Rat roads by Jacques Pauw

ISBN: 9781770223370

Struik Publishers (Pty) Ltd, 15 March 2013

Soft cover, 320 pages

In this extraordinary book, celebrated journalist Jacques Pauw gives a human face to some of the most tumultuous events in recent African history. Rat Roads chronicles the remarkable journey of Kennedy Gihana, a young Tutsi man who survived the genocide in Rwanda, committed horrifying atrocities in Africa's bloodiest civil war and walked thousands of kilometers to South Africa. Once in South Africa he slept in parks, lived as a street child and worked as a low-paid security guard until he had saved enough money to enroll for a law degree. In 2011 he took the podium at the University of Pretoria to receive a master's degree in law. Rat Roads combines many strands of what life in Africa, and South Africa, is like for a large proportion of people. Besides being the chronicle of one man's unforgettable journey, it addresses topical issues such as civil conflict, xenophobia and the plight of refugees, and will open people's eyes to the reality of life on the streets. It is a story of horror and adversity, and of triumph and hope. A searingly honest, brutal story of endurance and tenacity, but with an ultimate message of hope, it takes the reader on a journey through the most turbulent times in recent African history.