Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire - Reflection
The human race is a curious thing, we have the capacity for sympathy and compassion, yet these instincts sometimes fail, which can result in devastating consequences. This is essentially the subject of Romeo Dallaire’s book Shake Hands with the Devil: the Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Dallarie outlines in great detail the events that lead up to, occurred during and followed the 1994 genocide in the central Africa country of Rwanda. In this account, many reflections can be made about humanity’s response to such atrocities, including the failure of the United Nations, the attitude of the international community, and the rays of hope and courage displayed by some individuals during the situation.
To begin, back in 1993 the UN set up a peacekeeping force, UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda), to send to Rwanda to help establish and enforce the Arusha Peace Agreement in post-civil war Rwanda. Dallaire was the head of this force that was given the strict mandate of a ‘chapter six’ peacekeeping mission by the UN – this meant that they were only authorized to use force if they were being attacked and were not allowed to use force to protect and save the lives of innocent Rwandans – along with other restrictions in terms of budget and resources. The endless amount of red tape encountered by Dallaire seemed to suggest a lack of sympathy within in the UN for the mission and the country. When the situation in Rwanda began to look more bleak than optimistic, the UN looked as if it would rather pull out than deal with the issue: “...the [Security] Council viewed the political impasse as a red flag, and if the situation dragged on much longer they would pull us [UNAMIR] out and let the country sink back into civil war and chaos, washing its hands of the whole situation” (Dallaire, 209). This is an appalling stance to take in such circumstances when lives were known to be on the line in Rwanda. The UN was established on the mandate of promoting peace, security and human rights, yet these actions gravely failed to meet those guidelines.
In addition, it is very apparent that Dallaire feels very strongly about the lack of action from the world, especially from the United States. He uses very strong language for those who refused to help to curb Rwanda’s pain saying “Ultimately, led by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, this world body aided and abetted genocide in Rwanda. No amount of its cash and aid will ever wash its hands clean of Rwandan blood” (Dallaire, 323). The UN had no support from the major Western nations, like the United States which further hindered its ability or desire to give the adequate amount of assistance needed for UNAMIR and Rwanda.
Moreover, the behaviour of some of the contingent members of the UNAMIR were also disgraceful, specifically those from Belgium and Bangladesh. The Belgians had episodes of racial and violent outbursts including an attack and a death threat on a Rwandan politician who slandered their home nation; “The soldiers badly beat the politicians on his own doorstep and... warned him that if or his party or the local media ever again insulted or threatened Belgium, Belgian expatriated or the Belgian contingent of UNAMIR, they would return and kill him” (Dallaire, 184). The Bangladeshis seemed to be apathetic to the situation in Rwanda, however, only came to the country for personal gain “...Bangladesh had only deployed his contingent for selfish aims: the training, the financial compensation and the equipment they intended to take home with them” (Dallaire, 205). This lack of discipline and the obvious selfishness are unacceptable, especially from the Belgians who had previously abused the Rwandans under colonialism.
Another major reflection coming from this book is the international lack of concern which led to the brewing of a perfect storm in Rwanda. Rwanda was not politically, resource-wise, or geographically important enough for any major Western nation to look out for its interests, even when the situation in Rwanda began to deteriorate rapidly. This sad reality soon became apparent to Dallaire, saying, “I mark April 12 as the day the world moved from disinterest in Rwanda to the abandonment of Rwandans to their fate. The swift evacuation of the foreign nationals was the signal for the genocidaires to moves toward apocalypse” (Dallaire, 291). Foreign nations realized that something horrible was about to occur, but instead of helping, they abandoned innocent Rwandans. As a result, the West’s lack interest created the perfect environment for the Interahamwe (the group who was mainly responsible for the genocide) to commit horrendous acts.
In addition, the Interahamwe understood how to make the Western nations withdraw completely from Rwanda, from lessons learned from observations from Bosnia and Somalia where troops withdrew once there were casualties. The fact that Rwanda had a seat on the Security Council during this time also added to their advantages of the genocidaires; "Since January, the Rwandan ambassador to the UN... had a seat on the Security Council and was not only privy to the inner workings of the mission but to the Security Council’s attitude toward the mission and its many woes. All this information was obviously being fed back to the shrouded entity that seemed to be running the show in Rwanda" (Dallaire, 195). The combination of all these circumstances abetted the extremists to carry out their deadly agenda.
Despite these troubling critics and reflections of the world’s response to Rwanda, there are people who did stand up to protect what is right and just. It is often said that when faced with difficult situations our instincts either lean towards fight or flight. Although many opted to flee, there were some who stayed and their actions created a sense of hope within the situation which comes across in the book. Amongst these heroes were Don MacNeil and the Ghanaian soldiers who, to protect Rwandans, “put himself between the threatening militiaman and the trucks and came within inches of being killed, as did most of the Ghanaian attached to his part of the convoy” (Dallaire, 350). Also noteworthy were the actions of the Tunisians troop contingent of the UNAMIR who displayed great courage prompting Dallaire to write: “I can’t say enough about the bravery of the Tunisians. They never shirked their duty and always displayed the highest standards of courage and discipline in the face of difficult and dangerous tasks” (Dallaire, 302).
Furthermore, Dallaire himself gave hope to thousands of Rwandans through his own actions and his determination to stay and see the situation through. Dallaire was constantly fighting an uphill battle, with the UN, the international community, and the media. Ultimately, Dallaire struggled to best communicate with the Rwandan people and their lack of understanding of his frustrating restrictions, he recalls this by saying, “I remember trying to explain to one group all the reasons why my troops were unable to fight to protect them. Puzzled at the complexity of my answer, they pressed me to sort it out. What could be so complicated? They were under fire and I was their only hope” (Dallaire, 348). Despite this, Dallaire displayed heroic courage and fervour for the mission; “I was determined not to go down in history as the commander who ran” (Dallaire, 318-319). From reading the book, there is a sense of deep passion that runs through Dallaire’s veins. He genuinely cared for the people of Rwanda, and from personal experience of the country and the people he felt he could not abandon them in their time of great need. It is very apparent that the humanity of the situation was different for Dallaire than from those who observed from the outside.
The word ‘humanity’ as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is “The character or quality of being humane; behaviour or disposition towards others as befit a man” (Oxford, 1961). Humanity failed Rwanda in the truest sense of the word, there was no quality, and no man deserved that kind of treatment. Rwanda was pushed aside by the UN and ignored by so many nations until it was too late. The actions of some individuals in the situation in Rwanda did their best to protect precious lives, but it was unfortunately not enough. Humanity did not adequately respond. Dallaire outlines these points in his book, and reflecting upon this, one cannot help but feel a sense of shame for our human race. But there is more to be taken away from in this book. Stories like these make our hearts cry out: never again.
To begin, back in 1993 the UN set up a peacekeeping force, UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda), to send to Rwanda to help establish and enforce the Arusha Peace Agreement in post-civil war Rwanda. Dallaire was the head of this force that was given the strict mandate of a ‘chapter six’ peacekeeping mission by the UN – this meant that they were only authorized to use force if they were being attacked and were not allowed to use force to protect and save the lives of innocent Rwandans – along with other restrictions in terms of budget and resources. The endless amount of red tape encountered by Dallaire seemed to suggest a lack of sympathy within in the UN for the mission and the country. When the situation in Rwanda began to look more bleak than optimistic, the UN looked as if it would rather pull out than deal with the issue: “...the [Security] Council viewed the political impasse as a red flag, and if the situation dragged on much longer they would pull us [UNAMIR] out and let the country sink back into civil war and chaos, washing its hands of the whole situation” (Dallaire, 209). This is an appalling stance to take in such circumstances when lives were known to be on the line in Rwanda. The UN was established on the mandate of promoting peace, security and human rights, yet these actions gravely failed to meet those guidelines.
In addition, it is very apparent that Dallaire feels very strongly about the lack of action from the world, especially from the United States. He uses very strong language for those who refused to help to curb Rwanda’s pain saying “Ultimately, led by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, this world body aided and abetted genocide in Rwanda. No amount of its cash and aid will ever wash its hands clean of Rwandan blood” (Dallaire, 323). The UN had no support from the major Western nations, like the United States which further hindered its ability or desire to give the adequate amount of assistance needed for UNAMIR and Rwanda.
Moreover, the behaviour of some of the contingent members of the UNAMIR were also disgraceful, specifically those from Belgium and Bangladesh. The Belgians had episodes of racial and violent outbursts including an attack and a death threat on a Rwandan politician who slandered their home nation; “The soldiers badly beat the politicians on his own doorstep and... warned him that if or his party or the local media ever again insulted or threatened Belgium, Belgian expatriated or the Belgian contingent of UNAMIR, they would return and kill him” (Dallaire, 184). The Bangladeshis seemed to be apathetic to the situation in Rwanda, however, only came to the country for personal gain “...Bangladesh had only deployed his contingent for selfish aims: the training, the financial compensation and the equipment they intended to take home with them” (Dallaire, 205). This lack of discipline and the obvious selfishness are unacceptable, especially from the Belgians who had previously abused the Rwandans under colonialism.
Another major reflection coming from this book is the international lack of concern which led to the brewing of a perfect storm in Rwanda. Rwanda was not politically, resource-wise, or geographically important enough for any major Western nation to look out for its interests, even when the situation in Rwanda began to deteriorate rapidly. This sad reality soon became apparent to Dallaire, saying, “I mark April 12 as the day the world moved from disinterest in Rwanda to the abandonment of Rwandans to their fate. The swift evacuation of the foreign nationals was the signal for the genocidaires to moves toward apocalypse” (Dallaire, 291). Foreign nations realized that something horrible was about to occur, but instead of helping, they abandoned innocent Rwandans. As a result, the West’s lack interest created the perfect environment for the Interahamwe (the group who was mainly responsible for the genocide) to commit horrendous acts.
In addition, the Interahamwe understood how to make the Western nations withdraw completely from Rwanda, from lessons learned from observations from Bosnia and Somalia where troops withdrew once there were casualties. The fact that Rwanda had a seat on the Security Council during this time also added to their advantages of the genocidaires; "Since January, the Rwandan ambassador to the UN... had a seat on the Security Council and was not only privy to the inner workings of the mission but to the Security Council’s attitude toward the mission and its many woes. All this information was obviously being fed back to the shrouded entity that seemed to be running the show in Rwanda" (Dallaire, 195). The combination of all these circumstances abetted the extremists to carry out their deadly agenda.
Despite these troubling critics and reflections of the world’s response to Rwanda, there are people who did stand up to protect what is right and just. It is often said that when faced with difficult situations our instincts either lean towards fight or flight. Although many opted to flee, there were some who stayed and their actions created a sense of hope within the situation which comes across in the book. Amongst these heroes were Don MacNeil and the Ghanaian soldiers who, to protect Rwandans, “put himself between the threatening militiaman and the trucks and came within inches of being killed, as did most of the Ghanaian attached to his part of the convoy” (Dallaire, 350). Also noteworthy were the actions of the Tunisians troop contingent of the UNAMIR who displayed great courage prompting Dallaire to write: “I can’t say enough about the bravery of the Tunisians. They never shirked their duty and always displayed the highest standards of courage and discipline in the face of difficult and dangerous tasks” (Dallaire, 302).
Furthermore, Dallaire himself gave hope to thousands of Rwandans through his own actions and his determination to stay and see the situation through. Dallaire was constantly fighting an uphill battle, with the UN, the international community, and the media. Ultimately, Dallaire struggled to best communicate with the Rwandan people and their lack of understanding of his frustrating restrictions, he recalls this by saying, “I remember trying to explain to one group all the reasons why my troops were unable to fight to protect them. Puzzled at the complexity of my answer, they pressed me to sort it out. What could be so complicated? They were under fire and I was their only hope” (Dallaire, 348). Despite this, Dallaire displayed heroic courage and fervour for the mission; “I was determined not to go down in history as the commander who ran” (Dallaire, 318-319). From reading the book, there is a sense of deep passion that runs through Dallaire’s veins. He genuinely cared for the people of Rwanda, and from personal experience of the country and the people he felt he could not abandon them in their time of great need. It is very apparent that the humanity of the situation was different for Dallaire than from those who observed from the outside.
The word ‘humanity’ as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is “The character or quality of being humane; behaviour or disposition towards others as befit a man” (Oxford, 1961). Humanity failed Rwanda in the truest sense of the word, there was no quality, and no man deserved that kind of treatment. Rwanda was pushed aside by the UN and ignored by so many nations until it was too late. The actions of some individuals in the situation in Rwanda did their best to protect precious lives, but it was unfortunately not enough. Humanity did not adequately respond. Dallaire outlines these points in his book, and reflecting upon this, one cannot help but feel a sense of shame for our human race. But there is more to be taken away from in this book. Stories like these make our hearts cry out: never again.