My Father, Maker of the Trees
How I Survived the Rwandan Genocide
by Eric Irivuzumugabe
Hardback
Price: £9.99
Publisher:Baker Books imprint of Baker Pub. from Lion
Published:2009
ISBN:978-0-801-01320-1
GoodBookStall Review:
This book should come with a warning about the content. Although the front cover tells us it is about the Rwandan genocide, nothing can prepare the reader for the horror that Eric Irivuzumugabe experienced as a teenager when the Hutu tribe made a concerted attempt to kill him and all his fellow Tutsis (another tribe). He describes how he managed to escape by hiding in a tree during the day, only coming down at night to join other family members who were also taking refuge in the same way. He also describes how some of them managed to escape torture and death in miraculous ways and acknowledges that God alone had kept them alive, even though at that time they were not believers. As he reflects on everything that happened to him Eric, who is now a committed Christian, recognises that the only answer he has to the age-old question “Why did this happen?” is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men. In this way he speaks to everyone who experiences times of trial and suffering that they do not understand. The book has obviously been based on interviews with Eric, and has been written for the American market, presumably to stimulate interest in what is going on in Rwanda today. He is now involved in working to help the many thousands of orphans who survived the genocide and is supported in this by Christians from the USA.
Reviewer: Paula Hill (09/06/10)
This book should come with a warning about the content. Although the front cover tells us it is about the Rwandan genocide, nothing can prepare the reader for the horror that Eric Irivuzumugabe experienced as a teenager when the Hutu tribe made a concerted attempt to kill him and all his fellow Tutsis (another tribe). He describes how he managed to escape by hiding in a tree during the day, only coming down at night to join other family members who were also taking refuge in the same way. He also describes how some of them managed to escape torture and death in miraculous ways and acknowledges that God alone had kept them alive, even though at that time they were not believers. As he reflects on everything that happened to him Eric, who is now a committed Christian, recognises that the only answer he has to the age-old question “Why did this happen?” is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men. In this way he speaks to everyone who experiences times of trial and suffering that they do not understand. The book has obviously been based on interviews with Eric, and has been written for the American market, presumably to stimulate interest in what is going on in Rwanda today. He is now involved in working to help the many thousands of orphans who survived the genocide and is supported in this by Christians from the USA.
Reviewer: Paula Hill (09/06/10)
