Staff
The Meaford Public Library and the Military Family Resource Centre have announced that they will host renowned lieutenant-general, senator, and humanitarian Romeo Dallaire in a signature event of the 2016 fall season.
Dallaire will appear at Meaford’s 4th Canadian Division Training Centre at 7 pm on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 to discuss his new book, Waiting for First Light, which explores his ongoing battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Throughout his distinguished career in the Canadian military, Romeo Dallaire served in staff, training and command positions around the world. In 1993, LGen Dallaire was appointed force commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda, where he bore witness to the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. His first book, the Governor General’s Award-winning Shake Hands with the Devil, exposed the failures of the international community to stop the widespread massacre in Rwanda. His defiant dedication to humanity during that mission is well-documented as are the personal consequences he continues to suffer and his subsequent commitment to fellow victims of PTSD.
Dallaire has received numerous honours and awards, including Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002, and the United Nations Association in Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal in 2005. His second book, They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, was also a national bestseller.
Since his retirement, Dallaire has become an outspoken advocate for human rights, mental health, and war-affected children. He founded the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, an organization committed to progressively ending the use of child soldiers worldwide through a security sector approach. Proceeds from the October 25 event will support Child Soldiers Initiative.
This event is not to be missed. Each $35 ticket includes a copy of Waiting for First Light and Romeo Dallaire will be available to autograph books following his presentation. Purchase your ticket today at the library’s front desk, call (519) 538-1060 ext. 1123, or email: info@meafordlibrary.on.ca
