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Book Review African Rights, with photographs by Jenny Matthews. Resisting Genocide: Bisesero, April–June 1994. London: African Rights, 1997. Pp. 110, paper. $10.00 US. Reviewed by Samuel Totten, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville For the survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, what took place at Bisesero constitutes their Musa Dagh and their Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was there—across a range of rugged hillsides in Kibuye—that an estimated 50,000 people, primarily Tutsi, heroically attempted to resist a three-month-long onslaught of mayhem and killing by thousands of well-armed génocidaires. Many of the people of Bisesero—especially those known as the Abasesero, who are renowned as fierce fighters—were not fearful of being attacked. As one survivor asserts, ‘‘Despite the fact that other Tutsi were extremely panicked, we, the Tutsis from Bisesero, were quite relaxed because we believed that no-one was capable of attacking us, due to our strength’’ (6). Elaborating on the same point, another survivor says, In 1959, I was an adolescent. We made sure that we were able to defend ourselves in order to protect our cows. Nobody could find a way of either stealing our cows or burning our house. In 1969, the Tutsi massacres began again, but we managed to chase the enemy away, even though they had guns. In 1973, the killers returned. They burned two of the Abasesero houses. We were furious and took our spears and bows. The killers were afraid of us and they left us alone. The Tutsis from the other regions were killed and their houses were burnt down. The surviving Tutsis left the country but all of us, except for a few families who went to Zaire, remained in Bisesero. We later killed the thieves who had tried to kill our cows. People who saw how we managed against the slightest [incursion] believed that we were very strong men who could not defeated by anyone. (5) During the repeated attacks against the villages and people of Bisesero in 1994—attacks that were carried out day after day, frequently lasted all day, and often went on far into the night—the vast majority of the inhabitants of Bisesero are reported to have taken part in the resistance effort against the marauding Hutu. Off and on for three months, the people of Bisesero fought for their very lives. Many fearful Rwandans from other areas fled to Bisesero in the hope that the renowned fighting ability of the people there would be able to stave off the attacks of the génocidaires. Many others also flocked to the area upon hearing of the local people’s holdout. A good number of the latter also took part in the resistance effort. While many of the victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide attempted to protect themselves in various ways (e.g., by hiding in the bush, asking for help from friends and neighbors, seeking sanctuary in churches where they believed they would be safe, and even fighting off their attackers), the unique character of the resistance at Bisesero was both its organized and systematic nature and its longevity. Many of the most vicious killers were apparently ordered to descend upon Bisesero to put down the resistance. In both overseeing and carrying out the killing process, such killers fought alongside local Hutu, members of the former Rwandan Samuel Totten, review of Resisting Genocide: Bisesero, April–June 1994. Genocide Studies and Prevention 2, 3 (November 2007): 295–298. ß 2007 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp.2.3.295 Armed Forces (FAR), and Interahamwe militias. Wealthy businessmen and ‘‘benefactors ’’ of the extremists provided both weapons and vehicles for the onslaught of mass murder. During the first month of the battle, according to Resisting Genocide, the resistance fighters held their own—despite being overwhelmingly outgunned. While the resistance fighters primarily had clubs and spears at their disposal, the ex-FAR soldiers and various Hutu extremists had pistols, rifles, grenades, and Kalashnikovs, while their lackeys (the local Hutus) used machetes and massues (nail-studded clubs). The resistance fighters also fought under the most trying of circumstances, including bitter cold, constant downpours, and a severe lack of food. During the first half...

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