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Review
A passionate, heartfelt perspective about the tragedy, and his personal ordeal and survival. Sebarenzi writes with a concise, authoritative voice, and with exceptional clarity of Rwanda's complicated past and present. --Herb Boyd, author of Baldwin's Harlem
Compelling and heartrending... 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... 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. --Paula Green, Professor of Conflict Transformation at the School for International Training Graduate Institute, and Director of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
A remarkable achievement: to convey cruelty and courage, horror and survival, treachery and faith in a seamless story where the reality may appal but the attention never flags. Also a valuable afterword on the power and potential of forgiveness as a way forward anywhere. --Michael Henderson, author of No Enemy to Conquer Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World
Compelling and heartrending... 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... 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. --Paula Green, Professor of Conflict Transformation at the School for International Training Graduate Institute, and Director of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
A remarkable achievement: to convey cruelty and courage, horror and survival, treachery and faith in a seamless story where the reality may appal but the attention never flags. Also a valuable afterword on the power and potential of forgiveness as a way forward anywhere. --Michael Henderson, author of No Enemy to Conquer Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World
Product Description
The efficiency of the Hutu killers in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 exceeded even that of the Nazi Holocaust. It happened in front of the world's eyes, every moment broadcast on television - but nothing was done. Among the 80,0000 Tutsis killed were Joseph Sebarenzi's parents and seven siblings. "God Sleeps in Rwanda" follows Sebarenzi's return to Rwanda as an elected speaker of parliament, his attempts to reform the ravaged country, and the assassination plot that once again forced him into exile. Today, he educates the world about Rwanda, working to prevent these atrocities from ever happening again.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The author of this book, Joseph Sebarenzi, begins the first chapter telling us that he is not a storyteller. But this memoir is just that and with the aid of Laura Ann Mullane a story where the narrative flows. A story of terror and faith. Joseph Sebarenzi retells his life in Rwanda, a country that was in a constant power struggle that shifted back between two ethnic groups that had lived in peace during the centuries before the country of Belgium created this divide. A divide that consisted of a separation of the two major ethnicity in the country, the Hutu and Tutsi, and placed one in power. The author expresses that this was done in order to ensure an orderly rule by a foreign nation. It is these same racial and economic divisions that many American politicians try to foster in the U.S.A but without the ethnic I.D. cards.
In his telling of events of his story Sebarenzi brings to life the loss of innocence and the fear that was part of those living in Rwanda during those decades which comprised his entire lifetime. In Rwanda this fear was ever present even in times of deceptive peace. This racial tension would inevitable lead to racial violence that would be molded into mobs murdering their friends and neighbors as well as wholesale destruction of property. These atrocities were committed by the majority Hutu against the minority Tutsi who had once held leadership possessions before they gained independence from Belgium.
The mobs of Hutu would get a command every few years and go on killing sprees throughout the country killing Tutsi. And one of the reason we learn entire families were killed was because if there were no survivors, the murders would be able to keep what ever property they had stolen. If family members lived most property would be returned when the killing sprees ended. And in the beginning when these violent racial killings took place the Hutu would not go into Holy Places that became sanctuary's. This would change in the final Hutu attacks we know as the Rwanda genocide by the people of the world in the 1990's.
No government who had the power to stop this genocide would even call it by its true name for there is international law that would have had the United Nations (i.e. the U.S.A.) have to go in with military force and stop the violence. Instead all countries politicians with armies turned their back on the mass killings and the United Nations who were told exactly what would happen a month before it could would not let the Peace keepers confiscate the weapons caches they knew about. The United Nations only worked to protect and evacuate foreigners and then all but 500 Peace Keepers actually left the country to their genocide which would eventually turn into a civil war.
This memoir gives the general outline of what transpired and the visceral feel through the one who lost so much family. Sebarenzi returns to Rwanda after the civil war and things seem to be working out. He joins the government to help be part of solution of unifying the country he loves. His love of country, family and faith is strong and exhibited throughout the book. It is this faith in God that allows him the strength to forgive the Hutu and do what he feels is best for the country as a whole. Of course despite his best efforts and his faith Rwanda would go the way of many African countries as he gets caught in the middle of a power grab that left the Hutu living in fear.
There is no real happy ending, but how could their be with so much fear and mistrust. And the author was correct in his first assessment of his political abilities and naive in his belief that the rule of law would be followed in his country. Though he did his best and became Speaker of parliament he was eventually forced to once again flee his homeland. His story gives the reader a much better understanding of Rwanda's tragic history. This book is worth reading but is a memoir as I mentioned and not a history book.
In his telling of events of his story Sebarenzi brings to life the loss of innocence and the fear that was part of those living in Rwanda during those decades which comprised his entire lifetime. In Rwanda this fear was ever present even in times of deceptive peace. This racial tension would inevitable lead to racial violence that would be molded into mobs murdering their friends and neighbors as well as wholesale destruction of property. These atrocities were committed by the majority Hutu against the minority Tutsi who had once held leadership possessions before they gained independence from Belgium.
The mobs of Hutu would get a command every few years and go on killing sprees throughout the country killing Tutsi. And one of the reason we learn entire families were killed was because if there were no survivors, the murders would be able to keep what ever property they had stolen. If family members lived most property would be returned when the killing sprees ended. And in the beginning when these violent racial killings took place the Hutu would not go into Holy Places that became sanctuary's. This would change in the final Hutu attacks we know as the Rwanda genocide by the people of the world in the 1990's.
No government who had the power to stop this genocide would even call it by its true name for there is international law that would have had the United Nations (i.e. the U.S.A.) have to go in with military force and stop the violence. Instead all countries politicians with armies turned their back on the mass killings and the United Nations who were told exactly what would happen a month before it could would not let the Peace keepers confiscate the weapons caches they knew about. The United Nations only worked to protect and evacuate foreigners and then all but 500 Peace Keepers actually left the country to their genocide which would eventually turn into a civil war.
This memoir gives the general outline of what transpired and the visceral feel through the one who lost so much family. Sebarenzi returns to Rwanda after the civil war and things seem to be working out. He joins the government to help be part of solution of unifying the country he loves. His love of country, family and faith is strong and exhibited throughout the book. It is this faith in God that allows him the strength to forgive the Hutu and do what he feels is best for the country as a whole. Of course despite his best efforts and his faith Rwanda would go the way of many African countries as he gets caught in the middle of a power grab that left the Hutu living in fear.
There is no real happy ending, but how could their be with so much fear and mistrust. And the author was correct in his first assessment of his political abilities and naive in his belief that the rule of law would be followed in his country. Though he did his best and became Speaker of parliament he was eventually forced to once again flee his homeland. His story gives the reader a much better understanding of Rwanda's tragic history. This book is worth reading but is a memoir as I mentioned and not a history book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
43 reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation
19 Aug 2009
Format: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
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
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
An amazing man
11 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
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.
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.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A good read.
7 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
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.
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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