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M.D. Traore: Toward a New Paradigm for Peace and Human Development
Written by Mme. Mintou Doucouré Traore, Former First Lady, Mali
Monday, February 10, 2014
Address to the International Leadership Conference
Seoul, Korea - February 9-13, 2014
On behalf of the Ambassadors for Peace of Mali let me salute you all and wish you all the best for 2014.
The conference which brings us here is entitled: Towards a New Paradigm for Peace and Human Development.
Mali, my nation, had special experiences in 2012. It was attacked by lawless individuals wanting to partition the country, causing the death of many people and families who were forced to move to other countries. This has dragged the country into a chaos that forced the UN to intervene. My husband, Professor Dioncounda Traore, abandoned his personal ambition and accepted to become the president for a one-year transitional term. An Ambassador for Peace since 2008, with experience in the field of peace, he led our country during this transition peacefully, despite all the ingredients of a civil war that were in place, and he organized the presidential and legislative elections. Mali now enjoys democratically elected leaders without noise or protest. Indeed, whenever there is a question of peace, he has always responded positively to this call. Unfortunately, this time he could not make it to Korea. He asked me to represent him here at this International Leadership Conference, which I accepted right away.
This day is an opportunity for me to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for her many efforts she has made in many areas to achieve a world of peace where all people live in harmony beyond differences of race, ethnic group, religion and nation.
Thanks to you, the voice of true peace begins to resonate more and more in the hearts of individuals, families and nations around the world.
I am confident that your vision of peace will soon be appropriated by organizations including the United Nations (which is the guarantor of peace between nations). Your outstanding activities for peace are role models for all humanity.
As we all know, peace is not the absence of war. Peace starts in the family. It then expands to the community, the nation and the world, which is why we believe that exchange marriages - interracial, interreligious and international marriages - that the founders are promoting represent a real hope for making this world a better place to live for our children and future generations.
Also the success of projects such as the Middle East Peace Initiative and similar projects in other parts of the world - and I hope soon in Africa - prove that your words and actions are in harmony.
Distinguished leaders, you were well inspired to create these frameworks for harmonization and peacebuilding. The concept of peace needs to be understood by everyone: recognizing each other as brothers and sisters of the same human family.
I conclude with this meditation
Let us dream of a world that would not be afraid to lend a hand,
In a better world, where all colors can mingle.
Imagine one day a united people of the same blood relationship,
Human people where peace erase all pain.
Learn to love without judgment and without giving concessions.
Open our hearts to the generosity to relieve oppression,
Stop the spread of violence and intolerance,
To sow all the elegance and magnificence
Let our family live in a straightforward harmony,
That our path is a reflection of a world where love prevails!
Smile at the improbability to repair ignorance
Dare fraternity to better absorb the inevitable.
We must all commit ourselves to the quest for peace in the world. We must commit ourselves so that peace reigns in our families and in our communities. We must sow peace, cultivate peace, and persist so we can reap peace, security and development.