The Rwandan Massacre: A Haunting Chronicle
The researcher presents an account of the events of the 1994 Rwandan massacre, in which 800,000 people were killed over the course of three months. (Gourevitch, 1). When the then-in-power government ordered the majority Hutu to murder every member of the minority Tutsi, this occurred. Even though crude weapons were used in the slaughter, it was carried out at a startlingly rapid pace. The title of the book was taken from a letter written by a minister to the leader of his church, informing him of the horror they were experiencing during the mass murder. Mr. Gourevitch’s writing is a haunting chronicle of the details that explains the genesis and the entire execution process of the 1994 massacre in Rwanda, what the locals call “genocidal, logic.” (Gourevitch, 2). Nevertheless, it is a story of an unfortunate detail of the after war impacts which included the quest for revenge, mass internal displacements, overcrowded prisons, the plight of victims and survivors, etc. The writer’ provides an image about Rwandese in all spheres of life as they deal with the political and psychological challenges make their disastrous situation familiar and immediate. Besides, his extraordinary tale reveals how reviving genocide army threatened to plummet central Africa into an entire battleground and how the Rwandan war inspired the dethronement of Mobutu from the presidency in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The International Community's Inaction
Mr. Gourevitch is a dilemma how the international community, especially the UN and the western countries like the United States could not intervene and at least reduce the bloodshed in this small African country from central Africa.
The Healing and Justice After Genocide
Also, the writer is at crossroads on how a country can heal and attain full justice after a genocide. However, Rwanda is a classic modern example of a country which has moved away from a dark history, and it is one of the most peaceful countries in Africa and the world with a promising economic growth and development. The writer poses a question on how people who immensely suffered at the hands of their neighbors can live harmoniously. The book is a revelation on the struggle everywhere on earth to establish the legal and vigorous nation-states where people are connected by blood and compromised past.
A World of Political Unrest
Mr. Gourevitch’s book is so timely particularly at this time when the world is no longer a safe place to live. There are war and political unrest in countries from almost all parts of the world. From African to Asia, to Europe and South America. Some African countries neighboring Rwanda have never learned any lesson from the bloodshed and crimes against humanity committed in Rwanda in the year 1994. People are suffering because of greed for power by few politicians who start rebel groups when they are not contented with the ruling government or have a desire to control national resources in a section of the country. Besides, the ruling government can also instigate bloodshed if there is a threat of losing an election.
A Call for Unity Against Hatred
The book is eye-opening. There are not many books written about the war in the present day, not the least when the ruling government openly incites one ethnic group against another. It is disheartening even in the developed world; we have some powerful political leaders who incite one group against another regarding color, language or religious grouping. If as many people as possible read this book, the world will be a better place to live.
Works cited
Gourevitch, Philip. "Tomorrow we wish to inform you that we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda." New York: Picador (1999).
