Veronique tadjo writes about post-genocide rwanda with a poet's senses and a journalist's grasp of detail. she witnesses gangs of orphans rummaging through the kigali town dump, searching for anything hopeful. she discovers a new plague of aids, exacerbated by the epidemic of rapes during the troubles. she even visits rilissa prison, a place filled with accused genocidaires. within the prison are seven thousand prisoners, isolated in sections, including section 15, which houses two hundred and fifty-three women accused of crimes. a male prisoner in the section for those condemned to death or life imprisonment pleads, "write it down. tell everybody. and if you can, send us some notebooks and pens to write with"