We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families did so much more than provide me with information it is filled with an astonishing level of insight about people and what makes them act in terrible ways. But I knew nothing about the immediate aftermath: how most of the Hutus fled from the RPF into other countries how the genocide-mongering Hutu Power members regrouped in refugee camps, and how the new Rwandan government started its struggle to rebuild a country where killers, accomplices, and survivors lived side by side. I knew that the RPF’s push through Rwanda was the primary reason why the April 1994 genocide stopped. (As I understand it, these expats were mostly Tutsis or other Rwandans who had left due to the deteriorating situation within Rwanda). First of all, I knew very little about the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the military force funded and populated by Rwandan expatriates. However the most incredible section of the book – for me – may have been Gourevitch’s description and contemplation on post-genocide Rwanda. The inaction of the international community is detailed. The author’s interviews with survivors provide chilling descriptions of that unrelenting slaughter. The book examines the history of Rwanda (and where pertinent, neighboring countries) and how that history built up to 1994’s horrific wholesale slaughter. They were both good films but could only cover so much, given the medium. What I knew about the Rwandan genocide before reading this book was mostly gleaned from two films about that time: Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April. Gourevitch’s writing skillfully pulled me into its difficult and complicated subject matter. It can be a harrowing read, but don’t let that put you off. I might as well cut to the chase: We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families is a brilliant book. In the introduction to the book, Gourevitch writes: “I wanted to know how Rwandans understood what had happened in their country, and how they were getting on in the aftermath.” We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families is the result of many visits, extensive interviews and research. Hardcover.356 pages.Ī year after the 1995 Rwandan genocide, the author of this book, Philip Gourevitch, visited Rwanda.
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