Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

by Roméo Dallaire, Marcel Jeannin (Narrator)

A brave, unforgettable first-hand account of the Rwandan genocide by a man almost literally haunted by the dead and by the spectre of his mission's failure. Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of this horrific event, this edition includes a new note from Roméo Dallaire.

Serving in Rwanda in 1993, LGen. Roméo Dallaire and his small peacekeeping force found themselves abandoned by the UN in a vortex of civil war and genocide. With meagre resources to stem the killing, General Dallaire was witness to the murder of 800,000 Rwandans in a hundred days, and returned home broken, disillusioned and suicidal. Shake Hands with the Devil is his return to a searing book that is both an eyewitness account of the failure of humanity to stop the genocide, and the story of General Dallaire's own struggle to find a measure of peace, reconciliation and hope.

Audible Audio

Published October 22, 2019

About the author

Lieutenant-General The Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, O.C., C.M.M., G.O.C, M.S.C., C.D., (Retired), Senator, has had a distinguished career in the Canadian military, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-General and becoming Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources) in the Department of National Defence in 1998. In 1994, General Dallaire commanded the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).

His book on his experiences in Rwanda, entitled Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, was awarded the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2004.

It has garnered numerous international literary awards, and is the basis of a full-length feature film released in September 2007.

Since his retirement from the military, Senator Dallaire has worked to bring an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder to the general public. He has also been a visiting lecturer at several Canadian and American universities, and has written several articles and chapters in publications on conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance and human rights. While a Fellow of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he pursued research on conflict resolution and the use of child soldiers.

As a champion of human rights his activities include:

* Advocacy for the Canadian Forces mission to Afghanistan;
* Speaking engagements on issues relating to human rights and genocide prevention;
* A Senior Fellowship at Concordia University's Montreal Institute of Genocide Studies;
* Membership in the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention;
* Leadership in a project to develop a conceptual base for the elimination of the use of child soldiers;
* Leadership in activities aimed at the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.