Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9927 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

The Sunday Times
'indisputably the best account of the whole terrible Rwandan genocide'

Synopsis
On the tenth anniversary of the date that UN peacekeepers landed in Rwanda, Random House Canada is proud to publish the unforgettable first-hand account of the genocide by the man who led the UN mission. Digging deep into shattering memories, General Dallaire has written a powerful story of betrayal, naivete, racism and international politics. His message is simple and undeniable: "Never again." When Lt-Gen. Romeo Dallaire received the call to serve as force commander of the UN intervention in Rwanda in 1993, he thought he was heading off on a modest and straightforward peacekeeping mission. Thirteen months later he flew home from Africa, broken, disillusioned and suicidal, having witnessed the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans in only a hundred days. In "Shake Hands with the Devil", he takes the reader with him on a return voyage into the hell of Rwanda, vividly recreating the events the international community turned its back on. This book is an unsparing eyewitness account of the failure by humanity to stop the genocide, despite timely warnings.

Woven through the story of this disastrous mission is Dallaire's own journey from confident Cold Warrior, to devastated UN commander, to retired general engaged in a painful struggle to find a measure of peace, reconciliation and hope. This book is General Dallaire's personal account of his conversion from a man certain of his worth and secure in his assumptions to a man conscious of his own weaknesses and failures and critical of the institutions he'd relied on. It might not sit easily with standard ideas of military leadership, but understanding what happened to General Dallaire and his mission to Rwanda is crucial to understanding the moral minefields our peacekeepers are forced to negotiate when we ask them to step into the world's dirty wars.

About the Author
R Dallaire:
Romeo Dallaire joined the Canadian Army in 1964. A three star General, he served as Deputy Commander of the Canadian Army and later in the Ministry of Defence. General Dallaire was medically released from the armed forces in April 2000 due to posttraumatic stress disorder and is now special adviser to the Canadian government on war-affected children and the prohibition of small arms distribution. In January 2002, he received the inaugural Aegis Award for Genocide Prevention in London.

Customer Reviews

Honest
I worked in Rwanda at the time of the genocide and then again more recently. Whatever he thinks of himself, (and in this book Romeo Dallaire is pretty, and unfairly, critical of some of his own limitations) he is thought of as a hero by the majority of Rwandans today as along with Phillipe Gaillard of the IRC, he was one of the few whites of any importance who remained in Rwanda during the attrocities. This book gives a real, but at times unintentional insight into the complete failures of the UN. Whereas Linda Melville's excellent book 'A People Betrayed' concentrates on the history of the machinations and politics, Dallaire tells it how it was, at the time, - on the ground. If he had a ghost writer, they could've make the writing slightly less amateurish, but the editor has done a great job with no irrelevances or other distractions. It is a great book to understand the problems, and to gain some hope for this country. Though not as detailed as some other commentaries, such as that by Phillip Gourevitch, you get a real sense of 'now' in the book. Amazing, as Dallaire poignantly says it took him over ten years to be sufficiently 'stable' to sit and write the book.

Essential reading
I have read a number of books on Rwanda, many of them drawing from Dallaire's experience out there, but this is definitely the most useful at helping you to at least attempt to understand the timeline of events and the machinations behind the scenes that led to the genocide and the genocide itself.

This book gradually draws you in, to the point where I felt Dallaire's frustration, confusion, anger, distress and most of all idealistic faith in the UN even when faced with reality. He makes clear that all the parties involved (the RGF, the interim government, the RPF, the French, the international community and the UN) share responsibility for the failure of the world to first prevent and then stop a genocide where more people were killed per day than in the Holocaust.

One of the parts that stands out for me (amongst others) is when Dallaire has to consciously stop himself from shooting the three leaders of the Interahamwe militia when attending a meeting. Dallaire is a real person, who barely knew where Rwanda was when he first took on this mission. Nevertheless, he proved his strength of character and the depth of his morality when he chose, repeatedly, to remain in Rwanda, even when it became apparent that his mission UNAMIR and himself were little but a token gesture to help world powers absolve their guilt.

This is essential reading for all those interested in world politics and the UN, but also for those who read the biographies and autobiographies of great people. I have now recommended this book to everyone I know, more than once, because I genuinely was moved by this book.

Humanity at it's lowest
As Dallaire says, "I know there is a God because I shook hands with the devil in Rwanda".
This book illustrates how the myopic and imbecilic action of a genocidal government to the indifference of the world resulted in the brutal slaughter of a people.

Dallaire's account reveal how individuals at the UN prioritised their careers and failed their own men, the Rwandese, humanity and God. The unbelievable inaction of the world and the complicit actions of countries like France will draw anger and disgust. The book also offers heart-warming accounts of bravery, innovation and goodness in the context of humanity at it's lowest.
This is the story of the threshold of human emotional endurance in the face of unimaginable horror, and the courage of a few good men. A story that should be heard by all.