Title:
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
Author:
Jason K Stearns
Publisher:
PublicAffairs
ISBN:
978-1-61039-1078
Year:
2012
Softcover
Pages:
380
The
West is very aware of the horror of the Rwandan genocide that took place
between April and July, 1994; over 800,000 people (mainly Tutsi's) were
slaughtered. What is not well known, indeed hardly commented or reported upon,
was the follow-on war and genocide that took place in the neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) between 1995-2001. This 'Great
War' of Africa involved 5 countries and resulted in an estimated 1.7 million
dead, untold wounded, millions displaced and hundreds of thousands raped and
ravaged. Stearns book is an effort to redress this shortfall and it makes for
dark and difficult reading.
Stearns
contends that the fundamental reasons for the lack of interest on the part of
the West to this agony in Africa centres upon two main themes: one represents
the complexity of the war and the causes thereof and two is the fact that it
was far away from the West and of little immediate impact. The first cause is
indicative, the author contends, of a modern world interested in quick and
simple explanations and the second, a media that both recognizes and enables
that simplistic approach.
He is
absolutely correct in his contention that the underlying causes of the war were
complex; indeed, there were no clear 'good guys' or 'bad guys'; all players
were both. Sadly, the one consistency were the victims of personal, national
and tribal greed. Commencing with a history of the region, Stearns takes the
reader through the tangle of the ensuing years with candid interviews of key
players and evaluations of the political and societal conditions that enabled
the tragedy to unfold. His eye for detail and the human condition paint, for
the reader, a depressingly predictable pattern of idealism, corruption and
acceptance.
This is
a very disturbing rendition of the events of this period, made all the more so
by the complete indifference of the West. The West does play a key role in
developing the historical conditions for the tragedy; however, responsibility
lies equally with the Africans in taking advantage of those vulnerable members
of their societies. There does exist some aspects however, that leave the
reader with cause for hope, primarily centring upon the resilience of the human
spirit. The Africans repeatedly move forward, not without rancour or memory,
but in recognition of the need to rebuild.
The
complexity of the causes and unfolding of this war are indeed manifest. Stearns
has done an outstanding job of presenting the drama with clarity and
accuracy without diminishing impact or 'dumbing down' the story. He has a
strong eye for the human condition and is able to translate the visual to the
written with subtlety and frankness. This book is uncomfortable to read as it
cracks the vault on aspects of the human psyche rarely seen on such vast
scales. It is nevertheless, extremely educational for Western readers to begin
the process of understanding the tragedy and complexity of Africa. Especially
recommended for those who may find themselves preparing for deployments or jobs
in Africa.
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