Customer Reviews

Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda: Drawings by Child Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994

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It beggars belief that Mrs. Clinton--anyone named Clinton--would have the NERVE to write a book on Rwanda. The Clinton administration knew exactly what was going on in Rwanda and stonewalled every effort at meaningful US intervention. Not sending troops? Morally detestable, but given the political climate and American lack of interest in Africa, well I can understand that. But the Clinton administration went beyond this, to not approving an increase in the strength of UN forces (the request was for around 5000 troops to end the massacres), to CHARGING the UN for the use of badly-needed military equipment (oh, by the way, the US owed the UN a huge sum of money) and finally providing substandard equipment.

As big a fan as I am of the Clinton administration in general, and of Mrs. Clinton, the only words I need to hear fromanyone named Clinton on this issue is a public apology for shamelessly allowing the genocide to occur, and then providing aid to those complicit in the genocide itself after they were expelled from the country.

Otherwise, the book offers little of value. A transcribed oral accounting of children's experience (from an historian) would be more helpful.

"Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda" tells the horrific story of the genocide through drawings created by children traumatized by what they saw and lived through. It is a heartbreaking book that serves to remind the world the level to which we can sink.

I photographed the children as they made some of these drawings, and it is an experience I will never forget. What started out as an exercise to "draw a picture of your most recent nightmare," evolved into a graphic display of murder and loss. The children sat up straight when they started in on their drawing, but by the time they finished, they were bent down, close to the paper, and covering up what they had drawn.

As shocking as the drawings are, one that I remember the most was a beautiful drawing of a women in brightly colored African dress. When asked to explain the picture, the child said "this was the last time I saw my mother."

Everyone should see and read this book. Think of it as a shortened version of "The Diary of Anne Frank".

Now that we know that President Clinton and Madeline Albright fought and succeeded to have the word "genocide" removed from all UN talk about Rwanda, this book reeks of opportunism. It is a way of Mrs. Clinton using the tragedy -- one her husband helped play itself out without aid to the slaughtered Rwandans -- to portray herself and perhaps her husbands administration as being caring. Truly disgusting. Of course this was not known at the date this book was first published, but in light of what we now know, this should stick in the throat of anyone who reads it. Sorry for politicizing this book and laying out more comment than review. I also apologize for giving this book a 1 star rating but the review will not be posted without one and there was no ) star rating.