Shake Hands with the Devil

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 quickly identify with Dallaire's heart. He is effuse in praising his his-working aides and does not hold back at offering his personal assessments of the people who impede his work.Dallaire's book, dedicated to victims, including the soldiers killed under his command, details his negotiations to stop the genocide and his actions during the genocide to bring an end to it. Assigned to Rwanda as part of a United Nations team in the summer of 1993 in order to help implement a peace agreement between the standing government and an incoming rebel army, he saw firsthand that a humanitarian crisis was coming. His documented pleas for help from New York, Paris, Nairobi, Geneva, Washington DC, and London in the first part of the book were willfully ignored as he and his small team of military observers shuttled around the country trying to avert the disaster. He was denied requests for funding for communications equipment, rations for his soldiers, office space, and even simple soccer balls to replace the banana-leaf balls used in refugee camps.Extremist politicians on the government side began openly looking for a way to instigate the attack that led to the genocide. Their wish was granted when their moderate president's plane went down, probably from their own missile. Even after this catalyst, Dallaire's team's cries for help continued to be ignored. The bulk of "Shake Hands with the Devil" documents the daily routine of these brave observers who were abandoned by the UN and their supporting states. The book presents awful images and stories of the genocide and the people whom the UN also abandoned.Dallaire asked for only 5,000 troops in order to save the country, but he was denied time and time again as bureaucrats and politicians in cities around the world took weekends off and justified his cries by telling him that the UN doesn't work quickly. That time was dizzying, destructive, and counter-productive when the French finally arrived to establish camps that protected runaway génocidaires, those responsible for openly slaughtering Tutsis in churches, orphanages, hamlets, and checkpoints in cities. By that time, nearly a million people had been cut down with machetes. The génocidaires rearmed themselves in the international refugee camps, leading to the subsequent Congo Wars.In the last, shortest section of the book, Dallaire offers suggestions for improving how governments respond to humanitarian crises outside their borders. His suggestions are reasonable. In the case of Rwanda, simple support for implementing the peace agreement would have been enough. Unfortunately, as we have seen time and again, from Sudan to Myanmar to Wester China, the international community, including national capitals, relief organizations, and the UN, refuse to use the needed fiscal and physical muscle in order to save lives."Shake Hands with the Devil" has an extensive index and a glossary of terms and names, although Dallaire's easy-to-read style reminds readers of who he is meeting and working with, so there is little reason to consult it.

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. It also highlights the problem the UN is experiencing with over-stretch in its peace operations as the Department of Peacekeeping Operations attempts to keep pace with the resolutions from the UN Security Council.As the mission established itself, the plane crash that killed the Rwandan and Burundian Presidents act as the catalyst for the events that follow and General Dallaire details in somewhat horrifying and sickening detail, the horror that unfolded. One particularly gruesome account is of the Gikondo massacre; where Polish UNMOS and priests are forced, at gunpoint, to watch while men, women and children were massacred inside the church with machetes. As these internationals begged for the people's lives, they had guns forced into their faces to keep their heads up so they could see the events better.He also describes crossing a pontoon bridge where dead bodies are caught under the bridge and he looks down and sees their dead faces looking up...Romeo Dallaire emerged from UNAMIR with PTSD, he notes that many of the personnel who served with him in UNAMIR were likewise affected by what they experienced and had to confront on a daily basis.I was moved by this book, as it gives an extremely detailed account of one of the most atrocious events in modern history; it details the experiences of one man and his attempt at trying to make a noble cause work. He did achieve many things as FC of UNAMIR, perhaps the intensity of his commitment was to prove his undoing as he continually pushed himself to try and make UNAMIR work and try and bring the plight of Rwanda to the attention of the world.I also related closely to this book as General Dallaire put his mission first and he cites his personal battles with many situations-not accepting the best car in the Mission's vehicle fleet, for fear of giving out the wrong impression, not devoting himself enough to his family and other stressors that we tend to impose on ourselves in high intensity situations.In summary, an extremely well written and detailed account of one of the great tragedies of our time. One that still has many unanswered questions and one whose legacy continues to haunt those who were part of the tragedy. It took Romeo Dallaire seven years before he commenced to write this book. It is a book that needed to be written, because it needs to be read. Good on you, LTGEN Dallaire, well done!

One of the most well written books I’ve read. It details both how the genocide began, and how the international community failed to respond effectively. I finished it in 4 days because I couldn’t put it down.

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.

Being born in the 90's I wasn't too familiar with the conflict in Rwanda. This is an excellent book that details out the different conflicts and factions in the genocide in Rwanda. While the book, to me, didn't really gain speed until half-way through, the first half explains the origin story of Lt. Gen Dallaire which proves vital later in the story. It is, at times, a long read as there's a lot of information and abbreviations for different groups of people and organizations. I strongly recommend for anyone wanting to learn more of this crisis.

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...

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.