A review by barbaraalfond
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

4.0

Brilliantly, insightfully told, this history of a dark, horrific period in Rwandan—and human—history delves into the four month period beginning in April of 1994, during which close to one million men, women, and children were slain by their countrymen. Using the ancient Biblical story of Cain and Abel was an excellent framing device to help the reader , at a very basic level, tunderstand how easy it is to divide a family, much less a nation. Further, extended explanations of unproven, asinine, yet accepted theories of racial superiority thrust upon a population by white foreign imperialists also serve to help a reader understand how this heightened madness can happen. My only problem with the book is that it is now 24 years old, and I need to continue my research to find an explanation of how Rwanda has managed to heal itself. It is a beautiful country with the most welcoming, kindest people we have ever met, and I must find a way to understand how it got from its awful past to its vibrant present….and whether the darkness of those days could ever return.