Discussion Session II
COMPASSION FOR CHILDREN
Keynote by Mrs. Betty Williams
Before I begin my talk I would like to say one more time, “Domo Arigato”, for being here. I am very honored that you came. And I must also say something in honor of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. My organization, World Centers of Compassion for Children International, is building the first city of peace in the world for children in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I also must tell you when he and Archbishop Tutu get together that they’re like two naughty little boys. These are men who are not afraid of the child inside.
I’ve named this talk, “Each person is our brother and our sister. And each child born belongs to all of us.”
“What you do to the smallest of my creatures you do on to me.” So it says in the teaching of my Christian faith, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Another in the teaching of the simple man, known as Jesus of Nazareth. In his farewell to Peter before he was crucified, he held his disciple and told him, “Upon this rock I will build my church. My peace, I leave you, my peace, I give unto you.”
No, I have not suddenly become a born-again Christian. If all of my sins were written on my forehead, I could not go out in public. But I find myself furious at those who profess to love God while killing in his name. “Thou shalt not kill,” being one of the Commandments. There are no “i.e.”s in this Commandment. And God knows what I have looked. So how can the bishops of my Calvary Catholic Apostolic faith condemn abortion while never mentioning the destruction of war?
I am also incensed by the fact that the majority of those slaughtered every day in our world are the littlest of God’s creations. Babies, little gifts from God, precious mortals of life, pure sweet helpless babies, condemned to death by man, some only minutes after being born.
In the midst of plenty, according to the world hunger report, 842 million of my brothers and sisters starved to death. That report states that by the year 2020 HIV will have killed 20 % of the African work force, mostly agricultural workers.
Famine worsens the AIDS’ epidemic, because those also affected by famine are more liable to move off the land to urban centers where the risk of HIV infection is higher. And women and children end up selling sex for money and food, thus becoming more vulnerable to the HIV infection. Hunger also makes those already infected with HIV more susceptible to opportunistic infections. Once they have developed fullblow AIDS, the capacity to absorb nutrition from food is reduced. Even with the drug therapy, HIV/AIDS sufferers need to have an access to better diet to help fight the effects of this disease.
To make matters worse, T.B. is now on the rise worldwide, specially the multi drug resistant type and those of the immuno-compromised systems are most at risk.
I find myself repeating over and over again that 9/11 was to quote Roosevelt on the bombing Pearl Harbor, “a date that will live in infamy.” Over 3,000 people were murdered in the name of Allah and yet on the same day, thirty-five thousand six hundred and fifteen children died from conditions of starvation in our world and nobody said a word. Upwards of forty thousand children every day die from hunger, in a world that can feed itself yet chooses to grow weapons instead of food. We so-called Christians should all hang our heads in shame for allowing this to happen.
Six hundred fifty thousand dead, most of them women and children, six hundred and fifty thousand, that’s a mind blowing statistics. The latest report from the Lancet medical journal, using credible methodology reported six hundred and fifty thousand Iraqi civilians, most of them women and children, have died since the invasion of Iraq.
The Lancet also reported that eight hundred thousand and more Iraqis suffered blast wounds and other serious conflict-related injuries in the past two years. But less than a tenth of them received any kind of hospital treatment.
The governments of United Kingdom and America moved at breakneck speed to cast doubt on the Lancet’s findings in 2004, of which they said that a hundred thousand Iraqis had been killed. Citing other studies they put numbers of Iraqi citizens’ dead to about fifteen thousand. They must have pulled these figures out of thin air, because neither the United States nor the United Kingdom admits to collecting any such data.
Reading accounts of the US’s invasion I am struck by the constant casual reference to civilian deaths. Members of the military speak of destroying hundreds of vehicles supposedly carrying terrorists that turned out to be crammed with innocent civilians. In the bloody battle of Niceria US Marine pounded civilian targets in a blind bid to suppress insurgence. US and British military officers claim this type of modern warfare based on accuracy is the most humanitarian in history.
Dozens of innocent civilians were killed in a vain effort to eliminate Saddam Husein with pinpoint air strikes.
The Lancet reported that the coalition has killed far more Iraqis this last year than earlier years, containing the initial massive shock and awe invasion and the major assaults on Faruja.
Huge arsenals of weaponry, billions spent daily on arms and ammunitions, are better ways to destroy humanity. The nuclear threat is coming a much greater reality than during the Cold War. The USA led by George Bush and Great Britain led by Tony Blair, men whose deeds will go down in infamy, developing more nuclear capabilities and becoming the world’s top bullies.
Doesn’t Mr. Bush know that America has forty-five million hungry people, of which seventeen millions are children, and that the number of homeless families in England has topped a hundred thousand for the first time last year. India with nuclear capabilities, head-count so far in that vast country are difficult to track, yet we know that thousands, millions, sorry not thousands, are starving. Again, mostly women and children.
North Korea, with millions starving, has already developed nuclear capabilities and indeed tested a nuclear bomb recently. Former Soviet Union, economically destroyed, billions being spent on arms, while thirty-five million of her people suffer profound hunger.
In a recorded video tape Osama Bin Laden boasts that he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in destabilizing the American economy. The results of the US War in Iraqi, he said, have, by the grace of Allah, been positive and enormous. And have, by all standards, exceeded all expectations to provoke and bait the Bush administration. Bin Laden also said all we have to do is to send two Mujuhaddin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of paper on which is written Al Qaida in order to make the generals rush there. This causes America to suffer human, economic and political losses.
Yes, Osama Bin Laden may be rubbing his bloodied hands with glee. As far as he is concerned, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom, led by George Bush and Tony Blair and Coalition of the Willing, of which Japan is one, and I hope now you have a new prime minister, you will pull your men out of Iraq.
For this has only been the greatest enlister for Jihad and its many terrorist groups whose barbarism knows no bounds. The cowardice of kidnapping easy targets and hacking off their heads from their bodies while recording their grisly deeds is alien to the Koran and every right thinking Muslim. It furthers no cause and intensifies the resolve of not just the American government and people, but the majority of the world’s people, to find and eliminate these horrifying practices.
In the recent Israeli/Lebanon conflict, over 2,000 people were killed, of which 163 were Israelis.
And still 40,000 children die per day and more than 14 million do yearly. These are the realities in terms of life. Every six seconds somewhere in our world, a child dies of hunger and preventable diseases. Over the years I have listened to many brilliant men and women, each one experts on algebra and figures. Unfortunately, the only figures that I bring to you today are the tragic figures of death and destruction.
It is time to turn this unbearable situation of pain and death around. It is time to force governments to be accountable for the suffering of the innocent. It is time to stop using the name of the Creator whatever one calls the Creator--God, Allah, Buddah, Brahma, the great White Father, etc.--as a reason to kill and destroy. Our common humanity to demand all of us is dedication, hard work and courage to change the horrors perpetrated in our world everyday.
This is my dream:
I dreamed a world without sorrow
I dreamed a world without hate.
I dreamed of a world of rejoicing
And woke to find Christ at my gate.I dreamed of a world without hunger.
I dreamed of a world without war.
I dreamed a world full of loving
And woke to find out Allah at my door.I dreamed of a world without anger.
I dreamed of a world without pride.
I dreamed of a world with compassion
And woke to find Buddha at my side.I dreamed of a world of tomorrow.
I dreamed of a world set apart.
I dreamed of the world full of glory
I will finish now, if I may, I by reading the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Children. Because we will be taking this document, the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Children, and through time we will force governments, I mean with great love, the power of love, to stop destroying the most beautiful thing ever could be--the future generations of this world we live in.
We, the Children of the World, assert our inalienable right to be heard and to have a political voice at the United Nations and at the highest levels of governments worldwide.
We, the Children of the World, must live with justice, with peace and freedom, but above all, with the dignity we deserve.
We, the Children of the World, require a Marshall Plan, a Geneva Convention, and a World Children's Court of Human Rights which meets regularly to listen to the testimonies as to what is actually happening to us. We intend to provide our own testimonies.
We, the Children of the World, demand the right to be taken to safe shelters in situations of war.
We, the Children of the World, consider hunger, disease, forced labor, and all forms of abuse and exploitation perpetrated upon us to be war.
We, the Children of the World, have had no political voice. We demand such a voice.
We, the Children of the World, will develop our own leadership, and set an example that will show governments how to live in peace and with freedom.
Discussion
Prof. Mizumoto:
Having listened to Ms. Betty William’s speech, we would like to invite a comment from His Holiness.
Dalai Lama:
Since a long time, I know her. Her commitments are about peace and especially, I think, taking care of young children. That is the future of humanity. I think for her genuine commitment, I always admire her. On one occasion, in some interview, she talked about the sufferings of children, women and innocent people and something like that. Actually she, in front of the camera, cried. So I really feel her commitment is not just mere dutiful statement, but real commitment. So we, I think everybody, take her commitment as an example. And make efforts.
I always believe that when I talk about humanity, peaceful compassionate humanity, we start from our own family. And within the family, for example, of five people; two parents, three children. All of the five, without efforts, cannot expect something like peace or compassion to come from the sky. It’s nonsense. Someone must start. So ultimately, individual.
When I talk about world peace, peace must start through inner peace. And inner peace must start from the individual. Now here, I think there are a few hundred individuals. Everyone has potential to create a better world. Sometimes we talk something bigger than us. But dream nothing. Sometimes we feel it is too big. So someone feels, “Oh, I can’t make any sort of contribution.” That is mistake! When I talk about society or community, or global, each individual has the potential to make change of the world. Of course to change the world overnight is impossible. Though, it needs decades. Some of our dreams may not achieve within our own lifetime. Of course, how we two, both, including Bishop Tutu, our remaining life I don’t know, we may not live really long. But for even those younger generation, within your lifetime, some of our dreams may not achieve, may not achieve within this century. But you must make efforts.
When I think of the negative side, there are two types of problems including Iraq problem, and Darfur sort of sufferings. These are symptoms of our past mistakes. I think mistakes or negligence are in the twentieth century, some are even from nineteenth century. So similarly, if we start effort with vision, then possible result may materialize at the end of this century or the beginning of the next century. But if we neglect, then more human population is increasing, the rich and poor is increasing. And then, the desperate situation will really increase. Even more danger of violence. More damage to environment. So then eventually maybe after a few centuries, the whole planet may be destroyed.
Anyway it is better to eliminate the whole world, then no longer any worry. But I think this is silly thinking. Better survive our world, our beautiful world. And I always tell people that we human beings, this intelligence, one of the species out of thousands of different mammals, because of this intelligence, are most troublesome, troublemakers. Yet because of this intelligence, we also have the capacity to not only take care of ourselves, but also taking care of the whole world, of environment, of millions of different kinds of mammals on this planet. Other mammals have no such capacity because of lack of intelligence. But we have this intelligence.
So if our intelligence is governed or guided by our warm-heartedness, in sense of greater responsibility with confidence, self-confidence, and carrying this work with honesty to the full, straightforward, then I think in humanity we have specially, extraordinary ability, combination of intelligence and warm-heartedness combined. We are only species who can develop infinite altruism. No one else. I think maybe God, and maybe us, second, in order to practice infinite love. So I think her dreams are different dreams. Whether her dreams are materialized or not, at least a few dreams must materialize. So that’s my comment. Thank you.
Q: Please would you talk about what motivated you to begin peace activities in Northern Ireland?
Betty Williams:
I’ll be very brief on this one, because even all these years later, 30 years later, I witnessed the death of three children on a Belfast street, and that was catalyst. I’d always thought I should be doing something, but I was very frightened for my own children. And when I witnessed the death of the McGuire children, that was John, Joanne and Andrew McGuire died one day in Belfast for no reason.
Q: Did your original motivation to begin the activities come from being a woman yourself?
Betty Williams:
I love this question. Yes. Because, you know, I believe that the women in our world are the givers of life. And I mean, if the Creator had wanted men to have a womb, he would have given it them.
But the Creator was a little smarter than that. He gave the womb to women. And underneath our hearts, right underneath your heart is your womb. We grow our children, nine months gestation, and before that child is ever born we are madly in love with this baby, most women.
We birth men, and we birth women, so it must be men and women together who are going to change what’s wrong in our world. One sex cannot do it without the other. And I am always afraid of people thinking that I am a sexist, and anti-man. The opposite is the truth. I love men enough to save their lives. Women must become the protectors of the womb.
Q: What does ‘peace’ mean to you?
Betty Williams:
Peace begins with me. And I don’t think any human being is completely non-violent and especially not me, because I get very violent thoughts at times when I see children being hurt. But I have to work on myself, something second to second, minute to minute, hour by hour, day by day, to transform the anger that I feel into something positive that would be taken out and used to help and not to destroy. And part of this question says peace at home. If I have no peace in my own home, then I have no right to be here, and be a hypocrite, and talk to you about peace. It begins in my home, and with me.
Q: What is the secret to bringing up a well-balanced child?
Betty Williams:
I can only take it back to my own personal experience as a mother. When my son was at a certain age, people would tell him, you know, you shouldn’t cry. It’s not manly, you shouldn’t. And how dare anybody do that to a child? Because why would you expect your son not to cry and allow your daughter to cry? These rules are so archaic and so stupid. My son was always told, it takes a man to shed a tear. Don’t you ever be afraid of letting someone see your tears, because real men cry.
I’m laughing now, because I hate the term, daughter-in-law. My son’s wife is my daughter. I just love her. She’s a wonderful mother. But we laugh together, because when Paul, my son, is watching a sad film on television, my daughter goes and get the tissues for him. She says Paul’ll be crying, I’ll have to go get tissues. And he is a wonderful father. He is a magnificent father, who allows his son to cry.
See, so what you do in your homes, ladies, with your sons is extremely important. To make a well-rounded man, you must allow that child to develop in every single sense, including emotionally. Especially for a boy the emotions are very important, that he is allowed to show them.
Q: Is the justice necessary in order to realize a peace?
Betty Williams:
You can’t work for peace unless you work for justice, and you can’t work for justice unless you work for peace. They are twins. So, you can’t achieve peace without having justice in your heart, and compassion in your heart. They go together.
Q: Do you actually, pray for peace, and if so, have you ever had the experience of your activities being blessed by your prayers? Please tell us about the policies for your future activities.
Betty Williams:
I don’t have any direct line to the Creator, or Buddha, or Allah, or God. I mean, I think anyone who says this is not telling the truth. But I believe deeply in my heart that through chanting or prayer, I mean, sometimes I chant Your Holiness, there is a Buddhist in me somewhere, you know. And other times I do my rosary, because I love the mother of Jesus. She was a mother who went through birth.
And I do pray a lot that the work that I do, you know, when you do this kind of work, you have to put everything into perspective. If there is a problem in my work, I usually have to go to the mirror and look in that mirror, because the problem is usually me. So, I have to remove me from the work, because that could involve ego, and children don’t have egos.
So, yes, I’m probably a very spiritual person. I …I don’t want any of you to think that I am a holy roller, because I’m terrified of people who are too holy. You know, it’s sort of.. It frightens, me that kind of born-again Christian. But I have a deep spirituality. I cannot go to sleep at night without prayer and I wake every morning with prayer. So it’s huge part of my life.
And if I, I can just ask one special request for those of you in this audience who pray. I’ve a sister Laureate, Aung San Sou Cyi of Burma who is suffering terribly every day. I would like you very much to pray for her release. Thank you.
Q: Please tell us your future plan of activities for peace.
Betty Williams:
This will be brief, and I have to synopsize about 30 years work, put into box.
About three years ago in Italy, Berlusconi, the then President of Italy, was giving land away in the region Bicilicata, which is a most extraordinarily beautiful place you’ve ever seen. And he was going to get this land for the dumping of nuclear waste.
There were the people of the region that got out in their hundreds of thousands, and at the end of it we joined them. And to cut this long story short, which Irish people can never do you, but I’m trying, we got the land instead of the nuclear waste, for nuclear waste, we got the land to build a City of Peace for children, a city of compassion in honor of his Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
Right now they’re finishing the feasibility study, and they’ve given us a beautiful monastery and they’re installing plumbing and lighting into the monastery. And we will use that to bring in delegations so as we wouldn’t have big hotel bills, and we’ll use that as our central office. We will be building the model in Italy, which we will replicate around the world. But first, we must get the prototype correct and get all of the problems that will go with that prototype ironed out. And if any of you want further information on that, rather than sit and talk and talk to you, you can go on to our website. It is: centersofcompassion.org All one word.
Q: In recent years the threat of nuclear war has been increasing. How should we educate children about the danger of nuclear weapons?
Betty Williams:
That’s a beautiful question. And I have seen your children. They are beautiful. I saw them today.
Instilling the truth in children is difficult, and trying to instill not being afraid is also very difficult. Because the truth is that they do live in a pretty frightening world. My children grew up amidst terrorism. They had the terrorism of the terrorist organizations, and they also had the terrorism of the legal army of Britain. Yet, I could manage with my tea and jam. We used to go bed at night with bombs going off and bullets being fired. You are terribly frightened of taking your child into town. I went into town one day with my daughter, and there it was a bomb going off and we were being directed and I ran right into a wall with my little girl. Turned out that her nose was all bloodied. But if I’d shrunk to fear her then, even though I felt extremely frightened, I would have been instilled fear in my child. So, I had to get myself calm enough to be able to not let her be afraid.
And that’s all we can do for our children right now. Because anybody who says how to make a child not afraid..., I don’t know how you do that, because they live in a very frightening world. But if you could try to instill courage …fear is very contagious. But, so is courage. Courage is also very contagious. Teach them to be courageous. And teach them… I don’t know how I did it. When I look back on it now, on all the years that I was mothering in the middle of a war, I managed to keep my children balanced. It was by my own inner calmness. I think that’s what worked for me. I can only speak for me, and if you bring your own children up that way, they automatically become courageous.
Q: I would like to ask this to His Holiness but, where one does the humility that is of your many appealing aspects come from?
The Dalai Lama:
I feel status is just mere designation. But basically, same human being. You audience, and me here, same, mentally, emotionally, physically, same. Of course, if you go further from the viewpoint of those traditions which accept rebirth theory, then of course some influence, I mean different influence from the past life. So, my case definitely has some influence on my past life, some special incarnation with, for example the fifth Dalai Lama and some other ancient Indian master. That’s more mysterious. I think not, it’s not wise to discuss these things? But on practical level, we are same. The name, Dalai Lama is title. It was designated. And Nobel Laureate? Designated. Basically same, I think basically same, same human being, like that.
Betty Williams interjects:
I would like to add that there are no famous people in the world, only people who are thought to be famous.
Dalai Lama:
Yes, exactly. The most important thing is not titles. True, true. And there also, I think, the practice also makes a difference.
Prof.Mizumoto:
What can you affirm the message as a result of this session. Please summarize this session, Ms. Betty Williams.
Betty Williams:
His Holiness, we had lunch together with Archbishop Tutu and His Holiness. It was lovely. His Holiness talked about Hiroshima and the horrors that this community suffered. And from my hotel window, I can see Ground Zero where the bomb actually dropped. And yet this city has turned into one of the most peace-loving. Wouldn’t you think they would be angry? No, Hiroshima has done something magnificent. It has become one of the greatest peace centers in the world. There are more conferences go on in Hiroshima than any other city in the world. After the suffering that your people went through, my message to you is don’t ever change, because you have shown here right here in Japan what forgiveness is all about, by making this a center of peace. I’m very proud to be among you. I’m very grateful that the Creator put you in my life. The message is: keep on, keeping on Hiroshima. You are an example to the world of what forgiveness is all about.
Prof. Mizumoto:
Thank you for your summary.
