We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda is arguably the longest title for a book I've read. This sentence comes from a letter written by seven Tutsi pastors to Pastor Ntakirutimana in April 1994.
"Our dear leader, Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana,
How are you! We wish you to be strong in all these problems we are facing. We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families. We therefore request you to intervene on our behalf and talk with the Mayor. We believed that, with the help of God who entrusted you the leadership on this flock, which is going to be destroyed, your intervention will be highly appreciated, the same the Jews were saved by Ester. We give honor to you."
They asked him to intervene and prevent the massacre. The seven pastors never got an answer and were killed the next day.
This message is emblematic of the genocide, neighbors, colleagues and even people of the same faith were turned against each other. In 1994, between 500,000 and 1 million Tutsis were murdered in a matter of months.
Philip Gourevitch describes in this book how this could have happened and what this genocide has done to the country. The story is told from different sides, personal conversations with both Hutus and Tutsis alternate. At some point you can see the story unfold in slow motion and wonder how no one could stop it before it happened. It remains incomprehensible to me a how people can go so far and commit these horrific acts. How horrific it was and what pain there is still in the country becomes very clear, details are not spared.
The failure of international organizations is also not unmentioned, too much time was wasted on diplomacy and consultation, which made it impossible to intervene. A conversation with two Red Cross employees shows that help came too late and was too little. The two talk about how they had to walk over corpses and that there were virtually none left to save. Those who had not yet died had little chance because there are not enough medicines.
In the end the slaughter lasts 4 months, but after that Gourevitch shows how difficult it is to come together again to a stable country. This book was written in 1998 so the story about Rwanda was far from over, just as it is still not over today.
This book shows all sides of genocide, the pain, powerlessness and power. It's a story that goes straight to your heart and makes you feel hopeless at times. Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about Rwanda and the damage caused by genocide. It’s a story you will never forget.
It seems like a very intense but incredibly insightful book. The part with the red cross workers must as well as the rest of the story a very tough part to read. I will most certainly add it to my list.