It was Lloyd Axworthy and his commitment to global citizenship that ensured Nicole Dial would forever be part of the Winnipeg story.
Nicole was one of three young women working with the International Rescue Committee, the other two Canadians, who along with their Afghan driver were ambushed and murdered by Taliban insurgents in mid-August.
From late 2005 through most of 2006 I was the interim dean of the University of Winnipeg's Global College. The Global College is a college without borders, a place where academics, the community and the global village can meet to undertake research, dialogue and action on international issues.
One of our early and ongoing partnerships in the field of international human rights has been with retired general Romeo Dallaire. In early 2006, Dallaire established a coalition of governmental, academic and civil society partners dedicated to the eradication of the use of child soldiers.
It is hardly surprising that he should have identified this as a critical global concern in the aftermath of the nightmare of the Rwandan genocide, during which he was largely relegated to the sidelines, a helpless and horrified bystander in consequence of the timid rules of engagement permitted by the United Nations under then-secretary general Kofi Annan.
Dallaire's office established the Child Soldiers Initiative (CSI) in partnership with Search for Common Ground and USAID, both of Washington, D.C., UNICEF Canada and the University of Winnipeg through the Global College and the faculty of theology.
The concept of the project is painfully simple; the execution is unutterably complex.
Dallaire proposed to gather data on the nature of child soldiers, develop a simulation exercise through the Pearson Peacekeeping Institute -- now a partner in the CSI -- which would test models for liberating child soldiers, and go into the field to remove child soldiers from harm's way.
The first two phases are complete; imagine how fraught with risk Phase 3 is in every way.
The University of Winnipeg, as the principal academic partner in the project, held a conference in August 2006. The event was a first in every way, not just for the University of Winnipeg, but also for the global community.
For the first time, a conference was convened that included international aid agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, regular military representatives, militia leaders, peacekeepers, politicians, child soldiers and war-affected children.
Search for Common Ground worked closely with the university. Their representative was a sparkling 28-year-old Trinidadian-American named Nicole Dial.
Most Winnipeggers will only know of Dial in a rough wooden coffin.
She was working in Afghanistan to aid and protect women and children, just as she had worked in Winnipeg during her term with Search for Common Ground.
Some commentators have had the op-ed gall to refer condescendingly to Dial and her colleagues as naïve, getting in the way of military operations, muddying the waters.
Whatever else Dial and her friends were, it was not naïve. They knew the risks. They took their chances. They died as heroes just as surely as any soldier. These women and their work are the reason our troops are there.
The Learning Curve is an occasional column written by local academics who are experts in their fields. It is open to any educator from one of Winnipeg's post-secondary institutions. Send 600- to 800-word submissions and a mini bio to thelearningcurve@freepress.mb.ca.
They understood their context and mission in Afghanistan as well as any soldier and much better than some senior officers and most politicians.
These women and their work are the reason our troops are there. Their names belong on the Highway of Heroes.
Those inclined to prayer might take a moment and murmur a word of thanksgiving for them. They deserve that and much more.
The Learning Curve is an occasional column written by local academics who are experts in their fields. It is open to any educator from one of Winnipeg's post-secondary institutions. Send 600- to 800-word submissions and a mini bio to thelearningcurve@freepress.mb.ca.
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