Analysis Of Shake Hands With The Devil By Romeo Dalaire

“As my eyes became accustomed to the dark, I saw strewn around the living room in a rough circle the decayed bodies of a man, a woman and two children, stark white bone poking through the desiccated, leather-like covering that had once been skin.” In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Roméo Dallaire paints a heartrending image of his involvement as a high-ranking general stationed in Rwanda during the Rwandan genocide. Vivid firsthand descriptions evoke emotions of sadness, pity, and anger from any reader and makes his work especially powerful. As activists seek to draw more attention on the pressing issue of genocide from policymakers through documentaries such as First They Killed My Father and The Act of Killings, it is paramount to bear …show more content…
Writes Paul Slovic, “most people are caring and will exert great effort to reserve "the one" whose needy plight comes to their attention. But these same people often become numbly indifferent to the plight of "the one" who is one of many in a much greater problem.” Slovic precisely hits the core of the issue: if the policymakers, the intended audience, aren’t moved emotionally by “the one,” they will set the issue aside as another stack of papers on their desks. Consequently, it is logical to target these innate human feelings, such as Roméo Dallaire and First They Killed My Father have done with their animated images and descriptions of the murder and torture of innocent people. In particular, the scene where Luong’s father, Pa, is ripped away from his family by two Khmer Rouge soldiers strikes a horrifically memorable tune, as it reminds all viewers of the heartbreaking reality of the situation – Pa knows that “bridge-building” is really a euphemism for execution and that he will never see his family again. Moreover, the film makes superb use of audio to heighten the audience’s sensations – in the scene where Luong, Chou, and Kim run off at the bidding of their mother, but are spotted by a group of Khmer Rouge in the forest, the audience is intensely catapulted into the fear and anxiety of the situation as the children await what could be a gruesome death. These images of Pa hugging Ma and reminding Luong, Chou, and Kim to stay strong and of the children running away by themselves are incredibly powerful and serve excellently to remind policymakers how alarming genocide truly