CENTER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF FROM BLOODSHED TO HOPE IN BURUNDI: OUR EMBASSY YEARS DURING GENOCIDE
By Ambassador Robert Krueger and Kathleen Tobin Krueger
Foreword by Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
AUSTIN, TEXAS – October 1, 2007 – From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi is an eyewitness account of both a horrific and persistent genocide and of the ongoing efforts of many courageous individuals to build a more just society. The book, co-written by Ambassador Bob Krueger and his wife, Kathleen Tobin Krueger, is the newest title in the Center for American History’s Focus on American History Series, published by the University of Texas Press.
In 1994, while nations everywhere stood idly by, 800,000 people were slaughtered in eight weeks in Rwanda. Arriving as U.S. Ambassador to neighboring Burundi a few weeks later, Bob Krueger began drawing international attention to the genocide in Burundi, where he sought to minimize the killing and to preserve Burundi’s fledgling democratic government from destruction by its own army.
In the book, Krueger and his wife Kathleen graphically document the slaughter occurring all around them, as well as their repeated efforts to get the U.S. government and the international community to take action. Bob Krueger reconstructs the events of the military coup that precipitated the Burundi genocide and describes his efforts to uncover the truth by digging up graves and interviewing survivors. In straightforward and powerful language, Kathleen Krueger recounts her family’s experience living amid civil war.
“We are very pleased to include this book in our Focus on American History Series, not only because the Center is the home of the Bob Krueger papers,” said Dr. Don Carleton, executive director of the Center for American History. “This important book gives readers an insider’s perspective on U.S. foreign relations during one of the most harrowing events in recent world history. What makes it even more compelling is the personal story of the Kruegers as they made every effort to bring awareness to the tragedy in Rwanda and Burundi.”
As Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu writes in the book’s foreword, “From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi is, partly, a story of faith…The authors had faith that if the world knew the truth of condition in Burundi, the truth could help set Burundi’s people free. … After its searing report, it offers a hopeful vision of the budding green shoots of a democratic future for Burundi that even now seem to be emerging.”
From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi shines a piercing light on a genocide that has gone largely unreported, and identifies those responsible for it. The book also offers hope that as the truth emerges and the perpetrators are brought to account, the people of Burundi will at last achieve peace and reconciliation.
About Robert Krueger: Krueger has served as a U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, U.S. Ambassador on three occasions, and Special Representative of the U.S. Secretary of State.
About Kathleen Tobin Krueger: Kathleen Tobin Krueger’s humanitarian and civic involvement spans the globe. She currently serves on the City Council of New Braunfels, Texas, where the Kruegers reside.
From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi is available through the University of Texas Press.
For additional information contact either Ramona Kelly (512) 495-4696 or Erin Purdy (512) 495-4692.
