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Carl Wilkens (born 1958) is an American Christian missionary and the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda. In 1994, he was the only American who chose to remain in the country after the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
began. Since 1978, when he first went to Africa as part of a college volunteer program, Wilkens had already spent 13 years working on the continent. After training as a high-school teacher, he later went back to night school and earned an MBA at the
University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt consists of four colleges in applied arts and sciences, Robert G. Merrick School of Bu ...
.


Career


Beginning of the genocide

In early 1994, Wilkens was in Rwanda with his wife and three children. As the Rwandan genocide began, he sent them with a U.S. convoy to
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
(U.S. officials were afraid to use Kigali's airport, so they evacuated their citizens by cars) and stayed in his home in Kigali. Wilkens knew that he could not leave his friends, many of whom were
Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
s. His family had hired two workers who were Tutsi, Juan and Anita, to help out around the house. He feared that they may be harmed if he did not stay. His decision was made during conversations with his wife, Teresa, recalling that "Teresa and I would go back to the bedroom and we would talk, because we had made a decision that I wouldn't evacuate. We would pray, and I'd say, 'Does this still seem right?' and she said, 'Yes, it does'." Wilkens stayed in Rwanda even as others fled, including many high ranking U.S. officials. No one was more surprised by his decision to remain in Rwanda than the Rwandan people. Thomas Kayumba, Carl's co-worker, said that "All the foreigners left, but not Wilkens. He was still young. To take leave of his little children and his wife, to give himself to the Rwandan people, I don’t know how to explain it."


Gisimba Orphanage

The first three weeks were spent in his house with trustworthy Tutsis seeking refuge, but when there was a possibility to go out and do anything to people, who were slaughtered every day, sometimes just meters away, he gave his all to help them. Wilkens saved about 400 people from the Gisimba Orphanage. One day, when Carl arrived at Gisimba, he saw more than 50 armed militiamen who were waiting for an occasion to kill everyone inside the orphanage. His presence there stopped anyone from being killed. Wilkens decided to sleep with the kids that night to make sure they were safe. He stayed there until, using all his connections, he found four guards to guard the people inside the orphanage. He jumped into his car to find the governor, who could help him to save the orphans. When he was in his office, the Hutu prime minister
Jean Kambanda Jean Kambanda (born October 19, 1955) is a Rwandan former politician who served as the Prime Minister of Rwanda in the caretaker government from the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He is the only head of government to plead guilty ...
, was there and someone told Wilkens to ask him for help. Wilkens described the situation with these words: "'Ask him?' It's like that's the stupidest thing you could imagine - to ask this guy who is obviously orchestrating the genocide, a key player, and yet I have no other options. … e's like 'Just go out in the hallway. He's in the next office. When he comes out, ask him." So I went out nto the hallway… and door opens. Everybody snaps to attention, and here comes
he prime minister He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
and his little entourage. They're coming down the hall, and I am, too. I put my hand out and I said, 'Mr. Prime Minister, I'm Carl Wilkens, the director of ADRA.' He stops and he looks at me, and then he takes my hand and shakes it and said, 'Yes, I've heard about you and your work. How is it?' I said, 'Well, honestly, sir, it's not very good right now. The orphans at Gisimba are surrounded, and I think there's going to be a massacre, if there hasn't been already.' He turns around, talks to some of his aides or whatever, nd he turns back to me andhe says, 'We're aware of the situation, and those orphans are going to be safe. I'll see to it.'" And it worked; the prime minister agreed to make sure that nothing would happen to the orphans. But Wilkens, who was afraid of another militiamen attempt to kill people inside Gisimba, decided to move survivors to a safe haven - the Saint Michel Cathedral. Again, he used his connections and in few days, he organized two buses and a military escort, which was to help them to get through the most dangerous roadblocks. Wilkens negotiated with armed men on the way to the cathedral. In the end, everyone on the buses was transported to Saint Michel alive and unharmed.


Vaiter Orphanage and Nyamirambo Adventist Church

This was a quite similar situation to that in Gisimba. The orphanage was run by a Frenchman, Marc Vaiter, and before April 1994 its main goal was to take care of 16 HIV-positive orphans. But during the genocide it was a hiding place for about 100 children. They did not have drinking water and were running out of food and it was just then that Wilkens appeared, bringing most needed supplies. None of the children spoke English nor did Carl speak Kinyarwanda, so at first children who did not know his name called him: ADRA SOS (it was written on his car). When the situation became critical (there was fighting going on between RPF and Hutu army in the area where orphanage was situated), again Wilkens tried to relocate survivors to Saint Michel Cathedral. His obstinacy allowed him to do it once again. People from the orphanage were safe. He did the same for 12 survivors from Adventist Church in
Nyamirambo Nyamirambo is a Sectors of Rwanda, sector (umurenge) in Districts of Rwanda, Nyarugenge District, Kigali Province, Rwanda, Kigali Province, Rwanda. Location It is located in the southwest part of the city of Kigali. The coordinates of Nyamirambo ...
. They were transported to the safe haven in
Hôtel des Mille Collines The Hôtel des Mille Collines () (English: ''Hotel of the Thousand Hills'') is a large hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. It became famous after 1,268 people took refuge inside the building during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The story of the hotel and ...
. Wilkens reminisces that the situation during genocide was very complex, and that he was working often on the edge of law and morality: "I was in so many positions that could have been interpreted as compromising or even collaborating with the enemy. … Who's going to believe someone who goes to court and says, 'Well, actually I asked
he prime minister He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
to help me save some Tutsis?' Who's going to believe that? The stuff in the genocide just turns." Wilkens negotiated to save lives with Col.
Tharcisse Renzaho Tharcisse Renzaho (born 17 July 1944) is a Rwandan soldier, former politician and war criminal.
- governor of Kigali and with prime minister
Jean Kambanda Jean Kambanda (born October 19, 1955) is a Rwandan former politician who served as the Prime Minister of Rwanda in the caretaker government from the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He is the only head of government to plead guilty ...
later sentenced to life imprisonment by
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...
(ICTR). General
Romeo Dallaire Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a prie ...
faced a same dilemma, debating whether it was morally acceptable to "shake hands with the Devil" in order to save someone's life. However, the effects of such negotiations - thousands of saved human lives - made some feel that it was worthy to pay the price.


After RPF's victory

When the units of
Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...
took over Kigali on July 4, 1994, it was not still the end of service for Wilkens. Asked by RPF's officials, he helped distribute water, food and supplies to inhabitants of Kigali. It was the case of for example Saint Andre College in Nyamirambo (where there were about 12,000 people) and Kacyiru camp for the internally displaced. He also tried to find all his ADRA co-workers. Many times, such actions ended with a happy end. One of the most moving moments took place near Gitarama, when he found Amiel Gahima: "As we walked past the town of
Gitarama Muhanga (former Gitarama, renamed in 2006) is a city in Rwanda, in the Muhanga District, in Southern Province. The city is situated above sea level. Though officially part of the Southern Province, Muhanga is geographically located in central ...
towards Kigali, I abruptly saw a pick up truck with the ADRA flag. The vehicle suddenly stopped as it approached us. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Carl Wilkens coming towards me from the vehicle. As he saw me, emaciated and frail, carrying my three-year-old son on my shoulders, he was in tears."


Return to Rwanda and present day

When he finally ended his mission, he went back to the United States. But in 1995 he, his wife Teresa and their 3 children returned to Rwanda and for the next 18 months Wilkens worked for the Adventist Church on reconstruction projects. Since 1996, Wilkens has been living in the U.S. and he became an Adventist pastor and is working in Milo Adventist Academy in
Days Creek, Oregon Days Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. At the 2010 census it had a population of 272. The community was named after the local creek, which in turn was named for Patrick a ...
. He visits Rwanda from time to time to see his friends and co-workers. When he was giving a sermon in Kigali in December 2005, crowd of over 3,000 people attended his service. Wilkens tours the United States to speak to students, teachers, and parents about his experience in Rwanda. He has spoken at schools such as
Clarke Central High School Clarke Central High School (CCHS) is located in Athens, Georgia, United States. In 1970, Clarke County schools were desegregated, and the high school for black children, Burney-Harris High School (formerly Athens High and Industrial School), and ...
in
Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
,
Mission San Jose High School Mission San Jose High School (MSJHS or MSJ) is a four-year co-educational public high school founded in 1964. It is located in the Mission San Jose district of Fremont, California, United States. It is one of five comprehensive high schools i ...
in
Fremont, California Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...
, St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute,
Glenbrook North High School Glenbrook North High School (also known as GBN) is a public high school in Northbrook, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago, United States. It was established in 1953 and is part of the Northfield Township High School District 225. In 2022, it ...
in
Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County, Illinois, Lake County. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities north of Chicago and belon ...
, Nashville Community High School in
Nashville, Illinois Nashville is a city in Washington County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,105. It is the county seat of Washington County. Geography According to the 2010 census, Nashville has a total area of , of whi ...
, Avon High School in
Avon, Connecticut Avon ( ) is a town in the Farmington Valley region of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. As of 2020, the town had a population of 19,795. History At the end of the last Ice Age, 12,400 years BP of the Younger Dryas, nom ...
, and at
Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...
in
Elon, North Carolina Elon () is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina, Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area. The population as of the ...
. During his talks, he describes his experiences in Rwanda and how to stay positive by doing things such as creating new brain pathways. On 25 January 2012, Wilkens spoke to high school students at the Al Yasmina school in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
of his experiences in Rwanda, and promoted his new book. Wilkens also spoke during the 2014 GIN Abu Dhabi Conference in NYU Abu Dhabi, to a group of high school and university students. On 26–27 April 2014, Wilkens spoke to students at several international schools in Taipei of his experiences in Rwanda, and was selling his book during a Model United Nations conference.


See also

*
Roméo Dallaire Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a retired Canadian politician and military officer who was a senator from Quebec from 2005 to 2014, and a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. He notably was the force commander of U ...
*
Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...
* Bibliography of the Rwandan genocide *
Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...
*
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 872 on 5 October 1993. It was intended to assist in the implementation of the Arusha Accords (Rwanda), Arusha Accords, sig ...


References


External links

*
Interview with Carl Wilkens



Book in pdf: A True Humanitarian. Tribute to Carl Wilkens.

Carl Wilkens' Web

pedaling2peace.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkens, Carl 1958 births Living people Seventh-day Adventist religious workers American Seventh-day Adventists People of the Rwandan genocide