Shake Hands With The Devil (The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda)

Shake Hands With The Devil (The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda)

by LT. GEN. Romeo Dallaire (Force Commander of UNAMIR)


Well I've read articles, watched documentaries and the likes about Rwanda and the genocides, civil wars that have took place and still are taking place in the Great central lakes of Africa regions.
So thought I'd read the book by one of the key men involved in bringing about peace and a stable government to the different factions before the genocide really started to erupt in 93/94.

I have to admit the start is a little over-whelming as you may not understand all the different factions, their roles and their prejudices and the history of Rwanda is only gently touched upon so it can leave you feeling a little unsure of why and how its all happening.

The book itself is a fantastic read and I highly recommend the read to anybody that would like to understand what happened in Rwanda in 94' and how the USA, UK & France primarily failed to aid the UN and Unamir in stopping the genocide or even preventing it from erupting like it did.
You feel real sorrow for Romeo Dallaire and all that he and his comrades, aid workers etc had to put up with and endure. It is nothing compared to what the people of Rwanda suffered but seeing the horrors through his eyes is a shocking account and on many times can leave you close to tears.
He's a man that every soldier should aim to look up to, as much as he is wise, dignified, loyal and respected he also holds a strong sense of humanity that many soldiers now a days are drilled out of having.

I quickly folded some pages with exerts I thought bring about a sense of what the book is about and the horrrors, suffering and incompentency of higher powers.


Extracts from book:

"The Interahamwe (genocidiers, mainly Hutu extremists) made a habit of killing young Tutsi children, in front of their parents, by first cutting off one arm, then they other with a machete. They would then gash the neck with a machete to bleed the child slowly to death but, while they were still alive, they would cut off the private parts and throw them at the faces of teh terrified parents, who would then be murdered with slightly greater dispatch..."

"As I was moving through the streets I could not take my eyes off the hundreds of bodies that were littering the roads. All of them...had succumbed to cholera. The air reeked of putrefaction, and all I wanted to do was throw up. For a whilw we followed a dumptruck filled with bodies that had been picked up by soldiers... I remember the soldiers eyes; they were lifeless and full of sadness..."

"On the return trip, I drove in front of the hospital and saw one of the most gruesome scenes...A pile of bodies at least twenty feet high stood in front of the hospital... Some of the peiople still had their eyes open and I felt that they were looking at me with an intensity I could not bear. I had to turn my head away..."

"Who had exactly been pulling the strings throught this campaign? I found myself thinking such dire thoughts as whether the campaign and genocide had been orchestrated to clear the way for Rwandas return to the pre-1959 status quo in which Tutsi's had called all the shots (colonial times). Had the hutu extremists been bigger dupes than I? Ten years later, I still can't put these troubling questions to rest, especially in light of what ha happened to the region since."


I could dig fascinating and horrific quotes out of teh book all day its such a worthwhile read...
In some ways it doesnt answer some of the questions you want to be answered but nothing is ever that simple.
As with most things like this theirs a complicated past of hate and cruelty, with racial tensions, colonial past and poverty and desperation things can explode. And sometimes I think to some people who are out of sight on the power grid its not the worst scenarios having arguing fragementated countries with ethnic/racial squabblings and desperation and needs that the feeder nations of the first world can offer some relief but only ever enough so the hungary come back...lol but thts a whole other story.