Negative Ethnicity

Negative Ethnicity PDF

Author: Koigi Wa Wamwere

Publisher: Seven Stories Press

Published: 2003-08-05

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9781583225769

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"Negative ethnicity" is Koigi wa Wamwere’s name for the deep-seated tensions in Africa that the world has seen flare so terrifyingly. The genocide in Rwanda and "ethnic" killing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and elsewhere stand out as examples. Wa Wamwere argues that these clashes cannot properly be described as ethnically motivated; ethnicity, a positive distinction, has nothing of the hatred here at work. Negative Ethnicity gives a new picture of the force behind untold deaths on the continent, dispelling the myth of an intractable conflict waged along simple, ancient lines. Negative Ethnicity explains the roots, colonial and pre-colonial, of the current "ethnic" tensions. It goes on to describe how, for most Africans, ethnic identity is ambiguous, and analyzes why that fact is obscured. The culprits are many: chronic poverty, a broken education system, preying dictators, corrupt officials, the colonial legacy of hate, the ongoing exploitation of the West. Negative Ethnicity is both a history and a manual for change, intended to introduce Westerners to the crisis and to give Africans a new understanding of it. Perhaps never before has the problem been addressed with such clarity and insight.

Britain's Gulag

Britain's Gulag PDF

Author: Caroline Elkins

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2023-09-21

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 1448162734

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Only a few years after Britain defeated fascism came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of 1.5 million and to portray them as sub-human savages. Detainees in their thousands - possibly a hundred thousand or more - died from exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. For decades these events remained untold. Caroline Elkins conducted years of research to piece together this story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors. Britain's Gulag reveals, for the first time, the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.

Imperial Reckoning

Imperial Reckoning PDF

Author: Caroline Elkins

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 9781429900294

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A major work of history that for the first time reveals the violence and terror at the heart of Britain's civilizing mission in Kenya As part of the Allied forces, thousands of Kenyans fought alongside the British in World War II. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler, the British colonial government detained nearly the entire population of Kenya's largest ethnic minority, the Kikuyu-some one and a half million people. The compelling story of the system of prisons and work camps where thousands met their deaths has remained largely untold-the victim of a determined effort by the British to destroy all official records of their attempts to stop the Mau Mau uprising, the Kikuyu people's ultimately successful bid for Kenyan independence. Caroline Elkins, an assistant professor of history at Harvard University, spent a decade in London, Nairobi, and the Kenyan countryside interviewing hundreds of Kikuyu men and women who survived the British camps, as well as the British and African loyalists who detained them. The result is an unforgettable account of the unraveling of the British colonial empire in Kenya-a pivotal moment in twentieth- century history with chilling parallels to America's own imperial project. Imperial Reckoning is the winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.

I Refuse to Die

I Refuse to Die PDF

Author: Koigi Wa Wamwere

Publisher: Seven Stories Press

Published: 2003-11-04

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9781583226155

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An extraordinary account of how a laborer's son rose to challenge the power of despots, I Refuse to Die is both the autobiography of one gifted man who rose above the horrors of colonization, and an uncensored history of modern Kenya. The book is infused with the freedom songs of the Kenyan people, as well as dream prophecy and folk tales that are part of Kenya's rich storytelling tradition. Tracing the roots of the Mau Mau rebellion, wa Wamwere follows the evolution and degeneration of Jomo Kenyatta and the rise of Daniel arap Moi. In 1979, wa Wamwere won a seat in the parliament, where he represented the economically depressed Nakuru district for three years. An outspoken activist and journalist, wa Wamwere was framed and detained on three separate instances, spending thirteen years in prison, where he was tortured but not broken. His mother and others led a hunger strike to free him and fellow political prisoners. Their efforts brought about a show trial at which Koigi was sentenced to four more years in prison and "six strokes of the cane," and escaped Kenya—and probably execution—only through the exertions of human rights groups and the government of Norway.

Nairobi Heat

Nairobi Heat PDF

Author: Mukoma Wa Ngugi

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1612190073

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A cop from Wisconsin pursues a killer through the terrifying slums of Nairobi and the memories of genocide IN MADISON, WISCONSIN, it’s a big deal when African peace activist Joshua Hakizimana—who saved hundreds of people from the Rwandan genocide—accepts a position at the university to teach about “genocide and testimony.” Then a young woman is found murdered on his doorstep. Local police Detective Ishmael—an African-American in an “extremely white” town—suspects the crime is racially motivated; the Ku Klux Klan still holds rallies there, after all. But then he gets a mysterious phone call: “If you want the truth, you must go to its source. The truth is in the past. Come to Nairobi.” It’s the beginning of a journey that will take him to a place still vibrating from the genocide that happened around its borders, where violence is a part of everyday life, where big-oil money rules and where the local cops shoot first and ask questions later—a place, in short, where knowing the truth about history can get you killed.

Tested to the Limit

Tested to the Limit PDF

Author: Consolee Nishimwe

Publisher: BalboaPress

Published: 2012-06-27

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1452549591

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“If there is one book you should read on the Rwandan Genocide, this is it. Tested to the Limit—A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience, and Hope is a riveting and courageous account from the perspective of a fourteen year- old girl. It’s a powerful story you will never forget.” —Francine LeFrak, founder of Same Sky and award-winning producer “That someone who survived such a horrific, life-altering experience as the Rwandan genocide could find the courage to share her story truly amazes me. But even more incredible is that Consolee Nishimwe refused to let the inhumane acts she suffered strip away her humanity, zest for life and positive outlook for a better future. After reading Tested to the Limit, I am in awe of the unyielding strength and resilience of the human spirit to overcome against all odds.” —Kate Ferguson, senior editor, POZ magazine “Consolee Nishimwe’s story of resilience, perseverance, and grace after surviving genocide, rape, and torture is a testament to the transformative power of unyielding faith and a commitment to love. Her inspiring narrative about compassionate courage and honest revelations about her spiritual path in the face of unthinkable adversity remind us that hope is eternal, and miracles happen every day.” —Jamia Wilson, vice president of programs, Women’s Media Center, New York

The Problems of Genocide

The Problems of Genocide PDF

Author: A. Dirk Moses

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 611

ISBN-13: 1107103584

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Historically delineates the problems of genocide as a concept in relation to rival categories of mass violence.

Blood and Soil

Blood and Soil PDF

Author: Ben Kiernan

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2008-10-01

Total Pages: 735

ISBN-13: 0300137931

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A book of surpassing importance that should be required reading for leaders and policymakers throughout the world For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new book—the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times—is among his most important achievements. Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides.

The Post-Election Violence in Kenya

The Post-Election Violence in Kenya PDF

Author: Sosteness Francis Materu

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-12-04

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9462650411

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Since the historic Nuremberg Trial of 1945 an international customary law principle has developed that commission of a core crime under international law – war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and aggression – should not go unpunished. History shows, that when in Africa such violations occurred, especially as a result of election disputes, national and regional actors, including the African Union, resorted to political rather than legal responses. However, when crimes against humanity were alleged to have been committed in Kenya during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, a promising road map for criminal accountability was agreed upon alongside a political solution. In the spirit of this road map, the author analyzes the post-election violence in Kenya from a legal point of view. He extensively examines legal options for domestic criminal accountability and discusses both retributive (prosecutions) and restorative justice (mainly truth commission) mechanisms, being the main legal responses to the gross violations of human rights. Furthermore, he thoroughly investigates the Kenya situation before the ICC and the legal-cum-political responses to the ICC intervention in Kenya. Practitioners and academics in the field of international criminal law and related disciplines, as well as political sciences and (legal) history will find in this book highly relevant information about alternative legal approaches of the fight against and punishment of crimes against humanity, as defined under the ICC Statute.