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I'm thrilled that @romeodallaire is currently the Cleveringa Professor at @UniLeiden. He has long been a proud, public figure for Canadians, & advocate for discussing & addressing PTSD in soldiers. But I want to tell you another story about him/1 https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2020/11/101127-report-cleveringa-lecture
For those of you who don't know him, he was the Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda during the 1994 genocide - a horrific failure of the international community that he captures in his book (now film) "Shake Hands with the Devil." /2 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/36380/shake-hands-with-the-devil-by-romeo-dallaire/9780679311720
(I had the honour of visiting Rwanda many years ago and many of the sites discussed in the book, including some of the worst massacres - something that has always stuck with me and influenced my own path, but that's another story)/3
Dallaire's work that has always meant the most to me has focused on child soldiers, raising awareness about the issue of child soldiery, and how the international community can work to prevent child soldiers. This is largely done through his institute - The @DallaireInst /4
My 13 YO nephew, who was living in a small city in Saskatchewan, had a school project that looked at famous Canadians, and chose to profile @romeodallaire. I encouraged him to pose some questions to Dallaire about his work, and that on child soldiers which he was interested in./5
Generously, @romeodallaire took the time to respond. He discussed how they are "training soldiers to change their behaviours & to avoid shooting at children" in tough scenarios & "creat[ing] policy changes to make sure that those who use child soldiers are brought to justice." /6
Perhaps more importantly, he emphasized that "Young people have the power to take action." He said, "Try to put yourself in the shoes of a child forced to join an armed group. Forced to kill. No child should have to do that. But young people can speak up for these children." /7
"You don’t have to wait until you [can] vote to have a voice and put pressure on elected officials." He "place[d] a lot of hope in young generations....because you still feel a lot of empathy for children who are not as lucky as you are & you still have the courage to act." /8
I share this story for a few reasons. First, it was a generous example of a very busy, very public figure taking the time to respond to young people interested in his topic - a model even humble academics can reflect. Second, this topic remains a significant concern - /9
At least 18 conflict situations have had children participate in hostilities since 2016. In my field, this has been most apparent in terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram, but also impacts state responses to bring these kids home & prioritize their rehab & reintegration/10
This is important too as female child soldiers are often overlooked, but require attention & support. Up to 40% of child soldiers are girls according to @UN, meaning that gender considerations remain vital for all actors to account for in their work. /11 https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2015/02/4-10-child-soldiers-girls/
Furthermore, at least 46 States still recruit children under the age of 18 into their armed forces. Other conflicts I've followed closely, including that in #Yemen, have seen abhorrent numbers of child soldiers have their childhood stripped from them. /12
There is so much work to be done, but seeing Dallaire's speech at @UniLeiden was a good reminder that we can all do a little to help conflict's youngest victims today, & that we have a responsibility to do all we can to prevent their recruitment, & focus on their well-being. /end
