Romeo dallaire and his blue berets landed in rwanda to. Sep 28, 2007 this is a dramatized version of some of the real life events that led ret. Its a puzzling inquiry from a bureaucracy, though considering the rampant genetic cleansing dallaire has witnessed in rwanda, its a forceful reminder of. Shake hands with the devil by romeo dallaire penguin books.
Shake hands with the devil is a compelling memoir that tells the tale of general romeo dallaire and his experiences during the rwandan genocide. Toronto globe and mail almost certainly the most important book published in canada this year. While reading it, i saw this documentary twice more on the documentary channel and was struck by how much the film changes. The awardwinning documentary film shake hands with the devil. In shake hands with the devil, he takes the reader with him on a return voyage into the hell of rwanda, vividly recreating the events the international community turned its back on. Oct 25, 2016 shake hands with the devil changed me profoundly as a sixteen year old high school student. In shake hands with the devil, he describes the dilemmas and atrocities to which he was exposed. The journey of romeo dallaire is a 2004 documentary film about the 1994 genocide in rwanda. An awardwinning international sensation, shake hands with the devil is a landmark contribution to the literature of war. This film follows dallaire back to rwanda ten years after the massacre in. A great documentary which tells the story of dallaire in rwanda during the genocide. Oct 09, 2015 shake hands with the devil is published by random house of canada.
The journey of romeo dallaire, which was inspired by the book and shows gen dallaires return to rwanda after ten years, was produced by the cbc. The journey of romeo dallaire 2004 in 1994, one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century unfolds when nearly 800,000 men, women and children are murdered amid civil unrest in rwanda. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this. Based on dallaire s autobiographical book shake hands with the devil. In shake hands with the devil, romeo dallaire answers all my. Dallaire reads two excerpts from his book shake hands with the devil. Animated by humanitarian ideals and a belief in the. The book is, he says, a public account of my actions, my decisions and my. His defiant dedication to humanity during that mission is welldocumented e. A documentary based on the book and titled shake hands with the devil. Ten years later, dallaire returns to rwanda to personally commemorate the anniversary of that holocaust. Shake hands with the devil does not attempt to describe the rwandan tragedy from the point of view of rwandans. After ten years of mental torture, reliving the horrors daily and more than once attempting suicide, romeo dallaire has poured out his soul in an extraordinary book. Sep 11, 2012 raymont won an emmy for helming the 2004 film shake hands with the devil.
Romeo dallaire, roger spottiswoodes film follows the. A character loosely based on dallaire was portrayed by nick nolte in hotel rwanda 2004. Sociopolitical documentary published by others in 2004 english narration cover informationbased on his governor general award winning book entitled shake hands with the devil. Shake hands with the devil the journey of romoo dallaire a california newsreel release. Special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. At the very least, viewers need to have a basic knowledge of the conflict in rwanda in order to follow the films political content. Romeo dallaire and his blue berets landed in rwanda to guard the peace between the battling hutus and tutsis. Instead, we watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect. After ten years of mental torture and more than once attempting suicide, romeo dallaire poured out his soul in an extraordinary book. The failure of humanity in rwanda 2003, by nowretired canadian lieutenantgeneral romeo dallaire.
For more information, please contact alicia giammaria. Shake hands with the devil the journey of romeo dallaire. Winner of the audience award for best documentary at the sundance film festival in 2005. In romeo dallaire nightmare and published the autobiography shake hands with the devil. The book also served as the basis for a documentary film about dallaires life called shake hands with the devil. Romeo dallaire canadian military officer britannica. Oct 21, 2003 shake hands with the devil is a compelling memoir that tells the tale of general romeo dallaire and his experiences during the rwandan genocide. Reflection on shake hands with the devil qu south africa. The failure of humanity in rwanda, the film recounts dallaires harrowing personal journey during the 1994 rwandan genocide and how the united nations failed to heed dallaires urgent pleas for further assistance to halt the massacre.
Dallaire was publishing a third book, i was excited and eager to read it. Mar 29, 2004 the slaughter of the tutsis in rwanda still haunts romeo dallaire. Dallaires romancatholic spiritualism whereby he says he could feel the coldness of the evil men who orchestrated the genocide. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers in 2010, general dallaires primary focus has been his work with the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, continually seeking innovative ways to assist. Shake hands with the devil the journey of romeo dallaire movingly documents his return to rwanda for the 10th anniversary of the genocide, reliving the political and psychological drama in unforgettable detail. Pine pictures, secured the documentary rights to general dallaires book and. Best mob documentary philly mob, gambinos, bonanos, hells kitchen, scarfo, phil leonetti duration. Visiting the place which once stood for violence and war, dallaire was unable to shake the images from those dark times even 10 years later. The journey of romeo dallaire is the searing, emotional journey of canadian ltgeneral romeo dallaire, who commanded the u. At the end he said that this documentary is the type of film he created sundance for in the first place. Since over 800,000 rwandans were killed in about 100 days, the ones who would commit such an atrocity had to be the agents of the devil or how could they do such a horrific act to other human beings. It was directed by peter raymont and inspired by the book shake hands with the devil.
By 2003 dallaire had come to terms with his rwandan nightmare and published the autobiography shake hands with the devil. The journey of romeo dallaire, the lion, the fox, and the eagle, as are the personal consequences he continues to suffer and his subsequent commitment to fellow victims of posttraumatic stress disorder. Romeo dallaire, a canadian, in shake hands with the devil. Shake hands with the devil the failure of humanity in rwanda romeo dallaire toronto. Dallaire is not only the protagonist of shake hands with the devil, he is a compelling reason to see it. Shake hands with the devil is lieutenantgeneral romeo dallaires recollection of his peacekeeping mission to rwanda in 19931994. It was during this mission that 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus were slaughtered, as the international community turned its back and ignored dallaire s cries for assistance. The failure of humanity in rwanda, the film recounts dallaires harrowing personal journey during the 1994 rwandan genocide and how the united nations. After this double feature, your conscience and guilt will be fully awakened, i assure you.
This book is an unsparing eyewitness account of the failure by humanity to stop the genocide, despite timely warnings. Raymonts documentary, the generals wife, elizabeth, accompanies him. The failure of humanity in rwanda is a book by lieutenantgeneral romeo dallaire of the. Edmonton sun as painful as shake hands with the devil is to read, it is impossible to imagine the agony it author had to go through to write it. The journey of romeo dallaire is the searing, emotional journey of canadian ltgeneral romeo dallaire, who. Romeo dallaires new memoir explores his battles with ptsd. This book is the account of a few humans who were entrusted with the. The book won the 2003 shaughnessy cohen award for political writing and 2004 governor generals award for nonfiction. Raymonts documentary, the generals wife, elizabeth, accompanies him to rwanda when he returns on the 10th anniversary. A documentary film, entitled shake hands with the devil. The journey of romeo dallaire, based on another dallaire book.
That force, known as unamir, was headed by jacques roger boohbooh and, under him, the military force commander, canadian general romeo dallaire. Shake hands with the devil is lieutenantgeneral romeo dallaire s recollection of his peacekeeping mission to rwanda in 19931994. The journey of romeo dallaire 2004 and a 2007 dramatic feature film are inspired by and in part based on the book. Dallaire was consulted in the making of both films.
Shake hands with the devil the journey of romeo dallaire 24 8. Filmed during general dallaires first return to rwanda, in april 2004. In 1994, an estimated 800,000 tutsis were murdered in rwanda. Based in part on the book, shake hands with the devil by retd lt. The failure of humanity in rwanda, which won the governor generals award for englishlanguage nonfiction and was later made into a documentary film. The film shake hands with the devil is based on the book by canadian general romeo dallaire who was head of the united nations peacekeeping forces in rwanda at the time of the genocide. The following year dallaire received a fellowship at harvard university. Shake hands with the devil is the most powerful documentary produced.
Its amazing to see how no one responded to this crisis and yet quickly responded to what was happening in yugoslavia. Based on dallaires autobiographical book shake hands with the devil. The story of the rwandan genocide, and of romeo dallaire, the canadian. Spottiswoodes movie, based on general dallaires memoir, shake hands with the. Shake hands with the devil by romeo dallaire books. Shake hands with the devil won the world documentary audience award at the 2005 sundance film festival. The failure of humanity in rwanda, shake hands with the devil.
This is a dramatized version of some of the real life events that led ret. The failure of humanity in rwanda as major brent beardsley. Based on the book of the same name, this unflinching documentary from director. The slaughter of the tutsis in rwanda still haunts romeo dallaire. The documentary tells the story of the nowretired dallaire, and shows his. In shake hands with the devil, canadian lieutenant general romeo dallaire, the.
Here is a summary according to dallaire found in the introduction. Raymonts documentary uses the lingering trauma of one man as a way of opening on larger. With gerry caplan, bill clinton, hillary clinton, romeo dallaire. Director peter raymont follows dallaire as he revisits the sites of mass murder and heroism, vividly brought back to life by his. The hope is to finish the project by november as an 85.
For a young canadian general, romeo dallaire s assignment as commander of the u. Based on the book of the same name, this unflinching documentary from director peter raymont about the 1994 rwandan genocide is a. Shake hands with the devil is a harsh, uncompromising account of a great catastrophe one the great powers saw coming and chose not to prevent. The following year dallaire received a fellowship at harvard universitys. To fully appreciate the horror of the genocide that occurred in rwanda in 1994, i recommend the factbased don cheadle film hotel rwanda, yes, but first see shake hands with the devil. Film synopsis for over one hundred harrowing days one man was the conscience of a world that turned its back on. Shake hands with the devil was the most shocking thing i ever read, both for its account of the genocide, and that i had never heard anything about it, or dallaire, a true canadian hero, though i was in high school during the genocide. The journey of romeo dallaire, 2004, directed by peter raymont, with at turner classic movies. The failure of humanity in rwanda, the film recounts dallaire s harrowing personal journey during the 1994 rwandan genocide and how the united nations failed to heed dallaire s urgent pleas for further assistance to halt the massacre. With only a few troops, his own ingenuity and courage to direct his efforts, dallaire rescued thousands, but his call for more support from the world body fell on deaf ears. While i was writing a sunday at the pool in kigali, i learned of the attempted suicide of. What is the significance of the title shake hands with. Shake hands with the devil is published by random house of canada. This book is the account of a few humans who were entrusted with the role of helping others taste the fruits of peace.
The first is about the moment when the phrase is used in the book at the time that he met with the leaders of the interahamwe, one of the groups who were carrying out the massacres. Why stephen lewis calls shake hands with the devil an astonishingly powerful book. Celeste ng, ann patchett, min jin lee and others on the books that bring. Dallaire left rwanda a broken man, disillusioned, suicidal, and determined to tell his story. Dallaire provides a first0hand account of the atrocities that he experienced in rwanda, while continuously receiving the same order from the united nations. Dallaire is founder of the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, a global partnership with the mission to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Shake hands with the devil dallaire didnt begin writing the book until 7 years after his return writing took several years 1993 shaughnessy cohen award for political writing 2004 governor general s award for nonfiction 2004 documentary film, shake hands with the devildir. General romeo dallaire to write a book about his experiences as a command of the united nations mission during the rwanda 1994 genocide, previously depicted in the documentary shake hands with the devil.
The journey of romeo dallaire in 2004 a fictionalized version of dallaire, played by nick nolte, appears in the 2004 film hotel rwanda. On the contrary, its subject is the wests view of rwanda and how the international community and media abandoned the rwandan people in their time of greatest need. More than 800,000 people are believed to have been killed in 100 days in the 1994 genocide in rwanda. Shake hands with the devil won the 2004 governor generals literary award for nonfiction. Jan 28, 20 after watching shake hands with the devil, the emotions that romeo dallaire had undergone throughout his mission in rwanda in the 1990s were easily sensed. In shake hands with the devil, general dallaire recreates the awful history the world community chose to ignore.
364 715 1185 520 344 382 838 1372 404 1022 1085 1451 798 1510 546 1125 584 501 968 921 1138 1454 46 147 838 260 723 512 648 578 83 559 17 1257 778 366 1100 1330 1043 1475 1441 1110 1345 737 91 1122 1214 1072 368