On Monday, April 11, Carl Wilkens, the former head of Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) in Rwanda, came to speak about his experiences with genocide.
The event was hosted by UT STAND, a student-run anti-genocide coalition.
Members of the coalition are devoted to aiding those who are victims of genocide and dedicated to creating a more peaceful international community through education, avocation and donation.
Wilkens was the only American who chose to remain in Rwanda in 1994 after the genocide began. Many foreigners left, but Wilkens decided to stay and help others.
His choice resulted in the prevention of a massacre. In 1996, he came back to the United States.
The night was full of many stories told by Wilkens. Wilkens stated that, “stories and service are the two most powerful tools we have to build peace. Without these two elements, there will be no peace.”
Wilkens went back to Rwanda in January of 2011 for a fundraising mission.
Wilkens stated that one of the men arrested for the genocide actually helped him find a place to hide from the dangers of the Hutus. “We all have this potential to do good or bad things,” Wilkens said.
Wilkens’ accounts of genocide put a human face on genocide. His accounts show us that the perpetrators, the victims and the resistors of genocide, are not forgotten. By doing so, he teaches audiences how merely one person can make an impact.
He and his wife first moved to Zimbabwe and then, eventually, to Rwanda. He, his wife and two kids lived there for four years before the genocide began. Seventeen years ago, all of his family left except for him.
In 2008, Wilkens started speaking around the world about genocide, but starting in 2011, Wilkens embarked on a tour of the United States to share his story with students, teachers and community members.
He focuses on the day-to-day life in Rwanda during the genocide as well as the courage and the optimism that he observed by the people facing “horrendous choices in the middle of unimaginable slaughter.”
Wilkens was featured in 2004 in the PBS Frontline documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, and also in an American Radio Works documentary, The Few Who Stayed: Defying Genocide,” which aired on NPR.
Wilkens has been recognized for his humanitarian work, by attaining several awards such as the Dignitas Humana Award from Saint John’s School of Theology Seminary.
He’s also received a 2005 Medal of Valor from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
In the question and answer session following his talk, Wilkens was asked if there was anything he regretted not doing during his time spent in Rwanda.
He responded by stating that he wished he learned the local language in Rwanda and built closer relationships with those around him, neighbors and friends. Wilkens stated that power of relationships is what matters most.
To learn more about Carl Wilkens and his non-profit educational and professional development organization which he created in 2008, you can visit his website, worldoutsidemyshoes.org.
Yasaman Sherbaf can be reached at ysherbaf@spartans.ut.edu.