 |
Created by and for survivors, LSN empowers individuals and communities affected by landmines to recover from trauma, reclaim their lives and fulfill their rights.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
World Landmine News
Jerry White Speech Introducing Her Majesty Queen Noor at World Bank Conference
World Bank Conference:Disability and Development
December 3, 2002
Washington, DC
My name is Jerry White, and I am the co-founder and executive director of the Landmine Survivors Network-a global network of survivors linking mine victims to rehabilitation, peer support, and social and economic integration. In short, LSN helps survivors around the world reclaim their lives.
In 1998, in Amman, Her Majesty Queen Noor announced that Jordan would be one of the first Mideast countries to join the historic Landmine Ban Treaty. It was also announced in Amman that Her Majesty had agreed to become Patron and Honorary Chair of Landmine Survivors Network. I\'m not sure which was the more courageous act -- banning landmines, or agreeing to chair an unruly group of survivors! Time will tell.
In the past few years, Jordan has made enormous progress--already clearing over 100,000 mines in the Jordan Valley, with about 200,000 left to go. And by May 2003, Jordan will have completed the destruction of tens of thousands of its stockpiled mines. Congratulations, Your Majesty, and Ambassador Kawar. Jordan continues to lead by example.
Her Majesty Queen Noor has worked tirelessly for 25 years to promote international peace and development. Everywhere she travels, she is welcomed as a true citizen of the world.
Queen Noor shared her late husband\'s commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. After his death in 1999, Her Majesty committed her energies to continue her husband\'s humanitarian vision for democracy and peace, through the establishment of the King Hussein Foundation.
Today, Her Majesty has joined us to share some of her thoughts and concerns about landmines, disability, peace and development.
I have traveled with Her Majesty to several mine-affected countries and what always strikes me most is how comfortable and at ease she is, whether speaking with world leaders, Presidents, or Senators or quietly embracing a Cambodian boy or a Lebanese girl who has just lost a limb to a landmine explosion.
Napoleon Bonaparte said, \"A leader is a dealer in hope.\" Praise be to God, Her Majesty is no Napoleon. However, SHE IS A TRUE LEADER. I have seen her deal intelligently and masterfully in compassion and hope.
I once heard the word \"graceful\" defined as \"walking with purpose to a good end.\" Her Majesty walks with purpose with those who struggle to reclaim their lives, their dignity, and their rights. It is with great respect and admiration that I introduce a most graceful leader, Her Majesty Queen Noor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Posted: Sunday, December 8, 2002
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
