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So I missed my flight. Humbug.

So here I sit at gate A14 waiting on the next flight. The terminal today is filled with US Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division (who can forget surfin’ Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now?). They’re on their way to Iraq apparently, with long, long layovers and connections (All I heard was Hungary and Kuwait somewhere along the line). I didn’t see any officers, surprisingly—the most I saw was a 1st sergeant.

I found myself doing something unusual. I went around scouring the terminal’s bookstores for the Dallaire book on Rwanda I just finished reading. I was bent on buying a copy and giving it to the most senior guy I could find there. I stopped myself between thinking of how I’d introduce myself and if I should talk about the book at all. I thought this would be perceived as incredibly self-righteous of me, even if I did have the noblest of intentions.

Dallaire’s book, however, isn’t self-righteous—he blames himself more than anyone else—and it certainly appeals to the military mind. I thought it’d be a great way for me to make a small difference. The day before (I shit you not) I thought of what I would say if I ever sat next to a soldier on a flight. I came to the conclusion that all I could say and really feel confident about was “Never underestimate the power of a soccer ball.” (This coming from some of Dallaire’s own writings and the recent Brazil soccer match in Haiti).

I thought to myself “heck, if they’re making Pentagon staff endure The Battle of Algiers, this book shouldn’t be too hard.” I was even more motivated by the fact that these guys were career soldiers and not “weekend warriors”. Ultimately, I couldn’t find the book and was consoled by the sole thought of the “what if” of my intentions.

I started thinking though about these guys (most of them my age). I saw the night before a documentary following a US battalion in Iraq through their routine. It put me in a state not unlike when I was reading the most harrowing confessions of Dallaire. Most of the soldiers there (especially the professional ones) are truly well-meaning and have good training. The situation doesn’t allow for that to show. Like Sergio Vieira de Mello said (loose quotation) “Soldiers make poor law-enforcement agents and especially in the absence of sensitivities to other cultures.” These guys are soldiers—it still is the noblest profession—but they were never supposed to be policemen.

Most people know I was actually for the war—not for political or economic bullshit reasons, just for getting rid of a dictator. So in my admittedly reckless left-wing idealism, I know things aren’t being done right over there, but that does not diminish my admiration for these people—people like Dallaire, the soldiers in Iraq or the ones in Haiti. Idealism is embedded in the grunts and officers, even if its execution doesn’t allow for it.

What we’re really missing now is the idealism in the politicians.

ric

God I hate these MD-80s…

Interesting isn’t it? I know I’ve been saying it for awhile now (heck, people still keep pointing it out to me) that I’ve come to say Boston is my home.

It’s the little things. It always is.

Maybe it’s the maximum security pool out back, Harry’s on the streetcorner or the plethora of female names in the mailboxes in the front: whatever it is, I just feel this is my territory (sans smelly fire hydrants).

So here’s to Plano (probably the most aptly-named place since Guarulhos), to Sampa fidelis, Mexico De-Efe and Beantown, and hoping that this new semester will further the “exploration of the infinite abyss”.

ric

Elmer Bernstein

BBC Obituary

ric

So I’m done with another one. This one was by far the most emotional book I’ve ever read. I have absolutely no qualms about admitting that once I finished reading it on the flight to Dallas, I was sobbing in my seat.

To give you the cliff notes, Dallaire was the head of UNAMIR, the UN mission to assist Rwanda in implementing the Arusha peace accords between the RPF and RGF factions. He’s a Canadian Lieutenant General (three stars), and went to Rwanda full of hope but also with a generous sobriety about the mission. After the mission, in short, he had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, was retired from the army for medical reasons and has attempted suicide (through such methods as driving full speed in a 4×4 through a minefield).

The book is heart-wrenching is the worst of ways. It’s a personal account: it’s not a historian speaking in terms of footnotes, it’s not a politician telling what he did. It’s a light read for a heavy story, which makes it all the more compelling.

Dallaire went into Rwanda asking for 20,000 troops, Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and helicopter support. He got 2,500 troops and expired German rations for food. The hardships they went through are too many to mention, but their resolve and most of all, undying courage can never be mentioned enough.

What really pissed me off the most though, was when a Department of Defense staffer told Dallaire that the US couldn’t intervene because the 800,000 people who died in Rwanda couldn’t justify the estimated 10 US casualties coming from its possible intervention. Is that true? Is one American life worth 80,000 Rwandans? I had no illusions of that being an underlying belief amongst the government, but I surely didn’t expect this to be stated bluntly over a phone as if it were no different than turning down a supplier for being too expensive.

At the same time I think about the Brazilians which are now in Haiti. Haiti is by far one of the “hottest” trouble spots in the world. They’ll probably go undermanned. The Chileans are providing helicopters, we’re bringing in the bulk of manpower (1,200 or so people) and the APCs are French leftovers from the previous mission. I hope that each and every single one of those guys comes back. They are the true peace-keepers: they put their lives on their line for people whom they don’t know, have nothing to gain from and in a country with no strategic resources or wealth. I myself would volunteer in a heartbeat for such an endeavor, even if it meant just working paper and translating for the military.

ric