Mural of Romeo Dallaire and the Canadian Peacekeeping Forces

Romeo A. Dallaire was born June 25, 1946, Denekamp, Netherlands, lieutenant general and a Canadian senator. He grew up in Quebec and is bilingual.
He is best known for acting in a humanitarian context in Rwanda when he was commander of the UN Mission (UNAMIR), during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

In this mural Romeo Dallaire is also a symbol and representation of our Canadian Peace Keeping Forces.

In the top left corner, there is Romeo Dallaire and behind him the symbol of the United Nations. Under him there is a soldier and farther away an oil well on fire. This picture shows the first war in Iraq that happened at almost the same time as the genocide in Rwanda. The problems of Rwanda were put aside, considered less important than those in Iraq since there was oil in Iraq.

There are two children next to Dallaire, an older child carrying a younger one on his back, this one cries. They are orphans, victims of the genocide.

Beneath them there is a local river in which bodies of victims are silhouetted.

At the center of the mural, the largest image is one where Romeo Dallaire is carrying a young Rwandan girl, dead, in his arms. He is standing on a street. This image is taken from the film based on the book of his experiences in Rwanda "Shake Hands with the Devil". He moved the girl since she was lying in the middle of the street. In so doing, he showed respect and dignity to the deceased.

At the top of the mural, there are fields and trees to show the beauty of this country. It is to say that terrible things happened in a beautiful country.

In the upper right corner, there are two women and na boy playing soccer. One woman has a young child in her arms, smiling, pleased that peace has been reestablished hopeful and confident that things will be better. The other is frowning remembering the pain, not as sure of the future. The young boy who plays soccer shows that they can have fun again.

In the bottom right corner, there is Romeo Dallaire sitting on a hill. It is when he returned to Rwanda several years after the genocide, reanalyzing what happened.

Between Dallaire and the boy, there are ribbons. The ribbons are given to soldiers by the United Nations when they return from a mission. The largest is that which was given for the mission to Rwanda, others are ribbons of other missions before. These are all places our Canadian Forces have served.

On each side of the mural there is a flag. The one on the left is the old flag of Rwanda, it is torn. The one on the right is the new flag, brand new. They are there to show that Rwanda has experienced changes and it has emerged and has chosen a new beginning after what has just been lived.

The mural is painted by Jacque Martel.
The information is based on an interview with Jacques Martel.