Sagepaper

Well, I resumed reading after having set the book aside for a while. I found his experiences at the UN interesting. After a great deal of difficulty, the UN arranged a "Technical Mission." Dallaire usually called such things "reconnaissance" missions. It's been interesting to observe a soldier's introduction to diplomacy. As the team was leaving, the leader, and only political officer, required emergency surgery to save his eye. That left Dallaire in charge of the mission. Ruefully, he reflects on his naive pleasure with the new arrangement.

In Rwanda, his team spread out for military reconnaissance, using tourist maps -- the only ones available. He took on most of the political reconnaissance, and also met with people addressing the humanitarian aspects of the proposed mission. During the time leading up to this, he had been informed that he would have to make a proposal to the UN that involved minimal troops and money. He was in a quandary, not wanting to scrap a mission, and not wanting to underman one, either.

He committed himself to a mission in Rwanda after seeing an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. From there, he went to visit the RPF rebel forces residing in Uganda. He looked forward to meeting the commander who had twice stood successfully against French troops on the ground. As he passed through a demilitarized zone and entered rebel territory, he was greeted by tribal dancers. They seemed to him to epitomize the RPF: a highly disciplined and synchronized group with a long warrior tradition.

I, of course, have had my appetite whetted. He just got to Rwanda, and has already seen tribal dancers. Rwanda boasted of being the most Christian (mostly Catholic) country on the continent. Many observers never looked past the churches. As we see later in the genocide, however, that Christianity was somewhat superficial. Ordained clergy participated actively in the genocide.

In one instance, a priest or a bishop drew refugees into his church for several days, getting as many as possible inside. He then warned a number of them to leave, and invited in the genocidaires. They could just kill everyone on that hallowed ground, since the ones not listed for death had already left the church. In other scattered reports, clergy actually wielded machettes, personally committing murder.

Uh-oh. I'm getting ahead of the story. More another time.