Reseña de Choise

Between April and July 1994, some 800,000 civilians were slaughtered in Rwanda, including three-fourths of the Tutsi population and thousands of Hutus who opposed the extremist government and its policies. Based on more than a decade of field research in 9 of Rwanda's 12 prefectures, this intensely researched ethnography is a significant contribution to the scholarship on the genocide and on women's agency in post-conflict reconstruction and peace building. Poignant stories told by Rwandan women about their experiences, which varied according to ethnic group, education, region, and personal circumstances, enrich the text. Burnet (anthropology, Univ. of Louisville) raises critical questions about survivorship and its politicization. The rebel movement that stopped the genocide and came to power in its aftermath considered only Tutsis to be genocide survivors, erasing Hutu victims who died resisting the extremist government, who were killed because they were mistaken for Tutsis, or who were murdered by neighbors or rebel forces. Burnet also examines women's coping mechanisms; the politics of memory, which resulted in tensions between personal memories and the politicized remembering mandated by the post-genocide state; and reconciliation, in which women as the primary connection between families and communities became leaders. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. E. S. Schmidt Loyola University Maryland