Dallaire, Roméo "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" - 2003
Tough read. But worthwile. General Dallaire was the UN commander in
Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. It is
incredible what happened. Roméo Dallaire describes everything in detail.
Highly recommendable if you are interested in the problems going on in
this world. The book made a big impression to everyone, it felt very
important.
We discussed this in our international book club in August 2009.
As in his first book, Roméo Dallaire has a powerful message and shows so much compassion with the victims of these terrible wars that rage through the whole world. Because victims they are, even if they look like fighters.
The author started a fight against the abuse of children in any way, against pulling children into a war abusing their innocence and thereby destroying their lives. As a former member of the army who has seen them in combat, he contributes a lot of his knowledge, both civilian and military to the trials to abolish child soldiers.
Most definitely *not* light reading. But things like this need to be brought into the light of day.. unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteFor sure, Kitten. I am glad these books are there and we can be made aware of the atrocities.
DeleteI don't think I could handle reading either of these, but they definitely sound like illuminating and important reads. And like the commenter above, these issues definitely be brought to light so we're all more aware of what's going on in the world.
ReplyDeleteI understand that these books are not for everyone but as long as some people read them and tell others about it, that's the most important thing. I remember it being in the news at the time but it definitely didn't get the attention it would have deserved. And with my small contribution, I hope I reminded at least some people about it.
Delete