Tel Aviv, Israel - A delegation of UPF-Israel met with the Ambassadors of three African Embassies in Tel Aviv on May 24, a day prior to Africa Day. Secretary General of UPF-Israel, Mr. Jeremy Jordan, explained: "We gave them a certificates recognizing their precious work and to encourage them to help raise up their nations."
The first was Ambassador Tesfamariam Tekeste Debbas of the Embassy of the State of Eritrea, who made a special trip to his office to welcome us even though it was his country’s Independence Day holiday. After listening to our introduction to UPF’s work, he explained how he was a soldier during the independence movement in his country, spending more than 20 years in the bush, and how they gave their soldiers orientation before arming them to fight for independence.
The second was the Ambassador Ismail Coovadia of the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, who with his staff had met several UPF representatives on Africa Day 2010 at their continental football championship. This time they wanted to learn more about UPF and its support of the African Union. The Ambassador and his staff represented all the different ethnic groups within South Africa, and they are responsible for the preparation of Africa Day events in Israel.
The third was Ambassador Henry Hanson-Hall of the Embassy of Ghana, who met us with two of his senior staff. They are very interested in UPF and they themselves are seeking ways to connect with the many different groups of both Jews and Arabs who are working together for peace. They said that so much of the war was actually only in the news media and that they are actively seeking partners from both sides for cooperation.
As much as we had encouraged them all, they had also encouraged us by their efforts to spread peace and reconciliation among the nations. It was an awesome day.
Special thanks to our Ambassador for Peace Ms. Rosetta Gurgi Pardo who used her excellent contacts with the embassies to facilitate the meetings and contributed significantly to their success.