![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/LytleDallaire.jpg\")
<\/a>Chris Lytle with Rom\u00e9o Dallaire.<\/p><\/div>\n
Speaking to a large crowd at the University\u2019s Sean O\u2019Sullivan Theatre, Dallaire told graphic stories of his time serving as Force Commander of the United Nations peacekeeping effort during the Rwandan genocide in 1993-94, and what impact that and other conflicts have on veterans like himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe injuries they had in combat were not bullet wounds or shrapnel, the injuries were between their ears,\u201d said Dallaire. \u201cThey came home and nobody understood them and they couldn\u2019t get the support. As such, the walking wounded got worse, the wounds grew deeper and they ultimately destroyed themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dallaire has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder since the peacekeeping mission and is now a champion for veterans\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t the same person I was when I left for Africa,\u201d he said. \u201cThe individual who my wife married was not the same person who came back. There was somebody different who had been affected deeply and significantly. How can you live with that? How can you adapt to that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dallaire\u2019s talk at Brock was spearheaded by Chris Lytle, the University\u2019s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Co-ordinator, who wanted to bring attention to the fact that invisible disabilities like mental health, which often don\u2019t get the same recognition, are still disabilities.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Chris Lytle, Brock AODA Co-ordinator, Lieutenant-General (ret) Rom\u00e9o Dallaire, and Brock President Gervan Fearon.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s huge to have General Dallaire here at Brock. It\u2019s not in Toronto or in another province, it\u2019s happening right here in the Niagara region. It\u2019s a huge opportunity for us to look at this information and have conversations to go forward and make systemic change,\u201d he said. \u201cOther places will look to Brock\u2019s leadership for having done this.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his hour-long address, Dallaire challenged the leadership of colleges and universities to do a better job of taking care of their students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe student body faces an enormous amount of strain and pressure. The question is, are we recognizing that pressure? Are we giving them the tools to build resiliency to handle it?\u201d he asked. \u201cIf you\u2019re bringing them to the institution, the institution must be prepared that it\u2019s creating casualties. They have got to take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He encouraged schools to be inclusive and nurture peer support.<\/p>\n
<\/a>President Gervan Fearon introduces Dallaire.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cPeer support is crucial in order to handle the complexities of our times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s talk drew a large audience of Brock students, faculty and staff, as well as many from the wider community.<\/p>\n
Katy Sniderhan heard about Dallaire\u2019s visit from her brother, a Brock student, and made the four-hour drive from outside Belleville to hear the General speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned about the Rwandan genocide in Grade 9 and have been following him ever since. I\u2019ve been wanting to see him for years,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause of what he did, I started doing mission work. It really inspired me to help people wherever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of the event Friday, Dallaire was presented with a Convo Plate by Brock President Gervan Fearon. The symbolic plate is part of a nationwide movement meant to spark conversations about mental health<\/a>.<\/p>\n