Compassion: the Heart of Our Vision

The spirit of service is our guiding reference. ~ Romeo Dallaire

I heard Romeo Dallaire speak a number of years ago to an over-packed house at the University. He gave a compelling and engaging talk. I had not yet been to Rwanda though. Tonight as I listened to him address the 500+ people in the audience, I found my emotions running rampant because I could see clearly people that I had met in Rwanda, relive my experiences in the Internally Displaced Persons camp, remember my walk through the Genocide Museum in Kigali, almost smell the flowers in the garden which is really a mass grave site,

and envision clearly the conflict in DR Congo that I witnessed. Though I was already pretty enlightened the first time, this time Dallaire was speaking to a different person. One who better knew of what he spoke.


He said a lot of things that made great sense to me. He defined a civil war as a country imploding. He talked about the absence of humanity in such events. He talked about all humans are human. All humans are equal. Some humans are not more human than others.

He gave disturbing statistics. Currently in the world due to war, there

are

· 25 million child refugees or displaced persons
· 1 million orphaned children
· 6 million seriously injured or disabled children
· 2 million children killed

He did not give a current number for child soldiers, which would have been interesting too. He did, however, say that 40% of child soldiers are girls.

He gave the example of the deployment of troops to Yugoslavia and posed this question: Is it possible that some humans are more human than others? At one point during the conflict in Rwanda he was told that there was nothing there—no valuable diamonds, oil, or gold. The only thing that was there were human beings, and there was too many of them anyway. The translation is that European humans are more valuable than those in sub-Sahara Africa. Dallaire, of course, refused to leave those humans behind, and disobeyed an order to withdraw his troops. The order was legal but immoral because he knew that there would be no witnesses left for war tribunals if they left. What criteria gives leadership the decision-making ability to abandon the post?

He was speaking to a group of Canadian Catholic care providers at this keynote kickoff address for their conference. He did not mince words, saying that in Rwanda the churches were instruments of slaughter. He wondered aloud if the great religions of our time would be instruments of reconciliation of humanity or instruments of conflict. He spoke of sin and crimes against humanity. Though he did not couch it in biblical words, he did say successful leadership must be ready to lay down their lives for others. When they do so, there will be no limits to the possibilities.

He said something that struck me deeply. When he entered the service, his father said to him, “You’re entering the service and therefore you’re at the service of others. Don’t expect a thank you.” That spirit of service should be our guiding reference. I agree and within me stirred all the longings that had been fulfilled while I was serving in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. When the map flashed on the screen tonight and I saw Goma, Kigali, Bukavu, Butare, and other places I had come to know during my travels in 2009, my heart leapt within me. There are many times in my life that I have felt fully alive. Almost all of those times have entailed service. I did not expect a thank you at those times because I did not need it. I knew that I was doing “my Father’s business” and I had all the thanks I needed at that time.

He did suggest that as a rite of passage, every young person in the developed world should go and see how 80% of the world lives. In this new world disorder, as he called it, we need to have a long-term vision for change. It will take 20 or 25 years before things change but humanity is seeking serenity and it can be achieved.

He spoke of his attempted suicides, which drew some nervous giggles from the crowd. For those who have never experienced inhumanity on a grand scale, it is hard to comprehend why someone would attempt to take his own life four times before finding an inner resolution. I think of everything I saw in those three months of my practicum, of all the stories that are etched in my mind and soul, and of all the unresolved issues that remain within me. Mine are only a small fraction of his memories and experiences. I have no judgment on him for his decisions in this regard. The fact that he is still standing, still telling his story, and still alive are a testament to something beyond him.

At the end, a woman was given the opportunity to share with him a letter from a woman in Butare that he had personally saved. The rest of her family were killed that day. I watched his physical reaction as she spoke. I could see him holding his arm and knew that it was a painful moment for him still. Compassion needs to be at the heart of our vision for humanity. There needs to be no more moments when someone is thanked for saving a life. There needs to be only moments of enduring peace.

I am going to use this opportunity to remind people that for my birthday I am asking people to make donations to the "Five Alive" program at my church. The monies will go to help children in Eastern DR Congo survive as their country implodes. For $5 a month, you can help support one of the children in Naomi Foundation, an organization which takes in children whose mothers have been raped by either the militia or rebels and later abandoned due to the stigma. Give me the gift of a life, of peace, of compassion this year. Send me a message if you want more details as to how to do that.

Peace,

Suzanne