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Peace Road and 5th Memorial Anniversary
Written by Santosh Neupane, FFWPU-Fiji
Friday, September 1, 2017
Suva, Fiji—Peace Road 2017 was organized in Suva, the capital city of the Republic of Fiji on September 1, marking the 5th year of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s passing.
The program was originally planned as an outdoor event‚ but because of inclement weather, the activities were rescheduled as an indoor program. The audience included the Hon. Iliesa Delana, assistant minister for youth and sports, who also serves as president of IAPP-Fiji, together with his wife and their newly born daughter; Hon. Netani Rika, Parliamentarian; Hon. Alvic Maharaj, Parliamentarian; government officials; UPF members; leaders of associated organizations and Ambassadors for Peace.
Mr. Santosh Neupane, chair, FFWPU-Fiji shared a personal testimony of his life of faith attending the UPF founders for 19 years. He then gave a summary of Rev. Moon’s vision for world peace and the need for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. This was followed by a 26-minute video entitled "As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen", an autobiography of Reverend Moon.
Other speakers included Mr. Akhtar Ali, mayor of Nausori city, who explained the importance of the Peace Road project and shared his impressions of the program he attended earlier this year on the border between North and South Korea. He spoke about his experience being on the same panel with Dr. Sun Jin Moon, international president, FFWPU at the World Summit in February 2017 and offered words of praise for Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s leadership of numerous worldwide humanitarian, social and philanthropic projects.
Hon. Netani Rika respectfully expressed his gratitude towards the UPF founders. He said, “Rev. Dr. Moon was widely misrepresented and misunderstood as the founder of the Unification Church, however, his overarching purpose was never to establish a church. His work began from a deeply personal promise he made to God to save humanity from suffering and to bring joy to God. He poured his whole life into this mission and remained steadfast to this promise, despite frequent and strong opposition. He lived to love God and humanity and he embraced even those who could have been considered enemies.”
Ratu Filimoni, president, UPF-Fiji testified to his 20 years as a member of the movement and his personal experiences with the founders. Mr. Wasu Deo, secretary general, UPF-Fiji gave a vote of thanks and shared an anecdote about waiting for the founders to arrive at the Nadi International Airport only to find out that government officials had refused to issue them an entry visa. Mr. Deo described it as a “bad dream.” Now the time is different, he said, “Fiji is a secular country and we have a different standard of UPF in Fiji. We are ready to invite Dr. Moon to our country."
The formal program was followed by a BBQ party in memory of the UPF founder.
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