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There’s hope even in hell.
A war surgeon’s personal insight into one of the most brutal periods in human history.
A war surgeon’s harrowing and moving first-hand account of the Rwandan genocide.
In the final phase of the Rwandan genocide, forty-year-old orthopaedical surgeon Seppo Salminen left his family and four children, his job in a hospital in Finland and his everyday life to work as a medical doctor in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, in the middle of the civil war in 1994.
Dr. Salminen was assigned to the Red Cross field hospital set up in a catholic girls’ school to take the clinic in his charge. He had no idea of what to expect on arrival and if he would ever make it back home. His predecessor had lost his mind and the local conditions were utterly chaotic.
Dr. Salminen operated on both perpetrators and their victims, performing amputations and emergency C-sections and complex surgical procedures and delivering babies without clean water, proper equipment and sometimes even without electricity. His work required constant improvisation, and many patients were beyond the reach of help. The spreading of aids, cholera, and other epidemics did not help. Yet he remained hopeful. Writing a diary helped Salminen stay sane.
A Surgeon in Rwanda provides a first-hand account of the atrocities of a civil war and genocide that Dr. Salminen faced while working as a war surgeon. In the midst of a genocide, he understood that peace must be cherished at all cost.
A Surgeon in Rwanda is a story about life, hope and the human will to survive. It is an account of duty, sincerity and strength—and a strong call for peace. The book also tells the stories of those whose life Dr. Salminen managed to save. When the news of the atrocities in Ukraine and Gaza started flowing in from the media, Dr. Salminen felt compelled to share his story. Today, Rwanda is one of the most developed countries of Africa. However, the trauma caused by the tragedy has not completely healed.
Seppo Salminen is a highly accomplished orthopaedic surgeon with nerves of steel and an impressive international career. Originally from Finland, he has worked in eight countries, using five languages in his work. He has operated as a war surgeon in several crisis areas, including Pakistan, French Guyana and Rwanda. He is currently based in Lyon, France.
Leena Hirvonen is a journalist and media strategist. She has worked as editor of several newspapers and magazines in Finland, and as a producer at YLE, the Finnish national broadcasting company. Together they created A Surgeon in Rwanda, a poignant testimony resonating as a call to never forget.
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