Romeo Dallaire spoke about the power of youth and their role in international conflicts Nov. 12 in Residence Commons at an event hosted by the Faculty of Public Affairs (FPA) Reading Program.
Dallaire, who served as a Force Commander for the UN during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, spoke about his recent work raising awareness of child soldiers and the need for intervention. He emphasized the role of activism in youth today, explaining how we’re now in a “borderless” generation, one that has the potential to create positive global change.
“The bulk of the slaughter in Rwanda was not done by adults or machine guns,” Dallaire said. “It was done by youth.”
In March, Dallaire’s book “Shake Hands with the Devil” was chosen by the FPA Reading Program as their book of the year. The FPA held a screening of the movie based on the book in October with this event wrapping up the season, according to Betina Kuzmarov, assistant dean (student success) of the FPA and one of the organizers of the speaking event.
She said Dallaire’s story embodies the values of the FPA and demonstrates their motto of “building a better society.”
“One of the ways we can allow our students to be engaged with that idea is by showing them what some excellent authors and Canadians have done and how that relates to the wider world,” she said.
Nazneen Khan, a first-year Carleton student, said she read Dallaire’s book, saw the movie, and studied the Rwanda genocide in many of her classes.
“Hearing him in person was a really big deal,” she said, emphasizing how she learned a lot from his presentation but she said the main take-away was one of motivation.
“It’s still a decision not to take action and now that we’re so connected with each other, we should use that to make change in the world,” she said.
Dallaire said this interconnectedness is what will have the most influence in creating a peaceful world.
“With technology, you now have the power to see every human being,” he said. “You have this magic tool to be able to influence humanity.”
