HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-04-22, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Romeo Dallaire to visit Huron -Bruce
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Allan Thompson's cam-
paign to flip Huron -Bruce
for the federal Liberals is get-
ting a boost from a world-
renowned former Canadian
military officer.
Romeo Dallaire, a retired
Lieutenant -General and for-
mer Senator, will visit Clin-
ton and Kincardine next
month to campaign with
Thompson, becoming the
latest Grit heavyweight to
tour the area in the run-up
to this year's federal
election.
Dallaire, who resigned his
seat in the Upper Chamber
last year to dedicate more
time to working on the child
soldiers file and a third book,
will address a midday rally
for high-school students in
Clinton on May 15 before
delivering what Thompson's
campaign is calling a "major
speech" to the Kincardine
branch of the Royal Cana-
dian Legion later in the
night.
His planned visit follows a
tour of Huron -Bruce last
month by former Prime
Minister Paul Martin, who
appointed Dallaire to the
Senate in 2005.
More details about Dal-
laire's additional stops in the
riding will be released at a
later date.
Thompson, a former jour-
nalist with the Toronto Star,
first became familiar Dal-
laire when he was reporting
on his efforts during the
1994 Rwandan Genocide, in
which Dallaire served as
commander of an ill-fated
United Nations peacekeep-
ing mission.
He would then document
Dallaire's descent into a
breakdown caused by post-
traumatic stress disorder
from the mission and later,
his re-emergence into public
life.
"Romeo is a national icon,
a dear friend and perhaps
the most admired Canadian
alive today," Thompson said
in a prepared statement.
"I'm thrilled that he's taking
time from his hectic sched-
ule to come and visit
Huron -Bruce"
Thompson also made two
trips to Tanzania to report
on Dallaire's testimony
before the Rwanda war
crimes tribunal and trav-
elled with the Quebecois
general to Sierra Leone in
2001 for The Star to report
on a fact-finding mission on
the plight of war -affected
children.
He said the working rela-
tionship forged between him
and the general over the
years has now evolved into
"a close friendship."
Thompson also said Dal-
laire "insisted on visiting
Huron -Bruce" to help sup-
port his candidacy, despite
the retired Senator's busy
schedule.
After returning from his
UN duties, Dallaire authored
a best-selling memoir about
Peter Bregg/Supplied
Huron -Bruce Liberal candidate Allan Thompson talks with retired Canadian general Romeo Dallaire in Goma, Congo back in 2012.
his experience during the
conflict in Rwanda, called:
Shake Hands with the Devil:
The Failure of Humanity in
Rwanda.
Since then, Dallaire has
become an international
celebrity, addressing hun-
dreds of audiences around
the world about the Rwanda
tragedy and dedicating his
time to the plight of child
soldiers and war -affected
children.
His second book, They
Fight Like Soldiers, They Die
Like Children, focused on
the work of the Romeo Dal-
laire Child Soldiers
Initiative.
Thompson returned to
Africa again with Dallaire in
2012 on a trip to Rwanda,
Uganda, Congo and South
Sudan during a film shoot that
resulted in a documentary on
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Dallaire's crusade on behalf of
child soldiers.
Tickets for the event at the
Kincardine Legion cost $20
and can be purchased online
at http://lpc.ca/a7de.
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