Oct, 2011 in the early african summer of 1994, years of ethnic tensions in rwanda ruptured into genocide. Using specific arguments and a large body of witness accounts and documents, intent to deceive. In particular, this revisionist account does not make any reference to documented plans of the rwandan genocide against the tutsis that were systematically implemented in phases starting in 1959. This makes the rwandan genocide one of the fastest genocides in history. On april 6, 1994, hutus began slaughtering the tutsis in the african country of rwanda.
The rwandese alliance for national unity ranu was formed in 1979 by rwandan refugees in exile, to mobilize against divisive politics and genocide ideology, repeated massacres, statelessness and the lack of peaceful political exchange. I take my cap off to gerard prunier who has written a magnificently detailed history on the 1994 rwandan genocide. In the rwandan genocide, members of an ethnic group called the tutsi abatutsi were killed because of their ethnicity. History of a genocide american moment gerard prunier. Yorkspace institutional repository, york university. What are the best books about the rwandan genocide. As correspondent bob simon reports, 800,000 people were slaughtered in just 100 days.
Rakiya omar wrote one of the first books that came out after the genocide, and its almost entirely an oral history. The role of nonafrican states in the rwandan genocide. During the rwandan genocide of 1994, members of the hutu ethnic majority in the eastcentral african nation of rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the tutsi minority. Apr 24, 2009 the story of rwanda is, of course, inextricably entwined with that of congo at this point, and the most fascinatingly observed account that i have read so far of the wars and rebellions that have. Unlike many books on rwanda which simply read like travel guides or personal accounts, this book contains a very thorough history of rwanda, from the the late 19th century, to the lake kivu crisis of 199697. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Seven books that detail the history of the genocide. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwandas majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. Usc shoah foundations visual history archive includes 86 eyewitness testimonies collected by. One of the worst massacres of the rwandan genocide took place on april 15 to 16, 1994 at the nyarubuye roman catholic church, located about 60 miles east of kigali. By the 17th century tutsis had established a kingdom in presentday rwanda where hutus, tutsis and twa were living. Mar 12, 2020 after authoring two seminal works on the rwandan genocide, denial takes centre stage in british investigative journalist linda melverns latest book.
Apr 08, 2011 this is a tough question to answer since there are a lot of great options out there, but from the suggestions ive seen here from other people, i would say that i strongly agree with these recommendations. Mr pean wrote that the tutsis had a culture of lies and deceit. Rwanda genocide of 1994, planned campaign of mass murder in rwanda that occurred over the course of some 100 days in apriljuly 1994. If you want to learn how it happened, i suggest these books. Paul kagame, rwandan military leader and politician, who, as leader of the rwandan patriot front, defeated hutu extremist forces to end the 1994 rwandan genocide. This book, and the accompanying perspective,1 misrepresents or does not discuss certain facts about rwandas history. On the twelfth anniversary of the rwandan genocide, we must honor the memory of the. Ive always felt an obligation to learn about the holocaust, but hadnt heard much about the genocide in rwanda, which is much more recent history. After the rwandan genocide in 1994, clemantine wamariya became one of those refugees. The rwandan genocide world history series library binding march 18, 2011 by don nardo author see all 4 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The genocide destroyed my life, says one survivor in the book. The usc shoah founcation visual history archives was created in 1994 to preserve the audiovisual histories of survivors and other witnesses of the holocaust and other genocides including the armenian, rwandan, guatemalan, and cambodian genocides. The rwandan genocide was a worldhistorical event that happened in a country with a tiny international presence.
As the brutal killings continued, the world stood idly by and just watched the slaughter. Report of the independent inquiry into the actions of the united nations during the 1994 genocide in rwanda. At 6, she and her older sister, claire, fled their grandmothers home in butare, near the burundi border, to. Lasting 100 days, the rwandan genocide left approximately 800,000 tutsis and hutu sympathizers dead. A subset of the archive, including 1600 testimonies, is available on the public.
During the rwandan genocide of 1994, members of the hutu ethnic majority in the eastcentral african nation of rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people. Kagame grew up in exile in uganda, where his parents had taken him as a young child when hutu violence toward the tutsi flared in 1959 during the buildup. That alone says something about changing international norms. Paul kagame, born october 1957, rwanda, rwandan military leader and politician, who, as leader of the rwandan patriot front, defeated hutu extremist forces to end the 1994 rwandan genocide. It is one of the largest video digital libraries in the world. It outlines the critical developments in the internal and regional politics of rwanda in order to demonstrate what is at stake in the reconciliation process. Rwandan genocide history bibliographies cite this for me. On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the rwanda genocide, the school of journalism and communication at carleton university in ottawa hosted a oneday symposium on march 2004, entitled the media and the rwanda genocide. The rwanda genocides origins are in resource extraction and.
This book looks at the killers themselves, and features testimonies of ten men, now in prison, with the attempt to understand their state of mind, and the forces behind the atrocities. After listening to survivors of the hutu government genocide against the tutsi minority, president clinton spoke about the international reaction to the killings. Mass killings were implemented in an attempt to eradicate all the tutsi minority people. The rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the tutsi, was a mass slaughter of tutsi, twa, and moderate hutu in rwanda, which took place between 7 april and 15 july 1994 during the rwandan civil war in 1990, the rwandan patriotic front rpf, a rebel group composed of tutsi refugees, invaded northern rwanda from their base in uganda, initiating the rwandan civil war. Philip gourevitchs nonfiction classic prescient, unabashedly lyrical and not afraid to hand out blame, gourevitchs study of the rwandan genocide remains a pinnacle of war. In 1994, the international community is slow to end an african genocide. An excellent and reliable book, prunier is one of the leading authorities on rwandan history. Mar 18, 2011 the rwandan genocide world history series nardo, don on. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the individual human cost of the genocide against the tutsi. Seven books that detail the history of the genocide against. In the early african summer of 1994, years of ethnic tensions in rwanda ruptured into genocide. The rwandan genocide had its roots in the discriminatory practices that were being propelled by the colonialists. List of books and articles about genocide in rwanda online.
The story of rwanda is, of course, inextricably entwined with that of congo at this point, and the most fascinatingly observed account that i have read so far of the wars and rebellions that have. Olaf heine is a german photographer based in berlin. Rwandan genocide refers to the brutal episode of mass killing of about 80,000 people, typically of the tutsi minority, by the hutu majority of rwandan government that sustained from april to july 1994, in an estimated 100 days. April 7th marks the anniversary of the genocide against the tutsi in rwanda, 1994. In this paper i will investigate the true motivation of the 1994 rwandan genocide as more than just social divide and ethnic hatred between the hutu and the tutsi. Over the course of approximately 100 days from the assassination of juvenal habyarimana and cyprien ntaryamira on april 6 through midjuly over 500,000 people were killed, according to a human rights watch estimate. United nations security council, 2015 your bibliography. If you want to learn more about the genocide in rwanda, these are the books to read. It is estimated that some 200,000 hutu, spurred on by propaganda from. Though there are plenty of other books that will give greater detail about a number of rwanda topics such as religion, ethnic relations, colonial and precolonial history, this is a great book for most readers. Although the term genocide was first coined in 1944, the crime itself has been committed often in history. This is a tough question to answer since there are a lot of great options out there, but from the suggestions ive seen here from other people, i would say that i strongly agree with these recommendations.
Judi revers book in praise of blood connects the modern scramble for control of african resources to the rwandan genocide and sets the record straight about its alleged hero, paul kagame. In the next 100 days, members of the hutu governments army, militias, and even civilians would kill 800,000 people an average of 8,000 people every day. It was initially used to describe the systematic campaign for the. Across 28 personal testimonies of genocide survivors the book details with unapologetic detail the pain and suffering of individuals who experienced and lived through one of the worst atrocities in human history. The rwandan genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter of the tutsis by the hutus that took place in 1994 in the east african state of rwanda.
Philip gourevitchs nonfiction classic prescient, unabashedly lyrical and not afraid to hand out blame, gourevitchs study of the rwandan genocide remains a. This case study considers military and internaional political responses to the april 1994 conflict between the rwandan patriotic front rpf and the rwandan government forces rgf and the. Although this book is a challenge to read due to some of the gruesome details, it is important to read. Denying the rwandan genocide exposes how genocide deniers have crafted an alternative history of. Click the title for location and availability information. The first book he wrote took a kind of a hybrid form a mixture of oral history and personal reflection and it was based on the stories of a group of survivors who had spent the 100 days or so of the genocide hiding in these dense papyrus swamps near their home.
An account of the rwandan genocide by the author paul rusesabagina. Discovering god amidst the rwandan holocaust by immaculee ilibagiza 2. In 1987, ranu became the rwandese patriotic front rpf. Its a huge fat book and everyone just calls it the yellow book. Short history of the rwandan genocide and its aftermath.
An account of the rwandan genocide by journalist jean hatzfeld. A prominent french writer, pierre pean, is on trial in paris accused of inciting racial hatred in a book on the rwandan genocide. The genocide in rwanda years ago was the most efficient ever carried out. Illuminee nganemariya, now 42, was a young tutsi bride during those terrible days. This volume introduces and provides a brief overview of major factors that explores genocide, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence. Death, despair and defiance was a tremendous documentation effort.
The belgians classic system of rule increased the ethnic tensions in the country. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Rwandan genocide simple english wikipedia, the free. Juliane okot biteks book of poetry, 100 days 2016, university of alberta press uses the rwandan genocide as a framework within which to explore the senseless loss of life and of innocence as well as her own familys experience of displacement under the regime of idi amin juliane okot bitek is the daughter of ugandan poet okot pbitek.
May 07, 2018 after the rwandan genocide in 1994, clemantine wamariya became one of those refugees. The rwanda genocides origins are in resource extraction. This is such a wellwritten account of the genocide in rwanda. Rwandan rape survivors and their children, 25 years later. The events that followed this escalated the tensions to even higher levels and eventually resulted in the merciless killing of approximately one. After world war i, it came under belgian administration under a league of nations mandate, and. It was a genocide, the mass murder of africans that resided in rwanda. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwandas majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those. In the late twentieth and early twentyfirst centuries, the gravest violations of human rights generate intense international concern even in small landlocked countries in.
The impact of the rwandan genocide in 1994, the tiny country of rwanda was disrupted with brutal violence, and saw the killing of nearly one million people in a period of onehundred days. French author in dock over rwanda genocide book history. During that time, about 800,000 people were murdered in a genocide, many or all people in a group are killed because of their ethnicity, colour, religion, or political opinions. Learn more about the early life, education, and career of kagame in this article. To understand the massive challenges faced by the gacaca process in the aftermath of the rwandan genocide, this chapter provides a brief overview of rwandan history up to the present day. Any of the following books will give you some understanding depending on what you need to know. Don nardo outlines the circumstances that led to the genocide in rwanda, where nearly one million people of an ethnic minority were exterminated in one hundred days, and discusses international reactions and. The genocide archive of rwanda is a collaborative project of the kigali genocide memorial centre, aegis trust, and rwandas national commission for the fight against genocide, with the assistance of the university of texas libraries human rights documentation initiative, usc shoah foundation institute, the rwanda development board, the swedish international. His book rwandan daughters will be published by hatje cantz.
1086 128 804 554 551 468 723 1082 637 58 1439 107 1546 1369 1068 1583 1239 1095 114 677 1123 132 1506 601 411 651 1212 909 1133 581 955 346 539 472 1174 1149 390 188