We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families

"Philip Gourevitch has written a riveting book about the Rwandan genocide and the title is part of a note to his pastor from a man who knew he was going to be killed the next day. This book examines the darkest side of human beings. As the mother of many children, including seven sons I realise the importance of bringing up my sons to find peaceful resolutions to conflict – the reality is that it is men who are the violent perpetrators. This killing component is very likely responsible for the survival of the human species over many, many centuries. But now our weaponry has succeeded our wisdom and we have not evolved away from the brutality that was useful to early human beings. People are prone to saying, oh it was the Nazis, the Hutus, the Cambodians – it was somebody other than us. But when we do that we miss the point. We need to own up and take responsibility. And then, once again, we return to the value of education. I really believe that a part of our education is for us to look at ourselves in a clear, unblinking way. I think there are few more riveting and horrifying books which bring the reader head to heart with this. There were remarkable acts of heroism. I have a Rwandan friend who survived the genocide; her family did not. In her analysis three per cent of us will run away and not want to kill. Two per cent will stand up and risk everything to help others, and the rest, 95 per cent of us, are capable of being led or enticed to a tipping point where we can pick up a machete and hack strangers and friends alike to death for 90 days. Of course, this is deeply, deeply depressing. But then I thought, two per cent is not nothing. It is something to start with."