Former child soldier joins romeo dallaires new army. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers, general dallaire proclaimed that the rest of his life will be devoted to the eradication of the use of children in war, and through the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative he continually seeks. Jessica dee humphreys is a canadian writer and researcher specializing in international humanitarian, military, and childrens issues. Michel hopes the book will encourage us to start having conversations with young people so that they can grow up to become engaged global citizens. Living in brussels, i rarely hear news of canada, i have to seek it to occasionally find something.
Romeo dallaires stated aim in this book and in the campaign that accompanies it is to eradicate the use of child soldiers. Dallaire with former child soldier alusine bah at a montreal gathering. The dilemma of the adult soldier who faced them is beautifully expressed in his book s title. Do you treat this person aiming his weapon at you as a soldier or a child. To this day, hes not sure which rebel group took him or what they were. Believing that not one of us should tolerate a child being used in this fashion, dallaire has made it his mission to end the use of child soldiers.
Romeo dallaires passion and expertise is so incredibly evident in this book. Ltgen retd romeo dallaire has written a thought provoking and confronting book on the subject of the use of child soldiers by many nonstate actors around. There were a few aspects of the book that i did not like. When romeo dallaire was tasked with achieving peace there in 1994, he and his force found themselves caught up in a vortex of civil war and genocide. Dallaire founded the child soldiers initiative to wipe out the use of young fighters, and the tale of how he created this organization turns out to be the book s strongest suit. And so, last month, the retired soldier was invited to attend a toronto film festival screening of the film, which tells a story so close to his heart. He is a senior fellow at the montreal institute for genocide and human rights studies migs 5 and codirector of the will to intervene project which published a policy recommendation report, mobilizing the will to. Dallaire makes a strong point that once a child soldier has been made the. Since then the incidence of child soldiers has proliferated in conflicts around the world. In this book, he provides an intellectually daring and enlightening introduction to the child soldier phenomenon, as well as inspiring and concrete solutions to eradicate it.
He was medically discharged from the army with ptsd and in 2007 he launched the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, with a mission to stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers worldwide. And, is a child still a child when pressing the barrel of a gun to your chest. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers in 2010, general dallaire s primary focus has been his work with the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, continually seeking innovative ways to assist. Where ishmael beahs a long way gone gave us wrenching testimony of the devastating experience of being a child soldier, dallaire offers intellectually daring and enlightened approaches to the child. Romeo dallaire was first confronted with child soldiers in unnamed villages keep reading. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers dallaire, romeo, beah, ishmael on. In the first few pages of this book, dallaire asks the following heartwrenching questions. In shake hands with the devil, general dallaire recreates the awful history the world community chose to ignore. Why beasts of no nation fails to tell the whole story. Romeo dallaire opens this study with an arresting image. Dallaire founded the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, to help prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers. What is being done to stop the use of child soldiers.
This book is about child soldiers in the great lakes section of central africa. My soul is in those hills, my spirit is with the spirits of all those people who were slaughtered and killed that i know of, and many that i didnt know. Once an afterthought, solution to child soldiers becomes. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers in new york journal of books. General romeo dallaire genocide in rwanda child soldiers. I received this book through a book signing at politics and prose in washington dc, where i had the privilege to hear romeo dallaire speak about his experiences in rwanda and in developing this project. Former child soldier joins romeo dallaires new army the. Where ishmael beahs a long way gone gave us wrenching testimony of the devastating experience of being a child soldier, dallaire offers intellectually daring and enlightened approaches to the child soldier phenomenon, and insightful, empowering solutions to eradicate it. Believing that not one of us should tolerate a child being used in this fashion, dallaire has made it his mission to end the. Watch excerpts from our may 23, 2011 interview with retired lt.
One night after he was medically discharged from the army in april 2000, former lt. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers. Romeo dallaire is founder of the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, a global. The book contains a foreword by ishmael beah, an ex child soldier and. On this day, lieutenantgeneral romeo dallaire, former child soldier emmanuel jal and recording artist shaun boothe gathered at the university of torontos macmillan theatre to. In this book, he writes about his experiences with child soldiers and his continuing mission to eradicate this abhorrent practice. Dallaire describes the recruitment phase why child soldiers are used and the. Hes best known as an indefatigable peacekeeper, soldier and human rights crusader. Dallaire recently returned from sierra leone, where his organization is in the first year of a countrywide initiative to train soldiers and police on how to prevent the use of children in war. The ultimate focus of the rest of my life is to eradicate the use of child soldiers and to eliminate. A rerecruited child often ends up in a leadership role, and in so. Romeo dallaire author of shake hands with the devil.
This book lacks the drama, detail and brutal honesty about the moral dilemma dallaire faced in rwanda that made his shake hands with the. Best way to end use of child soldiers is to shame the. General dallaire is the founder of a global initiative to eradicate the use of child soldiers, as well as a local foundation in quebec that supports underprivileged children. The failure of humanity in rwanda, 2004, founder and head of the child soldiers initiative csi, writes that he first encountered child combatants while leading the international peacekeeping mission in rwanda in 1993. At the heart of waiting for first light is a noholdsbarred selfportrait of a top political and military. Discover other books like this, author exclusives, and more.
Once an afterthought, solution to child soldiers becomes more proactive. The illustrated book retells some of the horrors he faced during his time as a child soldier, offering compelling visuals alongside dialogue similar to a comic book. A child soldier for the union of congolese patriots army in the yearslong civil. With only a few troops, his own ingenuity and courage to direct his efforts, dallaire rescued thousands, but his call for more support from the world body fell on deaf ears.
Dallaire included a couple of fictional excerpts based on the experiences of a child soldier and a peacekeeper. We do research and training for military and police forces on how they can neutralize the use of children. The dilemma of the adult soldier who faces them is poignantly expressed in this book s title. The issue of child soldiers is exacerbated because young people are. Joe donohue in shake hands with the devil, dallaire explains that he ordered the major driving the vehicle to stop. The ultimate focus of the rest of my life is to eradicate the use of child soldiers and to eliminate even the thought of the use of children as instruments.
1112 60 1471 1050 1037 1258 365 1478 356 93 965 716 1344 483 760 1209 295 1397 279 663 991 72 871 1143 933 64 935 1342 826