When other foreigners chose to flee in the wake of the Genocide, Carl Wilkens, an American citizen who lived in Rwanda with his family in the early 90s, chose to stay.Wilkens was a relief worker for the Seventh Day Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA-International). He will be in Fort Wayne, between April 16 and 17, to speak at Homestead High School and at a forum at the Allen County Public Library. On April 17, he will speak at South Side High School and St Francis University.The 54-year old said leaving Rwanda wasn’t a choice. A young Tutsi couple was living in his family’s home and working for his family. He hid the couple.Shortly after the Genocide started, Wilkens’ wife and three children were airlifted out. But he stayed on, despite the urging of his family and church members to leave. He helped carry food and water across roadblocks and through angry mobs and soldiers to hundreds of orphaned children trapped in the city.He said the closest call he had with the Hutu extremists was at the Gisimba orphanage which reportedly had 400 children. The militia showed up and was preparing to move in for a massacre when they saw Wilkens. Apparently, seeing an American man there caused them to back down. But they didn’t leave. Wilkens was able to get a sympathetic police lieutenant to stand guard so he could get some help. He said it was a terrible choice: should he stay with the children or trust a police officer? The police had been known to side with the extremists. In the end he decided to trust the man. Wilkens was able to get to the Prime Minister of the Genocidal regime, Jean Kambanda, and stop the intended massacre at the orphanage.After the Genocide, Wilkens and his family stayed on through 1996.In January 2008, concerned by the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan, Wilkens quit his job and with his wife, Teresa, started their own educational NGO, World Outside My Shoes.He spends much of his time travelling around the world and doing educational lectures on genocide. He also takes groups back to Rwanda for educational purposes.He is expected to lead a group of high school teachers and university professors to Rwanda later this year, to learn more about the genocide against the Tutsi and talk to the survivors.
