travelling to rwanda for several years and, in that time, i have found few books that not only do i constantly refer to but continue to thumb through for further insight and understanding even today. gourevitch's effort in producing a lasting and englightening work should not go unrewarded. or forgotten -- much like rwanda and its problems appear to be in the international realm.

for further reading and a different yet engaging perspective, i suggest rom?o dallaire's [...] despite its heavy military tone and detail, dallaire's, the canadian general in charge (and sadly left almost solely responsible for the genocide by some) account provides a solid background to the steps made before the murders began and a clear detailing of the many mistakes made by those international agencies and agents that only provided fuel for the inferno. his lament for world turning a blind eye on the suffering rwandan people, personal anguish following the events and regular journies back to continue helping the people he was not allowed to during the genocide are testaments to his devoution to their cause. another wonderful explanation of the rwandan genocide of 1994.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

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