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C. Hill: Address to Third Rally of Hope 2020
Written by H.E. Christopher Robert Hill, U.S Ambassador to Iraq (2009–2010); U.S. Ambassador to South Korea (2004–2005)
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Address to Third Rally of Hope 2020, November 22, 2020
First of all, let me say, what a great honor it is for me to stand before this very distinguished audience, consisting of so many famous people from so many different walks of life to talk about the origins—the beginning, really, of the Korean War some 70 years ago.
I would especially like to thank UPF, and I would like to thank in particular Dr. Moon for her tireless efforts in raising our consciousness about this and talking about such issues.
The Korean War is one of the most bitterly fought conflicts of the 20th century, one of the worst wars that happened in that “Century of War,” and it is one whose ill-effects continue to be felt in dividing brothers from sisters, wives from husbands, and children from parents. It has really been one of the true tragedies of the 20th century, and in a very real sense part of the unfinished business of that century.
UPF, has done so much to raise consciousness to deal with this issue, to try to ensure that the rest of the world understands the meaning of it, not just for Korean people, but also for people the world over.
The Korean War, of course, engaged not only the people of Korea. Americans were very much involved as we came to the aid of our ally, the Republic of Korea. It happened because of something that was more broadly felt: the division of the entire world between the communist world and the noncommunist world. The Korean people were victimized by that division, and that victimization continues until today.
The fact is that the United States, the Republic of Korea, and so many of its friends and allies will not accept the idea of any kind of conflict that would somehow falsely bring the Korean people together. Rather, we need to address the issues, the root causes, of where and how this happened and of how this must end.
Bringing people together in events such as this Rally of Hope will have a real effect in terms of making people understand that this war could indeed happen any place where there is misunderstanding and mistrust; it could happen anywhere where there are people who are evil (there is no other word for it), who attack people who are not evil and who have a goodness of heart and a goodness of spirit.
So I do hope that we can continue to move forward in our understanding of what needs to be done, how we can overcome this division, and how we can make a world that is safe for all of us—a world that lowers its temperature, and a world that is able to deal with these very difficult problems.
To be sure, diplomacy has to play an important role, but every person has a role to play in trying to bridge divisions. Not just diplomats such as myself, not just politicians, not just economists, but all kinds of people need to come together, as this group suggests, and see what we can all do in our own different ways to deal with these very difficult issues.
So, thank you very much. It has been a great honor to address you, to be a part of this event.
I want to especially once again thank Dr. Moon for her absolutely tireless efforts over the years. She knows better than many of us the tragedy of this war.
So, thank you very much. I hope this will be a remarkably successful meeting and will lead to other successful meetings and ultimately to the unification of this very precious Korean Peninsula
To go back to the report on the Third Rally of Hope, click here.