Book Review: Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

About a month ago, my middle son Terrance, gave me a book that reminded me of how inhumanity can lurk about the corner. I thank him for thinking of me and knowing that I am addicted to reading.

The following is a brief review of Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, by Lt. General Romeo Dallaire.

Between April of 1994 and July, an estimated 800,000-1,000,000 Rwandans were killed in what is known as The Genocide Against the Tutsi by the Hutu majority government. During that 100 day period, 70% of Tutsi population was exterminated by Hutu government.

Other genocides or so-called ethnic cleansing occurred throughout world history, but the only one in recent history happened 1975 in Cambodia where between 1.7 and 3 million people were exterminated.

General Dallaire captures the depravity and brutality of unfettered killing listing the horrendous sights and even smells he encountered, but more importantly, he journals the failure of the major world powers to become involved and states "there were no economic reasons to be there"

Rather than a replay of the events other writers already chronicled, Shake Hands With The Devil truly looks into the game of finger pointing between major powers and how they turned their heads to what happened in Rwanda until it was far too late. General Dallaire was relieved of his command and returned to the Canadian forces.

However, the story didn't end there. Dallaire went into severe depression and couldn't write the book even though his doctor told him it could be therapeutic. Finally, Dallaire decided he must return to Rwanda. When he returned, he wrote the book.

The book didn't hit the shelves until 2004 and won the Governor General's Literary Award For Nonfiction. I highly recommend it in general and as a historical document.