Romeo Alain Dallaire

Romeo Dallaire (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4487263)

My hero Romeo Dallaire is a brave, generous, empathetic, and caring man. He inspires me to be a better person, and he has changed the world.

Romeo Alain Dallaire was born on June 25, 1946 in Denekamp, The Netherlands, to Catherine Vermaessen and Romeo Louis Dallaire. When Romeo was 6 months old his family moved to Montreal, Quebec,Canada. Dallaire has attended many different schools in Canada and the United States such as the Canadian Land Force and Staff College, United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virgina, and the British Higher Command and Staff Course. In 1963, he enrolled in the Canadian Army as a cadet. He has also done a lot with the army and military.

In 1993, Romeo received his commission as the Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). At the time, Rwanda was in the middle of a civil war. The war was between two types of African people the Hutu's and the Tutsi's. The Hutu's were the ones who controlled the government and the Tutsi's wanted control so they tried to kill the Hutu's.

Romeo was in Rwanda as a peacekeeper, to uphold the peace agreement signed by both tribes. However there was to be no peace. On April 8, 1994 the war began. Dallaire and his unit did many things to try and keep the peace, but since his orders were limited it was very difficult. He was told his weapons were only for show, no more soldiers would be sent over, and no supplies of any kind would be sent. During the war he was ordered to leave Rwanda and return to Canada. After all he had witnesses. He could not obey that order and insisted on staying to do all he could with what he had.

Over the next one hundred days almost one million Rwandians were murdered. During the beginning of the one hundred days, Belgium, France, and the United States came to rescue their own people (the whites) and all others were left to die. Remember this was only in 1994 and you can imagine how Romeo must have felt being abandoned with nothing.

When the world abandoned Rwanda, 454 UN peacekeepers chose to stay behind under General Dallaire's command. They helped save over 32,000 Rwandians. Due to his actions many people consider him a hero as do I.

Romeo has received numerous awards such as the 2002 Aegis Trust Award, he was voted 16th on CBC's "The Greatest Canadian" as the highest rated military figure, the 25th Pearson Peace Medal, and many others. His book "Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" won the Governor General Literary award for non-fiction in 2004. The book was also made into a movie starring Roy Dupuis as Romeo.

After the Genocide, Romeo became depressed and was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He also had a problem with alcohol and antidepressants. Luckily, he is coping and has his wife Elizabeth, and his three grown children Williem, Catherine, and Guy for support.

Romeo Dallaire does not believe he is a hero, but to 32,000 Rwandians, 454 UN peacekeepers, and many more including me, would say he is. Thank you Romeo for making this world a better place.