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| Roméo Dallaire |
Characters are bound to be alike between books, especially
by authors from the same country, as the shared experiences of a nation provide
inspiration. Still I found it striking to have read a pair of books in the past
couple of months just published by British Columbia authors and set in the same
area of B.C. that have so many similarities between a couple of characters.
In Cold White Sun
by Vicki Delany math teacher, Mark Hamilton, is a former Canadian army soldier
who served in Afghanistan. His war service has left him haunted and struggling
with life. He contemplates suicide to escape the pain. Obsessively working out
and teaching gets him through the day.
In Open Secret by
Deryn Collier, which I reviewed in my last post, the sleuth is Bern Fortier, a
retired Lieutenant-Colonel from the Canadian army. His military career took him
into three major conflicts – the genocidal massacres of Rwanda, the ethnic cleansing
in Bosnia and the war in Afghanistan. His psyche has also been damaged by his
participation in these conflicts. While not suicidal his mental burdens are
heavy because of a secret he has carried with him for 20 years since Rwanda.
Bern spends a lot of time out of doors working in his garden and walking to occupy
his mind and body.
It is almost inevitable that two characters who were in the
Canadian army over the past two decades would be much alike. The Canadian armed
forces are much smaller, even in proportion to population, than the American
military. Rwanda, the first Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia / Croatia and Afghanistan
are essentially the wars in which Canadian troops have taken part since
the Korean War.
Of those conflicts Rwanda is most deeply painful in Canadian
memories principally because of Canadian General Roméo Dallaire.
When Saskatchewan author Gregory Miller in his book, Silence Invites the Dead, wanted his
protagonists to have war experiences he takes journalist, Myles Stirling,
Colonel John McTaggart and Captain Ed Braun to the killing fields and streets
of Rwanda. In my review I said they “struggle to hold their sanity in the
carnage of Rwanda”.
I felt McTaggert was inspired by Dallaire who was commander
of UN forces in Rwanda during the genocide. Prevented by UN headquarters from
intercepting weapons and possessing but few forces he helped saved thousands of
Tutsis but could not stop the slaughter of hundreds of thousands. While he had
done all he could he has been truly haunted and attempted suicide. He continues
to serve Canada as a member of our Senate.
Dallaire in his book, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda said:
“I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with
the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have
touched him. I know the devil exists and therefore I know there
is a God.”
Too many of our heroes have been mentally damaged while in
the service of our country.
I probably won't read either book, but that was a really interesting and thoughtful post, Bill.
ReplyDeleteMoira: Thanks for the kind words.
DeleteBill - I couldn't agree more. There is so much mental damage caused by war. It's one of war's most awful and lasting effects I think. And I'm not surprised that you find similarities among characters. The military of each country is its own culture, and certain events have impacted that culture. So it's only natural that you would see some commonalities. A really interesting post, for which thanks.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I have met 2 young officers still suffering from their time in Afghanistan. I expect you have met former soldiers in the classes you teach.
DeleteOur soldiers have been through so much. Even when the mandate is supposedly "peacekeeping", the reality on the ground is often anything but. My mystery Honour Among Men (written before the current high-profile coverage) dealt with PTSD among our peacekeepers in the Balkans. Romeo Dallaire, in person and through his book, was the inspiration for that book.
ReplyDeleteBarbara: Thanks for the comment. I am going to go looking for Honour Among Men. When our soldiers are sent into areas where a form of civil war is underway they are forced to deal with stressful and wrenching problems which they, too often, cannot solve under their mandate.
DeleteExcellent post, and these novels you mention are good examples of oft-dismissed genre fiction that explore real-world social problems, maybe not as their main objective, but still shedding light for readers into the problems faced by these and other members of our society whose are still too often overlooked or outright dismissed by policy-makers.
ReplyDeleteJayne: Thanks for the kind words. I have read many insightful explorations of social issues in crime fiction. As I rarely read literary fiction I cannot comment on that genre's involvement in social issues. Biased as I am, I think legal mysteries have delved into many important real life legal issues in ways that are far more interesting than non-fiction analyses.
DeleteBill, thanks for a most interesting post. I felt depressed just reading about the conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus during the Rwandan genocide, so I cannot even fathom what our soldiers go through during peacekeeping and other military operations.
ReplyDeletePrashant: Thanks for the comment. Those in charge at UN Headquarters failed the peacekeeping soldiers in Rwanda. We can only hope they never hesitate in a comparable future situation.
DeleteBill, this was a very interesting post, on topics I have don't know a lot about. I will look into the books and authors you have mentioned.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. Because of the prominent involvement of the Canadian military in leadership of the UN force in Rwanda our nation has always had strong feelings on how the conflict there was handled.
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