Former U.N. General weighs in on morality

The acting United Nations Force Commander in Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide, Romeo Dallaire was in a unique place to speak about human rights. “You are human, [and Rwandans] are just as human as you,” he said at Zellerbach Auditorium Monday night.

A partnership between Moral Voices and several student groups exploring genocide and crimes against humanity brought Dallaire to campus.

He challenged the students to consider the basic goals of human life. “Is the aim of humanity to survive, or is the aim of humanity to thrive?” he asked.

Moral Voices is a yearlong initiative sponsored by the Heyman-Merrin Family Foundation and Penn Hillel that selects a social justice issue to create campus conversation around.

According to Debbie Yunker, a Moral Voices facilitator and Penn Hillel’s assistant director for Leadership Development and Operations, “the best way to create campus conversation is through social networks where people are already having conversations with one another.”

Moral Voices aimed to utilize preexisting campus networks by hosting a dinner with around 70 student leaders before Dallaire’s address.

Drawing from his own experiences, Dallaire said there is no substitute for spending time in the developing world. His message resonated with participants from the 2011 Penn Hillel mission to Rwanda.

“The message about dirtying your boots says it all,” said College junior and Moral Voices Fellow Kayla Kapito. “You don’t get it until you’re there, seeing faces just like you.”

For other students, Dallaire’s presentation put humanitarian assistance in a new light. Wharton senior Suruchi Srikanth, who is interested in NGOs and social impact consulting, said she was surprised that the United States invested so little in international development.

640 people showed up to hear Dallaire speak due to robust advertising and Dallaire’s popularity and prestige.

“Romeo Dallaire was a figure that we studied about,” said College and Wharton senior Melissa Goodman. “He came up in class two years ago and when I saw this event I had to go.”

Generally, the event lived up to expectations as “interesting,” “well-coordinated” and “thought-provoking.” However, other students had hoped to “hear more on his own stories in Rwanda” as opposed to the focus on general moral questions.

For a handful of students, listening to Dallaire served as a validation for their humanitarian efforts. College juniors Zachary King and Lucas Isakowitz work for the Dut Jok Youth Foundation, one of the cosponsors for the night’s event. The Dut Jok Youth Foundation empowers South Sudanese youth by engaging them with sports.

“You can read about it, but it’s hard to get a good mindset and build an image of what its like to make an impact,” said King.

In Dallaire’s words, “[The goal is to] not only hear moral voices, but to become moral voices.”

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