Season of Blood by Fergal Keane
I do not know what dreams ask of us, what they come to collect. But they have come again and again recently, and I have no answers. I have thought that after the bad nights of last summer the dead had abandoned me, had mouldered into memory. But the brothers and sisters, the mothers and fathers and children, all the great wailing families of the night are back, holding fast with their withering hands, demanding my attention. Understand first that I do not want your sympathy. The dreams are part of the baggage on this journey. I understood that from the outset... So when I tell you about the nights of dread, understand that they are only part of the big picture, the first step backward into the story of a journey that happened a year ago. So much for explanation.
This is the majority of the opening part of the prologue in Keane's book. Season of Blood is about Fergal Keane, a BBC reporter, and his travels in Rwanda following the genocide of the Tutsi tribe. In this book, he argues that the genocide was not merely mindless killing, but an organized attack on the Tutsis which had been devised years beforehand by the Hutu tribe and that the UN did nothing while they were able to.
First, some background. Way back when, the Tutsis were a ruling minority in Rwanda. They were favored because, apparently, they were taller and more European-like than the Hutu tribe, so they became the ruling class. Europeans who tried to sette certain parts of Africa allied themselves with the Tutsis, such as the Belgians. However, the Hutus were treated as second-classmen, and were left to do the Tutsis' dirty work. So, many years later, the Hutus organized an attack on President Habyarimana, which led in the killing of nearly one million Tutsis, a genocide. They were mainly killed by the Interahamwe, which were Hutu extremists who used machetes and clubs to beat their victims to death.
The Hutus were vengeful and wanted revenge on the Tutsis for all the injustice dealt to them in politics, which is a major point argued in Keane's text. This was not simply tribal warfare, this was a planned genocide. The UN argued it was not. US called it "acts of genocide," and other countries were only willing to donate a few soldiers to help out. China backed out of the deal, so there were limitations on whether soldiers were allowed to shoot. Countries held back soldiers because they didn't want to lose fighters for, essentially, "tribes killing each other." Whether they were aware of it or not, there was still some prejudice going around. Racism hasn't ended, you know.
Keane writes an accurate portrait of Rwanda from an objective point of view. While he completely realizes that the Tutsis were not fair to the Hutus in the past, he does not justify the Hutus' extreme retaliation. He sees and talks to Hutus who took part in the genocide, and has little sympathy for them when they are on the run from the RPF (Tutsi army). He also travels through many parts where there is nothing but dead bodies scattered everywhere, and at times the book is very hard to read and it might even reduce you to tears. The Hutus were downright evil with their treatment with the Hutus, and it couldn't have been better explained than by Keane himself. You really have to read the book to find out for yourself.
Keane has a way with words in this book. He strives for concise writing, rather than elaborate descriptions, which proves to be very effective. He manages to appeal to the reader's logic, emotions, and credibility, which not only makes his point even more believable, but also involves the reader in the story. This is a type of read that can easily be finished in one day.
I have no complaints with Season of Blood. Five out of five stars for this masterpiece. It's worth a read, and it opens your eyes about another culture that we tend to ignore in the media today.
This is the majority of the opening part of the prologue in Keane's book. Season of Blood is about Fergal Keane, a BBC reporter, and his travels in Rwanda following the genocide of the Tutsi tribe. In this book, he argues that the genocide was not merely mindless killing, but an organized attack on the Tutsis which had been devised years beforehand by the Hutu tribe and that the UN did nothing while they were able to.
First, some background. Way back when, the Tutsis were a ruling minority in Rwanda. They were favored because, apparently, they were taller and more European-like than the Hutu tribe, so they became the ruling class. Europeans who tried to sette certain parts of Africa allied themselves with the Tutsis, such as the Belgians. However, the Hutus were treated as second-classmen, and were left to do the Tutsis' dirty work. So, many years later, the Hutus organized an attack on President Habyarimana, which led in the killing of nearly one million Tutsis, a genocide. They were mainly killed by the Interahamwe, which were Hutu extremists who used machetes and clubs to beat their victims to death.
The Hutus were vengeful and wanted revenge on the Tutsis for all the injustice dealt to them in politics, which is a major point argued in Keane's text. This was not simply tribal warfare, this was a planned genocide. The UN argued it was not. US called it "acts of genocide," and other countries were only willing to donate a few soldiers to help out. China backed out of the deal, so there were limitations on whether soldiers were allowed to shoot. Countries held back soldiers because they didn't want to lose fighters for, essentially, "tribes killing each other." Whether they were aware of it or not, there was still some prejudice going around. Racism hasn't ended, you know.
Keane writes an accurate portrait of Rwanda from an objective point of view. While he completely realizes that the Tutsis were not fair to the Hutus in the past, he does not justify the Hutus' extreme retaliation. He sees and talks to Hutus who took part in the genocide, and has little sympathy for them when they are on the run from the RPF (Tutsi army). He also travels through many parts where there is nothing but dead bodies scattered everywhere, and at times the book is very hard to read and it might even reduce you to tears. The Hutus were downright evil with their treatment with the Hutus, and it couldn't have been better explained than by Keane himself. You really have to read the book to find out for yourself.
Keane has a way with words in this book. He strives for concise writing, rather than elaborate descriptions, which proves to be very effective. He manages to appeal to the reader's logic, emotions, and credibility, which not only makes his point even more believable, but also involves the reader in the story. This is a type of read that can easily be finished in one day.
I have no complaints with Season of Blood. Five out of five stars for this masterpiece. It's worth a read, and it opens your eyes about another culture that we tend to ignore in the media today.
