We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families

Okay, it's only been three years. I started We wish to inform you yesterday, but the details were so grim I had to stop reading for a while and do something a little less painful.

This morning, I was startled to read an interview in Oprah with Paul Rusesabagina, the man who hid 1,268 people in his hotel during the terrible civil war described in We wish to inform you. A hard book to read, but obviously it is one I should be reading.


Later:
A very hard book for me to read. In the years it has been sitting on my shelf, I've picked it up a hundred times and then put it back down...too dark, I thought...too bleak...too depressing.

It is every one of these things, dark, bleak, depressing. But it cannot be ignored. We must look closely at this horror, to understand it, to think about it, to know this is also part of who we are as human beings, awful as that is to admit. Can we figure out the whys of how this happened? Can we find ways to stop it from happening again? I am not sure, but I know that I want to try.

Just to be clear, this book was heartbreaking through and through. My 5-star rating doesn't suggest that I “enjoyed” reading about the atrocities contained within the pages, but rather, that this book demonstrates some fantastic investigative journalism about a horrific chapter of recent history. Having been too young to grasp, or even know about, the events of the Rwanda genocide, this book was a great grounding reference. The neglect and irresponsibility of the “international community” was sickening to read about as well as the hypocrisy of international peace forces/aid organizations that were ordered to watch the atrocities and not intervene. On the flip side, it was inspiring to read about the heroic and humane acts of everyday citizens in their personal stand against the injustices.

A beautiful and tragic collection of tales from the Rwandan genocide. Gourevitch gathers stories and presents them with a stark sincerity. We get to understand the genocide through the detached eyes of a journalist while never relinquishing emotional connection to the individuals we're introduced to. Reading this book moves you and hurts you and makes you hope for a better future.