The Informer

L-R: Nickole Evans (USA), Leonora Shiroka (Kosovo), Didier Kamundu Batundi (Congo),
Gerson Florez Perez (Columbia), Me (USA), Mircea Tancau (Romania), not pictured Ibrahim Alex Bangura. (Sierra Leone).

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR TOLERANCE AWARD HONORS LIFETIME ACHIEVERS AND YOUTH

Global Youth Peace & Tolerance Awards Presented at UN.

The International Day for Tolerance, November 16, 1999, was celebrated at the UN with the presentation of awards. Seven youth from around the world were distinguished with an international peace award. The first annual Global Youth Peace and Tolerance Award was created to "honor young people who significantly contribute through creative expression to the pursuit of peace, tolerance an social justice."

As part of the International Day for Tolerance celebration, seven adults received Lifetime Achievement Awards. They include Dr. Michael DeBakey, who invented Dacron arteries and is responsible for such medical innovations as arterial bypass operations, artificial hearts, heart pumps, and heart transplants; Mikhael Gorbachev, 1990 winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace and former president of the USSR, who brought democracy to Russia; Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnia's ambassador to the United Nations, who played a key role in peace negotiations and implementing the Dayton Peace Accord; and Arnold Schwarzennegger, who besides being a famous actor is a humanitarian who enjoys working with inner-city youth.

The adult recipients symbolically passed the torch on to the youth award winners. The international youth honorees are from Columbia, Congo, Kosovo, Romania, Sierra Leone, and the United States. From Columbia, Gerson Andres Florez Perez was honored for his work to help the victims of land mines and to fight against the internal conflicts which make life dangerous for Colombians and rob children of their childhood.

From the Congo, Didier Kamundu Batundi was honored for his work for human rights of political prisoners and refugees. Because of his outspokenness, has had to flee his country, to escape imprisonment or possible death, and continues his work from France.

From Kosovo, Leonora Shiroka, president of the Post Pessimists of Prishtina, accepted the award for her organization which advocates children working with children to solve social problems including the problems encountered by displaced refugees as a result of the recent conflict.

From Romania, Mircea Tancau was celebrated for his work with Save the Children and his prodigious artistic talent which he uses to advocate for peace and social consciousness.

From Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Alex Bangura was honored en austencia for his total dedication to children's rights and for his unbelievable work rehabilitating the "child soldiers" who were brainwashed to torture and kill by rebels who have torn apart the country with fighting for seven years.

From the Unites States, Nickole Evans was honored for her volunteer work with refugees who arrive in her town, for her ability as a peer mediator, and for her web site where she shares her thoughts on "violence and conflict resolution."Nickole, who I have had the privilege to work with in the Junior Summit since 1998 was the "Kid Power" feature in September 1999 issue of The Informer.

The other honoree from the US was Jason Crowe! I was quite surprised to learn that I was one of the 7 youth chosen for this honor, especially since I didn't know I had been nominated! I was selected because of the work I do for peace and multiculturalism through The Informer and The Children's International Peace and Harmony Statue.

As recipients of the award, we were flown first to Dayton, Ohio, on November 11. The ceremonies in Dayton were in conjunction with the 4th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords. Dayton was a time for us all to get acquainted, and in spite of language barriers we somehow managed. The Dayton Arts Culture, and Peace Organization treated us to fun, educational and cultural experiences with emphasis on the Wright Brothers and African American poet, Paul Lawrence Dunbar. It was truly a learning experience for all of us. One night we attended our fist black-tie event at the Dayton Crown Plaza Hotel Ballroom in honor of the Dayton Peace Accords. We ate food that we didn't recognize and discovered how "the other half' lives! The following night we attended the "Concert for Peace," a wonderful event where the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sarajevo Orchestra played together.

Also while in Dayton, I had the opportunity to meet with Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnian Ambassador to the UN. We had communicated previously but had never met each other in person before. We talked about the peace statue and Youth for Peace in the Year 2000, an organization of international youth which will go to Bosnia at the time of the unveiling of the statue to meet with Bosnian youth so we can work on solutions to problems plaguing that area of the world. To date, Y3Py2K has delegates representing 9 countries. I asked if he would help with the selection of the Bosnian youth people for the summit. He agree, and also gave me some suggestions of whom to contact for help in fundraising for the statue.

After 4 days in Dayton, we were flown to New York for 4 days of festivities. In New York we enjoyed touring and shopping. The view from the top of the Empire State Building was unreal---as was the velocity of the cold wind! And the New York Sky ride was awesome. One night we were Arnold Schwarzennegger's guests at Planet Hollywood. Another night we attended a special performance of CATS, famous as the longest-running Broadway production in history, and we even got to meet with some of the cast before the show.

Our mots exciting time was attending the black-tie gala with national and international dignitaries at the famous Plaza Hotel. It reminded me of the Academy Awards where you see all these famous people drive up and get out of their limousines, and the crowds flank both sides of the sidewalk as they enter. When we got out of our limousine that's exactly the way it looked. It makes you feel really strange to walk between two groups of staring mobs. They weren't cheering for us, but they were staring. Actually there were getting ready to cheer. They knew that movie stars were scheduled to arrive, and so there they were standing in the windy cold waiting to catch a glimpse of their idols.

We all enjoyed the gala affair. We got to mingle with hundreds of people and meet some famous dignitaries. It was cool meeting Arnold Schwarzennegger and getting his autograph. The part I didn't like was that there were so many people with guns. It is sad that move stars, politicians, and ambassadors need armed body guards. It is really sad that when we are getting together to honor people who work for peace, nonviolent conflict resolution, and human rights, these very people have to be surrounded by guns. A sad irony.

The climax of the long trip was the ceremony at the UN where we were honored. First Lady Hilary Clinton, Honorary Chair of the 1999 Global Peace and Tolerance Awards, was unable to attend but sent a representative with a statement of congratulations. Senator John Kerry gave the keynote address and spoke about the work that each of us is doing to promote peace. Then we delivered our speeches and received our awards.

After 4 days in New York, it was time to say goodbye. This was hard. It was especially hard knowing that some of the award winners would be returning to dangerous situations and to places where life isn't made easy by all the things we take granted in America. The whole trip was a really humbling experience and made me realize how lucky we are in the United States that we can say and write whatever we want and don't have to be afraid to step out of the house or to close our eyes at night. The honorees from Africa, Colombia, and Kosovo aren't that lucky. They have seen their own friends tortured, maimed, and killed. Peace just isn't a nice word or something to be in favor of for them. It's a matter of life; because without peace, they have no life.