I recently saw one of the people I most admire in the world speak to a group of university students. This caused me to reflect on what it is about this person that makes him great.
Canadian General Romeo Dallaire first gained global recognition as the commander of UN forces during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Despite the fact that the world turned away while 800,000 innocent people died in roughly 100 days, Dallaire and his small peacekeeping contingent did all that they could to save tens of thousands of lives. How is it that he had the courage to stay in Rwanda despite the fact that he was ordered to evacuate his forces by UN headquarters? It is simply because Dallaire is a man of character. He always was that way, and when confronted by a crisis of a magnitude that few of us can even imagine, his conscience moved him to do the right thing.
Since returning to Canada, Dallaire's journey has been very public. He has always responded in a way that inspires, and he is using his notoriety to change the world for the better. Since leaving Africa, Dallaire has understandably struggled with depression. Though we admire him, we do not know his internal struggle. As a result of his efforts and the efforts of other celebrities who are willing to speak out, we have come to a much better understanding of mental illnesses in Canada in the last 20 years, and are able to respond with more compassion to those who struggle with them.
Dallaire has also used his experience in Rwanda to further the prevention of genocide. We have been able to learn from the mistakes that were made in the early 1990's and have moved closer to "never again". Dallaire has pointed out how he was not given information about the crisis brewing in Rwanda, though many reports had been filed by international diplomats and aid workers. Steps have been taken to allow information to flow more freely, but we still have a long way to go.
Due to the fact that he is a soldier, Dallaire has been able to apply his knowledge and experience to promote the cause of child soldiers. Many of us look on with despair when we read about Joseph Kony and other warlords abusing children as they do, but Dallaire has given the world direction and hope in dealing with this crisis.
Thanks to his tireless efforts, things are slowly changing for the better. Dallaire is well aware of the problems in the world and the problems in our own country, but he continues to respond as he always has, with character. He knows the human capacity for evil, and it is a burden that he carries every day. At the same time, he knows that he has a mission in life to help good to triumph. He simply follows his conscience and does the right thing. In addition, he calls on all of us to do the same thing. That is how we change the world.
