Roméo Dallaire was the UN general in Rwanda during one of humankinds most ugliest and violent eruptions. In interviews he describes how we are still using the old instruments of war to attempt peace instead of building a new conceptual base for dealing with conflict i.e. hands on early intervention and new verbs to describe situations. His wisdom is endless and beautiful because its borne of practical experience. When Dallaire was instructed to leave Rwanda he knew without a doubt his departure would mean the certain massacre of thousands , all those the UN had been until that point in time protecting. He did what a general is never supposed to do. Dallaire refused to take orders. Despite it being made clear there would be no cavalry over the hill to pull him out should he remain he acted as his conscience dictated defying the demands of his superiors. Dallaire remained in Rwanda as the horror and violence escalated, protecting who he could, mediating accompanied only by a small group of stout heartedUN volunteers. He saved many lives through his resolve and integrity. The odds were stacked against him but he remained true to his task , to facilitate peace. Dallaire claims he failed to complete the mission he was charged with, to prevent further war in Rwanda. His refusal to bend to the will of his superiors did allow the world to eventually question why it was the world turned away as thousands died in a brutal genocide that could have been prevented. He stood tall for the humans he felt duty bound to protect. He stayed to bear witness. Few of us will ever have to head on deal with the adversity Dallaire faced but we all have our daily challenges, things we must bravely admit to and stand up for. Sometimes acting with integrity comes with great personal or financial cost but if we accept these things must be done we can improve our proximal environment and in time, collectively, our global one. We are now global people, able to keep our eyes open on every corner of the planet. Taking inspiration from Dallaire we can keep ourselves working for the positive, checking our politics, business and views. We can assess how we manage ourselves, work to peacefully prevent conflict long before it seeds. It is work we need to do and with human will, can be done. There are perhaps many parallels to be drawn between the life experience of Romeo Dallaire and Gandhi, both have given over their lives to the cause of seeking a more just system of operation and a more peaceful future for all . Here is an interview of Dallaire discussing Rwanda, the personal impact it has had upon him and his perspectives on conflict resolution. m.youtube/watch?v=AS9kggJVDHg m.youtube/watch?v=AS9kggJVDHgn
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 21:06:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015