---
title: "1 Individual Lives Quotes By Philip Gourevitch"
description: "1 Individual Lives quotes by Philip Gourevitch. Plus more from Philip Gourevitch and more Individual Lives sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/philip-gourevitch-17484_books_writing-the-forenames-and-family-names-o_3118185.jpg"
---

> [“Writing the forenames and family names of the victims down, with no other detail of age, or place, would fill twenty books. To begin to study the individual deaths would consume a hundred lifetimes. Which is why one of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/writing-the-forenames-and-family-names-of-the-victims-down-with-no/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/philip-gourevitch-17484_books_writing-the-forenames-and-family-names-o_3118185.jpg)

## More by Philip Gourevitch

> [“Like Leontius, the young Athenian in Plato, I presume that you are reading this because you desire a closer look, and that you, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/like-leontius-the-young-athenian-in-plato-i-presume-that-you-are/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“…the war about the genocide was truly a postmodern war: a battle between those who believed that because the realities we inhabit are constructs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/the-war-about-the-genocide-was-truly-a-postmodern-war-a-battle/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“As far as the political, military, and economic interests of the world’s powers go, (Rwanda) might as well be Mars. In fact, Mars is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/as-far-as-the-political-military-and-economic-interests-of-the-world/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“...great and sustained destruction requires great ambition. It must be conceived as the means toward achieving a new order, and although the idea behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/great-and-sustained-destruction-requires-great-ambition-it-must-be/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“An animal will kill, but never to completely annihilate a race, a whole collectively. What does this make us in this world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/an-animal-will-kill-but-never-to-completely-annihilate-a-race-a-whole/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“Killing Tutsis was a political tradition in postcolonial Rwanda; it brought people together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/killing-tutsis-was-a-political-tradition-in-postcolonial-rwanda-it/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [The West's post-Holocaust pledge that genocide would never again be tolerated proved to be hollow, and for all the fine sentiments inspired by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/the-west-s-post-holocaust-pledge-that-genocide-would-never-again-be/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“My definition of a good book is one that you would read for pleasure despite having no prior interest in the subject. The ostensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/my-definition-of-a-good-book-is-one-that-you-would-read-for-pleasure/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [ “Just as a state's police swear to prevent and punish murder, so the signers of the Genocide Convention \[in 1948\] swore to police a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/just-as-a-state-s-police-swear-to-prevent-and-punish-murder-so-the/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“When you're that resigned and oppressed you're already dead. It shows the genocide was prepared for too long. I detest this fear. These victims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/when-you-re-that-resigned-and-oppressed-you-re-already-dead-it-shows/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“Colonisation is violence, and there are many ways to carry out that violence. In addition to military and administrative chiefs and a veritable army…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/colonisation-is-violence-and-there-are-many-ways-to-carry-out-that/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [The people are living seperately together," he said. "So there is responsibility. I cry, you cry. You cry, I cry. We all come running,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/the-people-are-living-seperately-together-he-said-so-there-is/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [Political corruption is to Rhode Islanders as smog is to people who live in Los Angeles: nobody complains of its absence, but when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/political-corruption-is-to-rhode-islanders-as-smog-is-to-people-who/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [Genocide, after all, is an exercise in community building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/genocide-after-all-is-an-exercise-in-community-building/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“So there is responsibility. I cry, you cry. We all come running, and the one that stays quiet, the one that stays home, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/so-there-is-responsibility-i-cry-you-cry-we-all-come-running-and-the/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

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