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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation, August 19, 2009
This review is from: God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (Hardcover)
In this compelling and heartrending memoir, Sebarenzi weaves together his devastating experiences of exile and loss as a Tutsi in Rwanda, his spiritual journey toward a life of reconciliation and forgiveness, and his sharp critique of current Rwandan politics and policies.
Sebarenzi, a prophetic name given by his father that means "chief shepherd," or good leader, begins his narrative with a moving portrait of his youthful life in rural Rwanda. Materially poor, his childhood was rich in family relations and traditions, with connections to Tutsi and Hutu alike. This seemingly benign environment, however, was repeatedly shattered by ethnic violence, and Sebarenzi remembers several life-threatening experiences and narrow escapes from ethnic murder that foreshadowed the 1994 genocide. As the years passed, Sebarenzi temporarily relocated to neighboring countries, struggling to complete high school and university, marrying and starting a family, and experiencing periodic assault based on his ethnic identity.
Subsequent chapters of the book recount Sebarenzi's political career, with his meteoric rise to Speaker of Parliament and his escalating conflict with Kagame, the Tutsi rebel leader who, by defeating the Hutu militias, ended the genocide and became Rwanda's president. As Speaker, Sebarenzi endured heavy-handed intimidation from Kagame and the coterie of followers who supported his leadership. Due to his open opposition to some of Kagame's behaviors and decisions, Sebarenzi's own life was threatened, eventually leading him to escape and seek asylum in the US, where he is now a citizen.
The final chapter of this memoir is a teaching on reconciliation and forgiveness after genocide or mass violence, with Sebarenzi using his own transformational journey of resisting revenge and relinquishing hatred. Over the years, he has come to embrace and espouse a life-giving, future-oriented process of spiritual healing that includes forgiveness of those who destroyed his family and his country.
Readers will be swept up by this powerful narrative, with the remarkable arc of Sebarenzi's life, and especially by his capacity to transform violence and embrace love. Rwanda-watchers may have different lenses for evaluating Rwanda's fifteen years of post-genocide progress and current political, social, and economic realities. In the attempt to understand Rwanda, we will have to consider Sebarenzi's insider status and stark portrait of Rwanda, and his exhortation to his fellow countrymen to increase their commitment to build a just, peaceful, tolerant, democratic, and more transparent society. Of Sebarenzi's personal journey, one can only stand in awe, with gratitude that he has survived and that we are able to share in his journey.
Reviewed by Paula Green
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing man, September 10, 2009
This review is from: God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (Hardcover)
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The author lived through the Rwanda genocide in the 1990's, saw his parents and many of his friends and other family members murdered, served in the Rwanda parliament until learning the VP wanted him assassinated, fled the country, and now speaks of forgiveness, not revenge, in order to "heal" Rwanda.
The author gives us a history of strife between the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda, what it caused it, and how the power struggle shifted back and forth between the two groups. He looks back on his life and his country, but only that we can understand why he believes that Rwanda needs to move from the past so the country can move forward. And to move forward, the author speaks of forgiveness so old wounds can heal instead of festering and breaking open again. The author speaks of his faith in God and how this helped him during the terrible mass murders in Rwanda.
The author is an amazing man who practices what the God he believes in preaches. A very worthwhile book to read. It makes the genocide in Rwanda a personal thing, not just an event that affects people who live in a country far away.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read., September 6, 2009
This review is from: God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (Hardcover)
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This book is a good perspective. It gives readers an inside, personal look into the trials and terrors of Rwanda. What the book does well is letting readers know the realities of what life is like in a nation that is so devastated with instability and racial tension and violence. It puts a face with the countless victims of some of the worst atrocities perpetrated in the twenty-first century.
Mr. Sebarenzi gives a cursory overview of how these racial tensions were exacerbated by the colonialist powers in order to ensure an easier rule, and thus a more thorough stripping of any economic resources they could get their hands on. While the history is cursory, one is able to understand just how destructive Western influences were for Rwanda and other nations which were exploited. The seeds of destruction sown by Western powers there and elsewhere are still bearing fruit today, and it shows how some of these same nations turned their backs on any humanitarian responsibilities they had during the genocide that followed.
The author's own personal story is one of triumphs and failures but also of enduring hope. The problem is the story has no happy ending. After the civil war it looks as though the story may turn out alright, but as happens so often in Africa the same people who fight so hard to oust corrupt and despotic rulers end up becoming the same monsters they fought so hard to unseat. This book gives readers a front row seat to watch a fledgling democracy die. As so often this one does not end in a bang but is instead a long slow bleed. It starts with a few innocuous changes and just enough people willing to acquiesce to power. You see good men such as this one attempt to stem the tide of totalitarianism, but the rule of law only works when everyone agrees to play by the rules.
The one problem I had with the book was the author's apparent naiveté. He had been through so much and had seen the very worst of human beings that his faith in the system and leaders seems out of proportion with his actual experiences. The story of Rwanda is not an unusual one, but is instead all too common in Africa. The author describes being blindsided by the eventual power grab, but it seems so obvious that the author's faith seems very strange. Parts of the book just struck me as odd and unrealistic. Of course hind sight is always 20/20 and maybe in situations like this all one really has left is their faith and hope or maybe I am just too much of a cynic, so this odd feeling may be my own fault instead of a real problem.
This book is not a feel good read. The author is very much a sympathetic character, and one is hard pressed not to be drawn into such an enduring and hopeful person, but the story is not a happy one. The book does a terrific job giving the insider's experience. The reader will come away with a better understanding of Rwanda's terrible and horrific past. It is that understanding which makes this book an important read.
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