A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali
i just finished this novel by Gil Courtemanche.
don't know what to make of it but its certainly very readable and very thought provoking.
this wikipedia page provides a sufficient short summary and links to decide to buy or borrow it, plus links to library catalogs.
in one sentence:
Set in Kigali, Rwanda, the novel deals with a love affair between an elder Canadian expatriate and a young Rwandan, AIDS and the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
that's an odd combination of themes. after reading the novel i was provoked to click on the links in that sentence on that page for both "Rwandan genocide" and "AIDS". however i recommend reading the novel first to get a feel for how it impels one to do so.
i haven't been reading much fiction at all for a long time and am struck by the power of this novel to confront readers with a need to think about issues that are generally put in the "too hard basket" like world poverty.
at the same time it somehow leaves those issues still in the "too hard" basket.
UNAIDS and the WHO estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2.8 million (between 2.4 and 3.3 million) lives in 2005 of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.[5]
Globally, between 33.4 and 46 million people currently live with HIV.[5] In 2005, between 3.4 and 6.2 million people were newly infected and between 2.4 and 3.3 million people with AIDS died, an increase from 2003 and the highest number since 1981.[5]
Sub-Saharan Africa remains by far the worst affected region, with an estimated 21.6 to 27.4 million people currently living with HIV. Two million [1.5-3.0 million] of them are children younger than 15 years of age. More than 64% of all people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa, as are more than three quarters (76%) of all women living with HIV. In 2005, there were 12.0 million [10.6-13.6 million] AIDS orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa 2005.[5]
AIDS
Ethnic hatreds that fueled the Rwandan Genocide quickly spilled over into Congo, continuing after it ended and fueling both the First and Second Congo Wars. Ethnic rivalry between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions is also a major factor in the Burundi Civil War.
...
Both Catholic and Protestant tolerated the Genocide at best and actively participated in it at worse [1]. Members of Rwanda’s small and previously marginalised Muslim community, which accounted for 4% of the population before the Genocide refused to take part in the civil war, yet gave shelter to both communities. This resulted in widespread mass conversion at the end of the war increasing the Muslim population to 14%.
Rwandan Genocide
The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). The war began in 1998 and officially ended in 2003 when a Transitional Government took power. The widest interstate war in modern African history, it directly involved nine African nations, as well as about twenty armed groups, and earned the epithet of "Africa's World War" and the "Great War of Africa." An estimated 3.8 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease brought about by one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II. Millions more were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries [1].
Despite a formal end to the war in July 2003 and an agreement by the former belligerents to create a government of national unity, the state remains weak and much of the eastern region continues to suffer from violent conflict. In 2004, an estimated one thousand people died every day from violence and disruptions to basic social services and food supply. Sporadic outbreaks of fighting continue to lead to large scale forced migration.
Second Congo War
The Burundi Civil War is driven by ethnic rivalries between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions of Burundi. Rivalry escalated into a bloody power struggle following the presidential election of June 1993. The swearing in of Pierre Nkurunziza as president in August 2005 was seen as a formal endpoint to the conflict, but one major rebel group remained outside the peace process. Over 300,000 people perished in the war.
Burundi Civil War
Did you know that in our world today:
One third of deaths - some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day - are due to poverty-related causes. That's 270 million people since 1990, the majority women and children, roughly equal to the population of the US. (Reality of Aid 2004)
Every year more than 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases - that's over 30,000 per day and one every 3 seconds.
(80 Million Lives, 2003 / Bread for the World / UNICEF / World Health Organization)
Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day with nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion) living on less than $2 a day. (UN HDR, 2003)
600 million children live in absolute poverty. (SCF, Beat Poverty 2003).
The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries. (Source:ChristianAid)
Income per person in the poorest countries in Africa has fallen by a quarter in the last 20 years. (Source:ChristianAid)
800 million people go to bed hungry every day. (Source:FAO)
Every year nearly 11million children die before their fifth birthday.
(Source:UNICEF)
Millenium Campaign
so is it too hard to do something about, or just too hard to think about?
don't know what to make of it but its certainly very readable and very thought provoking.
this wikipedia page provides a sufficient short summary and links to decide to buy or borrow it, plus links to library catalogs.
in one sentence:
Set in Kigali, Rwanda, the novel deals with a love affair between an elder Canadian expatriate and a young Rwandan, AIDS and the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
that's an odd combination of themes. after reading the novel i was provoked to click on the links in that sentence on that page for both "Rwandan genocide" and "AIDS". however i recommend reading the novel first to get a feel for how it impels one to do so.
i haven't been reading much fiction at all for a long time and am struck by the power of this novel to confront readers with a need to think about issues that are generally put in the "too hard basket" like world poverty.
at the same time it somehow leaves those issues still in the "too hard" basket.
UNAIDS and the WHO estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2.8 million (between 2.4 and 3.3 million) lives in 2005 of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.[5]
Globally, between 33.4 and 46 million people currently live with HIV.[5] In 2005, between 3.4 and 6.2 million people were newly infected and between 2.4 and 3.3 million people with AIDS died, an increase from 2003 and the highest number since 1981.[5]
Sub-Saharan Africa remains by far the worst affected region, with an estimated 21.6 to 27.4 million people currently living with HIV. Two million [1.5-3.0 million] of them are children younger than 15 years of age. More than 64% of all people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa, as are more than three quarters (76%) of all women living with HIV. In 2005, there were 12.0 million [10.6-13.6 million] AIDS orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa 2005.[5]
AIDS
Ethnic hatreds that fueled the Rwandan Genocide quickly spilled over into Congo, continuing after it ended and fueling both the First and Second Congo Wars. Ethnic rivalry between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions is also a major factor in the Burundi Civil War.
...
Both Catholic and Protestant tolerated the Genocide at best and actively participated in it at worse [1]. Members of Rwanda’s small and previously marginalised Muslim community, which accounted for 4% of the population before the Genocide refused to take part in the civil war, yet gave shelter to both communities. This resulted in widespread mass conversion at the end of the war increasing the Muslim population to 14%.
Rwandan Genocide
The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). The war began in 1998 and officially ended in 2003 when a Transitional Government took power. The widest interstate war in modern African history, it directly involved nine African nations, as well as about twenty armed groups, and earned the epithet of "Africa's World War" and the "Great War of Africa." An estimated 3.8 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease brought about by one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II. Millions more were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries [1].
Despite a formal end to the war in July 2003 and an agreement by the former belligerents to create a government of national unity, the state remains weak and much of the eastern region continues to suffer from violent conflict. In 2004, an estimated one thousand people died every day from violence and disruptions to basic social services and food supply. Sporadic outbreaks of fighting continue to lead to large scale forced migration.
Second Congo War
The Burundi Civil War is driven by ethnic rivalries between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions of Burundi. Rivalry escalated into a bloody power struggle following the presidential election of June 1993. The swearing in of Pierre Nkurunziza as president in August 2005 was seen as a formal endpoint to the conflict, but one major rebel group remained outside the peace process. Over 300,000 people perished in the war.
Burundi Civil War
Did you know that in our world today:
One third of deaths - some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day - are due to poverty-related causes. That's 270 million people since 1990, the majority women and children, roughly equal to the population of the US. (Reality of Aid 2004)
Every year more than 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases - that's over 30,000 per day and one every 3 seconds.
(80 Million Lives, 2003 / Bread for the World / UNICEF / World Health Organization)
Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day with nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion) living on less than $2 a day. (UN HDR, 2003)
600 million children live in absolute poverty. (SCF, Beat Poverty 2003).
The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries. (Source:ChristianAid)
Income per person in the poorest countries in Africa has fallen by a quarter in the last 20 years. (Source:ChristianAid)
800 million people go to bed hungry every day. (Source:FAO)
Every year nearly 11million children die before their fifth birthday.
(Source:UNICEF)
Millenium Campaign
so is it too hard to do something about, or just too hard to think about?