Documentary focuses on EPIIC speaker

A handful of students braved the snow Tuesday night to attend a showing of the documentary The Last Just Man. The film, made by Steven Silver, focuses on Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, who was in charge of the United Nations mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

The movie combines extensive interviews -- both with Dallaire and with others who were in Rwanda during the genocide -- with new clips and on-site footage.

The screening was sponsored by the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program.

The Last Just Man was also shown in January as a part of the Boston leg of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) International Film Festival. The festival features films pertinent to issues of human rights from all over the world.

Though attendance was low, audience reaction to the film was generally positive. "My first reaction was to wipe the tears away, but immediately afterwards, all I could think was that I wanted to meet Romeo Dallaire," said Nick Chaset, a member of this year's EPIIC colloquium.

Dallaire will be a participant in the upcoming EPIIC symposium on "Sovereignty and Intervention" -- which will take place from Feb. 27 to Mar. 2 -- and many students voiced their excitement about the opportunity to speak with Dallaire. He will be at Tufts on Saturday Mar. 1.

Dallaire has been the object of both international criticism and praise for his role in Rwanda, and he suffers ongoing psychological problems as a result of his involvement. He currently works as a special advisor to the Canadian Defense Ministry on the use of child soldiers.

Earlier this year, a representative from the HRW film festival spoke to students about the EPIIC topic, using film clips from this year's festival to support points and stimulate discussion.

Another HRW documentary, Crazy, by Heddy Honigmann, about the toll peacekeeping missions have taken on individual peacekeepers, was shown at Tufts at the end of January.

General Dallaire will be present at the upcoming EPIIC symposium as both a panel participant and as the recipient of a Jean Mayer Award Global Citizenship Award.

Past recipients of the award, which honors former Tufts President and Chancellor Dr. Jean Mayer, include John Kenneth Galbraith and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This year's honorees include Dallaire, Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam, former Irish President Mary Robinson, and President of the Council on Foreign Relations Leslie Gelb.