MESSSAGE OF HOPE FOR CHILDREN
Message of hope for children
By LINDSAY FERGUS
THE Eire President, and the Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have sent messages of hope to children living in the Province and other countries of conflict.
In the run-up to Unicef's World Children's Week, Mary McAleese and John McFall have taken time out of their busy schedules, to urge the children of Ulster and further afield to work together for peace.
Writing exclusively for the News Letter, which is supporting World Children's Week in conjunction with Unicef, Mary McAleese said her thoughts were with children who suffered as a result of violence.
The former west Belfast woman, who recently attended the Act of Prayerful Reflection in Omagh, two weeks after a Real IRA bomb ripped through the heart of the Co Tyrone town killing 29 innocent victims, said the only way forward was to "look to the future with hope in our hearts".
The former Queen's University professor, who promised to build bridges between the two divided communities in Ireland before her election last
year, said that the future of civilisation was in the hands of today's young.
Unicef (the United Nations Children's Fund) and the News Letter are encouraging the Province's children to send messages of hope to young people across the world during World Children's Week which begins next Monday.
In the President's moving letter to the children of Omagh, Northern Ireland and abroad, she said: "As the Unicef World Children's Week draws near, all of us on the island are mindful of the terrible tragedy in Omagh last month which saw a senseless destruction of lives, shattering the hopes and dreams of so many.
"We reflect too on the children and the vulnerable who suffer and bear the brunt of violent conflict throughout the world.
"Difficult as it may be in the aftermath of such terrible deeds, when so many of our young friends and relatives have suffered, and when the awful reality can be hard to come to terms with, we must look to the future with hope in our hearts.
"Young people are the lifeblood of civilisation, and it is with them that we place our trust and aspirations for a better world, a world where the resolution of disputes and conflict, can be achieved without recourse to violence and destruction.
"As we look to a new order, a new set of rules and relationships, a society based on tolerance, understanding and respect, we do so with a great deal of hope and belief in ourselves, and a determination that good will always prevail."
The Under Secretary of State said: "The vast majority of 30-year-olds in Northern Ireland today have spent their childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the shadow of killings, bombings, maiming and sectarian hatred.
"Despite this, they never gave up hoping that things would get better -they did not allow themselves to be deflected from their goal of lasting peace.
"With this goal now almost within our grasp, let today's young people seize it; let them seize it for future generations; let them show to young people all over the world who are victims of civil unrest that good ultimately prevails."
Messages of Hope, no more than 150 words in length, should be sent with the coupon to Unicef who will select the best ones which will be printed in the News Letter during World Children's Week.
Jan Beaumont, regional director of Unicef said: "Wherever war rages, children suffer. They are the most vulnerable of all the victims of the world's conflicts, facing cruelty, neglect, chaos and often death. Those who survive can be traumatised for life." She said that in the last decade war has killed approximately two million children, disabled five million, left 12 million homeless, orphaned one million and psychologically traumatised 10 million.
"But even though such horrors are happening in the world today, there is still hope," she said.
"In this, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Unicef has established realistic goals to help children caught up in conflict.
"Please join us and spread a little hope to children in conflicts all over the world by sending your message to Unicef Messages of Hope," said Jan.
By LINDSAY FERGUS
THE Eire President, and the Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have sent messages of hope to children living in the Province and other countries of conflict.
In the run-up to Unicef's World Children's Week, Mary McAleese and John McFall have taken time out of their busy schedules, to urge the children of Ulster and further afield to work together for peace.
Writing exclusively for the News Letter, which is supporting World Children's Week in conjunction with Unicef, Mary McAleese said her thoughts were with children who suffered as a result of violence.
The former west Belfast woman, who recently attended the Act of Prayerful Reflection in Omagh, two weeks after a Real IRA bomb ripped through the heart of the Co Tyrone town killing 29 innocent victims, said the only way forward was to "look to the future with hope in our hearts".
The former Queen's University professor, who promised to build bridges between the two divided communities in Ireland before her election last
year, said that the future of civilisation was in the hands of today's young.
Unicef (the United Nations Children's Fund) and the News Letter are encouraging the Province's children to send messages of hope to young people across the world during World Children's Week which begins next Monday.
In the President's moving letter to the children of Omagh, Northern Ireland and abroad, she said: "As the Unicef World Children's Week draws near, all of us on the island are mindful of the terrible tragedy in Omagh last month which saw a senseless destruction of lives, shattering the hopes and dreams of so many.
"We reflect too on the children and the vulnerable who suffer and bear the brunt of violent conflict throughout the world.
"Difficult as it may be in the aftermath of such terrible deeds, when so many of our young friends and relatives have suffered, and when the awful reality can be hard to come to terms with, we must look to the future with hope in our hearts.
"Young people are the lifeblood of civilisation, and it is with them that we place our trust and aspirations for a better world, a world where the resolution of disputes and conflict, can be achieved without recourse to violence and destruction.
"As we look to a new order, a new set of rules and relationships, a society based on tolerance, understanding and respect, we do so with a great deal of hope and belief in ourselves, and a determination that good will always prevail."
The Under Secretary of State said: "The vast majority of 30-year-olds in Northern Ireland today have spent their childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the shadow of killings, bombings, maiming and sectarian hatred.
"Despite this, they never gave up hoping that things would get better -they did not allow themselves to be deflected from their goal of lasting peace.
"With this goal now almost within our grasp, let today's young people seize it; let them seize it for future generations; let them show to young people all over the world who are victims of civil unrest that good ultimately prevails."
Messages of Hope, no more than 150 words in length, should be sent with the coupon to Unicef who will select the best ones which will be printed in the News Letter during World Children's Week.
Jan Beaumont, regional director of Unicef said: "Wherever war rages, children suffer. They are the most vulnerable of all the victims of the world's conflicts, facing cruelty, neglect, chaos and often death. Those who survive can be traumatised for life." She said that in the last decade war has killed approximately two million children, disabled five million, left 12 million homeless, orphaned one million and psychologically traumatised 10 million.
"But even though such horrors are happening in the world today, there is still hope," she said.
"In this, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Unicef has established realistic goals to help children caught up in conflict.
"Please join us and spread a little hope to children in conflicts all over the world by sending your message to Unicef Messages of Hope," said Jan.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/292
Published Date: 10-Sep-98
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