Rwanda: A Story of Reconciliation Through the Handshake of Roméo Dallaire

tilli: Unfassbar brutal, aber so war es 1994 wirklich. Und die Welt hat zugeschaut. Hier wird haargenau geschildert, wie es dazu kommen konnte und wie wenig es gekostet hätte, um diesen Genozid zu stoppen. Dallaire ist für mich einer der Helden des Jahrhunderts.

Germany on Jul 27, 2023

Jerry Witkowicz: This is a book which explains the genocide in Rwanda and also illustrates the inability of the international community mainly the UN to step up to its responsibility. The sad part is that what happened in Rwanda 28 years ago is happening in Ukraine. The world has not learned the critical lesson of human values. This is very sad. General Romeo Dallaire was sent by UN on a suicide mission without the basic support. Today UN seems to be as irrelevant as it was in 1994.

Canada on Jun 25, 2022

M.B.: In 1994, between April 7 and July 15, nearly one million innocent people were killed in the Rwandan Genocide. Subsequent wars in the region killed more than five million people. The genocide was planned years in advice, perpetrated by racist nationalists bent on removing Tutsis from the planet. In "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda," Roméo Dallaire convinces readers that these tragedies were easily preventable, but dithering politicians and bureaucrats all over the world watched in disinterest.

The book is compelling. Having read extensively for academic and personal reasons about the genocide, I knew many of the details listed below, so Dallaire's book had been sitting on my shelf unread for almost 15 years. I wish I had read it sooner because it is Dallaire and his military subordinates - not international aide groups or politicians - who were the international witnesses to these crimes.

The book moves quickly because it reads like a daily journal. Although it can be very disturbing and depressing given the nature of the genocide, there are moments of manic highs, too. It is emotional and frustrating because readers will be able to...

United States on Feb 09, 2022

América: Si alguna vez oíste hablar del genocidio de Ruanda y quieres saber más, este es tu libro.

Pero ojo, no es un libro cómodo de leer y te va a revolver las tripas. No te aconsejo que lo leas antes de irte a la cama (tuve pesadillas algunas noches).

El libro es brutal, desgarrador. Como solo lo puede ser el relato del horror vivido desde dentro y desde la impotencia de ver como el mal existe y gana la partida en tu propia cara.

Entiendo que el autor haya querido quitarse la vida en más de una ocasión y que viva bajo el yugo del Estrés Post Traumático aún hoy en día. Si alguien con su rango y su formación puede acabar al borde de la locura, no quiero ni imaginar por lo que debe pasar un simple soldado arrancado de su granja en Ohio a los 18 años para luchar en guerras aún peores...

Spain on Apr 17, 2021

Dave: Intriguing read about the failures of the 1st World to come to the aid of Rwanda in 1994. The frustration that accompanied those peacekeepers trying to do their best for the people without adequate resources. A genocide that could have been prevented.

Australia on Aug 04, 2018

M & M Giacomini: The story of the most reliable witness of the Rwandan massacre, Gen. Romeo Dallaire, who was in charge of the UN troops who tried, in vain, to prevent the Tutsi-Hutu genocide.

The racial hatred, the lethargy of the Western World, the humanity of the few against the madness of the many.

This book is not for the faint-hearted, but it is a must if one wants to understand what really happened in Rwanda, and on a wider scale, the evil at work in our world.

I also recommend the viewing of the documentary with the same title.

Italy on Oct 21, 2013

Bomb Man58: Author LTGEN Romeo Dallaire has written an extremely moving, yet disturbing, account of his experiences as the Force Commander (FC) of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR).

General Dallaire's extremely detailed account of his experiences capture the reader from the outset. He details places, people and events in such a way that the reader can actually envisage themselves as being with the FC, as he took on this immensely daunting task from the outset. His extreme descriptions of countless meetings and dealings with various people gives the reader the sense of the intensity that he felt as he continued to strive to keep things moving forward and attempt to get a sense of stability and put people on the ground in UNAMIR. He details the shortages of almost everything from vehicles and radios, to pencils and cash as he throws himself into this task with energy and absolute commitment. Coupled with this intensity from his side was the problem of getting support and enough people to take his task seriously. The continual slow pace of UNAMIR as it took off, probably gave the impression to all parties in the Rwandan conflict the impression nobody really cares....

United States on Aug 30, 2010