Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda Romeo A. Dallaire and Brent Beardsley, Carroll & Graf, New York, 2004, 584 pages, $32.99 Atrocious crimes against humanity in Rwanda began in 1993 when organized groups of the ethnic Hutu majority embarked upon a campaign of genocide against the ethnic Tutsi minority. This was done at a time when relatively few U.N. forces were on site to intervene in the subsequent massacres. In spite of his insistence that military reinforcements were necessary to prevent and stop the brutal killings, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, commander-designate of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR), did not receive any additional resources to assist his small number of troops in protecting the Tutsi victims. As a result, the local government that perpetrated the mass killings was unopposed by any organized defensive force or by international military forces. The result was the murder of over 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Following his tour in Rwanda and retirement from the Canadian armed forces, Dallaire documented his experience and provided readers with an intimate tale recounting the time he spent in Rwanda during the attempted genocide of the Tutsi ethnic minority. His story begins with the invitation for him to accept command of UNAMIR, continues with an explanation of the U.N's lack of preparation for the mission, and focuses on his direct observations of the mass atrocities as they unfolded. In his account, Dallaire provides an elaborate and thorough explanation of the emotions and justification behind his decisions. He lists his actions and the associated motivation behind them. What is particularly interesting is his insight into the actions he opted not to take. He explains in detail the potential outcomes that may have resulted had he made different choices such as attempting to stop the Rwandan military forces as they were arming to commit genocidal acts. The story serves as an incredible tale from the most powerful representative of the U.N. and Western society who personally witnessed repeated, vicious violations of human rights during the Rwandan genocide. One of Dallaire's prominent themes is that powerful nations must decide whether they will waive the justification for intervention based on national interests, and instead become involved in foreign affairs based on humanitarian concerns. He provides insight into the severe complications that arise for world leaders as they must consider the consequences of their decisions. A passionate human rights advocate and critic of the U.N. as well as U.S. policy toward Rwanda during the unfolding events, Samantha Powers, wrote the foreword for this book. Although her accounts of the U.N. and U.S. failure to intervene are strongly supported with facts, her argument that they failed in their duty to intervene does not consider other perspectives and the associated rationale behind the actions of all parties which were involved. Moreover, her sympathetic approach to Dallaires story is one-sided and she does not acknowledge other conditions that may have influenced the international community's decision not to intervene. In contrast, journalist Gil Courtemanche opines that fault for the outcome lies in part with Dallaire who, he asserts, was too methodical and did not possess adequate initiative and critical thinking required of an effective UNAMIR commander. …

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