A People Betrayed. The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide.

Events in Rwanda in 1994 mark a landmark in the history of modern genocide. Up to one million people were killed in a planned public and political campaign. In the face of indisputable evidence, the Security Council of the United Nations failed to respond.

In this classic of investigative journalism, Linda Melvern tells the compelling story of what happened. She holds governments to account, showing how individuals could have prevented what was happening and didn't do so.

The book also reveals the unrecognised heroism of those who stayed on during the genocide, volunteer peacekeepers and those who ran emergency medical care.

Fifteen years on, this new edition examines the ongoing impact of the 1948 Genocide Convention and the shock waves Rwanda caused around the world. Based on fresh interviews with key players and newly-released documents, A People Betrayed is a shocking indictment of the way Rwanda is and was forgotten and how today it is remembered in the West.

Reviews for A People Betrayed

Astri Suhrke. International Affairs.
New York Times Book Review
A Genocide Survivor
W.W. Paterson. London School of Economics and Political Science.
Terry George. Director, Hotel Rwanda.

Linda Melvern has written a compelling description of the most dramatic aspects of the genocide.

...Melvern offers a vivid picture of the role of Western nations in abetting, ignoring and allowing Rwanda's genocide.

Your book is really a huge consolation. I agree with you we've been betrayed! Thanks indeed writing a book on us, we are not alone.

Let me begin by telling you how both touched and overwhelmed I was reading your extraordinary book 'A People Betrayed'.

I think your book is easily the best reporting on the Rwandan Genocide and one of the best non fiction works I have read in many years. I have said that at lectures throughout my travels associated with Hotel Rwanda.