7 recommended reference works to learn about the Rwandan genocide - there was a hell there that made me want to turn away...

7 reference works recommended to learn about the Rwandan genocide - an event so tragic... hell was just there...

I will be visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019, where I will learn about the Bosnian conflict. Listening to the voices of the guides who experienced the conflict, I learned about the hellish ethnic conflict. I will never forget the shock, especially when I visited a place called Srebrenica.

And a few years after my return, I continued to update my blog with the theme "Learning from the History, Thought, and Literature of the Cold War World.

In the same vein, I also took another look at the Bosnian conflict that followed the collapse of the communist bloc, and in the process learned about the Rwandan genocide that I will be introducing in the next section.

The Rwandan genocide is another massacre that occurred at about the same time as the Bosnian conflict. Written by Yukie OsaSrebrenica: A Study of a Genocide.The Rwandan genocide was described in These are very similar in the background of the conflict and genocide and the mechanisms of international organizations that failed to prevent it. I decided to learn about the Rwandan genocide because I felt this was very important for a better understanding of the Bosnian conflict and the Srebrenica genocide.

The book presented in this article is quite heavy, to be honest. However, I feel that it is very significant to think about what human beings are and why massacres occur. I would like to recommend these books to you, and I hope you will take the time to read them.

So let's get started.

.WAVE Publishing, The Hidden Truth of the Rwandan Genocide, by Philip Goreiewicz, translated by Kiichiro Yanagishita

First of all, I would like to say that this book was so shocking to me. I picked up this book in the course of learning about the Bosnian conflict and Srebrenica, but the sheer tragedy left me speechless....

Have you ever heard of a country called Rwanda? Do you know where it is located on the world map?

I did not know. I did not know that only a decade earlier, the country had experienced the most brutal genocide it had ever seen and was on the verge of collapse. I did not know that genocide had been carefully prepared and was waiting to happen, not only for the perpetrators but also for the victims. They did not know that the UN and the rest of the international community all knew that genocide was taking place, but they did not want to intervene, so they left a million people to die. (omitted)

This book is a reportage about an ethnic genocide in a small African country. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying dictator President Habyarimana and President Ntariamira of neighboring Burundi was shot down in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Fighting between the rebel RPF and government forces, which had been on truce, flared up again, and in the confusion, the majority Hutus massacred the minority Tutsis. The number of Tutsis massacred was 800,000, or almost 10% of Rwanda's population. This is the story that is circulating among the public. However, this is not even one-hundredth of the horror of the Rwandan genocide. To begin with, what does it mean that 800,000 people were killed in a country with a population of 8 million? Before the genocide began, the killers and victims lived side by side. Marriages between Hutus and Tutsis were commonplace. Nevertheless, one day, when the killings began, the murderers took bats with machetes and nails embedded in them and killed their neighbors, relatives, and business partners. Too many people chose too easily to become killers.

WAVE Publishing, The Hidden Truth of the Rwandan Genocide, by Philip Gorayevich, translated by Kiichiro Yanagishita, p. 483-484

In less than a few months, 800,000 Tutsis, an ethnic minority, were massacred.

Moreover, the method of slaughter was so brutal. As explained above, they were not killed with guns, but with machetes, an extremely primitive method.

Moreover, as you will see in this book, in order to kill not only by simply killing, but also by killing slowly and painfully, the butchers did not dare to aim for the vital points, but left the victims with severed limbs or leg tendons, and the butchers enjoyed watching their victims suffer!

And even more horrifying was the extraordinary situation in which it was not just a few who committed these massacres, but the majority of the Hutu people who participated in the killings, and almost everyone was involved in some way in the massacres.

The book tells the story of why and how such a tragic massacre took place.

What is also unique about this book is that, as the title suggests, it denounces the reality of the Rwandan tragedy, which has been ignored by the world until now. Why was the UN, which was supposed to have intervened to maintain peace, unable to stop the genocide? And what is even more shocking is the fact that countries around the world, including the UN, were even sending aid to the Hutus who were committing genocide...I was absolutely stunned by this...

It is truly heartbreaking to read...more like sickening. It is such a shocking and horrifying fact to be told.

And this book seems to have been published with a lot of effort by the publisher.

Because, look at this picture.

Can you see it? The pages of a book are dyed red. And it is not just bright red, but if you look closely, you can see that there is an irregularity like a stain. Yes, just as if the pages were stained with blood... To be honest, I have never seen a book like this before. I have honestly never seen a book like this before. It shows the publisher's extraordinary thoughtfulness.

It is a shocking book. I highly recommend it.

P. Goreiewicz, "The Hill of Genocide: The Hidden Truth of the Rwandan Genocide" An incredible tragedy took place in Africa...

.Shinyusha, The Rwandan Genocide: The Memoirs of a Young Man Who Saw the Saddest Scene in the World, by Reverian Rurangwa, translated by Mimei Yamada

This book is an unusual book. It is not an ordinary history book. It is not a book that follows and explains the flow of facts. It is a book about the author's real experience of the genocide and the inner soul of the people who experienced it. It is so shocking that I felt my blood boil when I read it.

His family was brutally murdered in front of his eyes. He himself suffered a machete cut off one arm, one eye gouged out, and other wounds that make it a wonder he is still alive. In this book, we will see the reality of such a spectacular genocide as told by the author.

One of the most memorable passages in the book is the description of how "the killers smashed the two babies against the rose-colored walls of the church, cracked their skulls, and then immersed the mother's face in a pool of the children's blood before killing her."

Rwanda was a country where Christianity was fervently practiced. Hutus and Tutsis prayed together in churches. But it was in that very church that the killings took place, and after the killings were over, they prayed to God as if nothing had happened.

Is God the one who forgives those who commit carnage? Why did the victims have to suffer and die in despair? Why did the babies have to be killed in front of their mothers and in the church?

I am sure this will ring a bell for those who have read Dostoevsky. It is very similar to the atrocities described in The Brothers Karamazov.

Why are there such acts of genocide when there is God? Why does God let such evil go unchecked? Dostoevsky develops such questions about God through the mouth of Ivan, who attempts to rebel against God. Ruangua, the author of this book, also writes about such questions and anger in this book.

Why does God approve of this atrocity? Why are the victims not saved and the killers live on in peace? Why should the victims forgive them? The author writes this book in agony, wondering if it is possible to do such a thing when one's relatives were brutally murdered in front of one's eyes.

In fact, in the epigraph to chapter 9 of the book, "Three Days of Darkness," author Lelangia quotes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov: "Nothing can atone for a single tear, shed by a single child.

We do not know whether he wrote this book with Dostoevsky in mind, or whether his harrowing experiences naturally led him to Dostoevsky. But the author's unimaginable suffering, despair, and anger are conveyed with overwhelming power. It is a tremendous book. I hope you will read it.

Why didn't God save us from the genocide... "The Rwandan genocide: the memoir of a young man who witnessed the world's saddest spectacle".

.Village Books, The Man from Hotel Rwanda, by Paul Rusesabagina, translated by Shinomai Horikawa

The book is about Paul Rusesabakina, the model for the movie "Hotel Rwanda," who wrote about his own experiences.

Although the film is not based on the actual facts, due to the production process, it is true that he hid 1,200 people and saved their lives, knowing the danger they were in.

This book will tell the story of his experience in detail.

I was amazed at the tact and mental strength of the author, who, instead of confronting adversaries with violence and hatred, talked with them in a roundabout way, sought a compromise, and worked through the situation peacefully. I read this book in one sitting. I read this book in one sitting. It is a very valuable book to know about the Rwandan genocide.

Why did people turn into butchers so quickly? The author says the cause is "language". What does this mean? I was very strongly impressed by the following words of the author.

Words uttered by the announcer of the radio station were the biggest trigger for the violence. The radio openly encouraged the public to break into the homes of their Tutsi neighbors and kill them on the spot. Such instructions were expressed in a code that anyone could understand.

Cut the tall trees. Clean up the neighborhood. Do your duty."

Target addresses and names were read over the airwaves. If anyone escaped, it was broadcast live, and the audience listened to the chase over the radio as if it were a sports game. The words of praise for ethnic superiority and appeals to people to do their jobs created an incredible reality in Rwanda over a period of three months."

When I first read this passage, I got goosebumps. I am a fan of Keisuke Ito'sgenocidal OrganI was reminded of the I am not sure if Keisuke Ito read this book or not. But in "Slaughterhouse Organ", such massacres are mentioned many times. This was quite shocking. You can find out more by reading this work! Recommendation!

He is also famous for his film! The Man from Hotel Rwanda: The Story of the Man Called Schindler of Africa

.Kamogawa Publishing, When Neighbors Turn Murderers: Testimonies of Rwandan Genocide Survivors, written by Jean Hatzfeld and translated by Eugene Hattori.

In the town of Nyamata, Rwanda, the genocide began on April 11, and the survivors continued to flee in hellish conditions. In this book, you will hear the words of the survivors, but it was so hellish that it made me sick to read.

This book is the first in the "When Neighbors Turn Murderers" trilogy. The sequels, "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: The Perpetrators" and "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: The Road to Reconciliation - Testimony of the Rwandan Genocide" are also intense. Or rather, the more you go on, the more horrifying it becomes. This trilogy is just shocking.

What is peace? What is man? What is sin and punishment? Good and evil, the problem of God. The problem of forgiveness. The fundamental questions of humanity are all here. There are no answers. But here are the voices of people who have lived in extreme conditions. What do you think about when you listen to their voices? I think this is very important.

I highly recommend this work.

A Shocking Trilogy! The Reality of the Rwandan Genocide "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: Testimonies of Rwandan Genocide Survivors".

.Kamogawa Publishing, "When Neighbors Turn into Murderers: Perpetrators," by Jean Hatzfeld, translated by Eugene Hattori. 

While the previously introduced "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: Testimonies of Rwandan Genocide Survivors" included interviews with survivors of the Rwandan genocide, in this film, on the contrary, we hear the voices of the perpetrators.

Frankly, it is dark and heartbreaking to read... The victims have lost everything, and those who survived continue to suffer hopelessly. But what about the perpetrators? That is what you will find out in this book.

The translator's words were very moving to me as well: "Compared to the testimonies of survivors who experienced a living hell and were deprived of their relatives, possessions, and trust in society, the confession of a murderer is so light.

And through this book, I felt what "forgiveness" means. No matter how much the perpetrator apologizes, the deceased will never come back. The survivors' emotional scars and lives will never be restored either. However, the perpetrator asks for forgiveness from the victim "for the sake of his own future life.

Moreover, they ask their victims to "forgive" them in an attitude that hardly suggests they are truly repentant. They are then released with little or no judgment and begin their lives as before. This was quite painful for me mentally to read.

And what was most powerful was the horror that those who had committed such evil could innocently say, "We must be given 'forgiveness'" and "I want a new life. This issue of "forgiveness" was also discussed in "The Rwandan Genocide: A Memoir of a Young Man Who Saw the Saddest Sight in the World," which I introduced earlier.

Lelangwa, who survived the slaughter of his family in front of him and who himself suffered wounds that left him not knowing why he was still alive, said, "I can't forgive them. He expressed his anger, wondering why such evil-doers were still alive in the city.

What is forgiveness? Who does it to whom? The victim? The law? The state? God? What does it mean for the perpetrator to be forgiven? On the contrary, is it atonement to be punished and tormented forever?

My head is spinning and spinning as I read this book. This trilogy of "When Your Neighbor Turns Murderer" is so intense that it will leave you with a strong feeling that you have to read it all over again. I highly recommend you to pick up this book as well as the previous ones.

What Perpetrators Say After the Massacre, "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: Testimonies of the Rwandan Genocide, Perpetrators Edition"

.Kamogawa Publishing, "When Neighbors Turn Murderers: The Road to Reconciliation: Testimonies of the Rwandan Genocide" by Jean Hatzfeld, translated by Eugene Hattori.

This book is the last in the "When Neighbors Turn Killers" trilogy. As befits a last work, this book is also a terrific one. Personally, this is the most memorable book in the trilogy. The harsh reality of the situation was brought home to me in this book...

In the first part, we will interview the survivors of the massacre, in the second part, the perpetrators, and in this third part, we will attempt to interview both sides. As explained above, the Hutus, the perpetrators of the massacre, were released to help rebuild their country, and a situation emerged where Tutsis and Hutus were living in the same place again.

How is such a horrific history possible? This trilogy is a look at such a horrific history through the words of people living in the region. To be honest, I never expected to read such a powerful book.

The Rwandan Genocide that I came to know in the process of learning about the Srebrenica genocide. I am truly grateful to have encountered this trilogy. It has been a very tough read mentally, but I have no regrets at all. I hope this trilogy will spread to as many people as possible.

Hell Coexisting with the Butcher: What is Forgiveness? "When Neighbors Turn into Murderers: The Road to Reconciliation: Testimonies of the Rwandan Genocide".

.Hayakawa Shobo, Black Hawk Down: The Combat Record of America's Strongest Special Forces, written by Mark Bowden and translated by Vivan Fushimi

On October 3, 1993, U.S. Special Forces paratrooped into Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, where civil war continues. The mission of this task force, consisting of 99 elite members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, including Delta, Ranger, SEAL, and PJ (parajumpers), was to abduct the top leadership of the Aidid faction, an armed group that was sabotaging UN peace operations. It was supposed to be a simple mission that would take less than an hour if all went well. However, the situation changed drastically when a high-tech Black Hawk helicopter was shot down. The American soldiers who went to rescue the survivors were surrounded and isolated by thousands of enemy soldiers, suffering from a shortage of water, food, and ammunition, and engaged in a fierce firefight that lasted all day and night. ......

A masterpiece of war nonfiction, this book recreates the full story of a secret operation that was a turning point in international politics after the Cold War, but has never been told until today, and describes the extraordinary combat capabilities of the Special Forces!

AmazonProducts Page.

This film was the basis for Ridley Scott's hit movie Black Hawk Down.

As mentioned in the synopsis above, the main thrust of the film is that Delta and Ranger, supposedly the world's most powerful Special Forces units, are isolated in a fierce battleground and find themselves involved in a desperate battle.

The fighting in Somalia was to have a major impact on later U.S. military intervention.

It is said that the UN peacekeeping operations that became dysfunctional in the Bosnian conflict and the Rwandan genocide, both of which have been discussed in this blog, were also greatly affected by this very incident.

Until then, the United States and other industrialized nations believed that conflicts in developing countries could be easily put down if they intervened with overwhelming force. However, Black Hawk Down was the event that destroyed this optimistic view.

At this point, the final countdown to the Rwandan genocide and the Srebrenica massacre may have begun...

Based on the blockbuster movie! The Somali Tragedy, "Black Hawk Down: The Combat Record of America's Finest Special Forces"

Conclusion

These are the seven books presented here.

As we have said many times, the Rwandan genocide is so shocking. It could be a traumatic read. It is that hellish. One can only fear that human beings can be so cruel.

I learned about the Rwandan genocide this way because of the Bosnian conflict, but reading these books reminded me that Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia are not each unique and abnormal, but that we all have something in our nature that allows such things to happen and that we all could have done it. I was reminded once again that human nature is such that such things can happen, and that we all have the potential to do them.

Also in the German-Soviet War, by C. MeridaleIvan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45."and I was to learn about human nature in extreme conditions. In this book, the barbarism of the Soviet soldiers is also analyzed in depth. It exposes that human cruelty is deeply rooted in human nature itself, and that human beings can easily commit unbelievable deeds when social factors are in place. It is a stark reminder that even if we live our lives as normal human beings, we never know what will happen to us at any moment.

for this reason(7) Genshin's "Ojo-Yoshu" and the modern tour of hell: why must we learn about war, oppression, and genocide?"As I told you in my article in the "The History of War and Tragic Massacres," I am learning about the history of war and tragic massacres. It is a history that we want to turn away from, but if we do not pass through it, history will repeat itself in a different form. To avoid this, we must learn about our tragic human history.

I know this will be a hard read for all of you, but I hope you will pick it up.

These are the 7 recommended reference works to learn about the Rwandan genocide - there was a hell there that made me want to turn away....

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