Dallaire describes the recruitment phase why child soldiers are used and the. Dallaire with former child soldier alusine bah at a montreal gathering. 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. Romeo dallaire author of shake hands with the devil.
Dallaire and chikwanine, two survivors of the dark places, physical and psychological, evoked by. 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. 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. 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.
In the first few pages of this book, dallaire asks the following heartwrenching questions. In this book, he writes about his experiences with child soldiers and his continuing mission to eradicate this abhorrent practice. And, is a child still a child when pressing the barrel of a gun to your chest. Once an afterthought, solution to child soldiers becomes. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers in new york journal of books. The dilemma of the adult soldier who faced them is beautifully expressed in his book s title.
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. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers dallaire, romeo, beah, ishmael on. 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. A child soldier for the union of congolese patriots army in the yearslong civil. 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.
Hes best known as an indefatigable peacekeeper, soldier and human rights crusader. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers. Discover other books like this, author exclusives, and more. Romeo dallaire is founder of the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, a global. The issue of child soldiers is exacerbated because young people are. 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. This book lacks the drama, detail and brutal honesty about the moral dilemma dallaire faced in rwanda that made his shake hands with the.
In shake hands with the devil, general dallaire recreates the awful history the world community chose to ignore. Best way to end use of child soldiers is to shame the. 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. One of the really dangerous dimensions is the child soldier who has been rerecruited into another conflict or possibly even the same one. 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.
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. 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. 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. Romeo dallaire was first confronted with child soldiers in unnamed villages. 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. 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. Dallaire makes a strong point that once a child soldier has been made the. Romeo dallaire opens this study with an arresting image. 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. 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. Dallaire included a couple of fictional excerpts based on the experiences of a child soldier and a peacekeeper.
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. Romeo dallaire, author of shake hands with the devil. Once an afterthought, solution to child soldiers becomes more proactive. There were a few aspects of the book that i did not like. Do you treat this person aiming his weapon at you as a soldier or a child.
Why beasts of no nation fails to tell the whole story. One night after he was medically discharged from the army in april 2000, former lt. At the heart of waiting for first light is a noholdsbarred selfportrait of a top political and military. Jessica dee humphreys is a canadian writer and researcher specializing in international humanitarian, military, and childrens issues. Former child soldier joins romeo dallaires new army the. A rerecruited child often ends up in a leadership role, and in so. Romeo dallaires stated aim in this book and in the campaign that accompanies it is to eradicate the use of child soldiers.
Believing that not one of us should tolerate a child being used in this fashion, dallaire has made it his mission to end the. We do research and training for military and police forces on how they can neutralize the use of children. 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. 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. Joe donohue in shake hands with the devil, dallaire explains that he ordered the major driving the vehicle to stop. Dallaire founded the romeo dallaire child soldiers initiative, to help prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers. 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. Watch excerpts from our may 23, 2011 interview with retired lt. Romeo dallaire was first confronted with child soldiers in unnamed villages keep reading.
The ultimate focus of the rest of my life is to eradicate the use of child soldiers and to eliminate. Former child soldier joins romeo dallaires new army. Romeo dallaires passion and expertise is so incredibly evident in this book. The book contains a foreword by ishmael beah, an ex child soldier and. Since then the incidence of child soldiers has proliferated in conflicts around the world. The dilemma of the adult soldier who faces them is poignantly expressed in this book s title.