Former Peace Corps Director Carol Bellamy speaks about world's problems and opportunities
Read and comment on this story from the Denver Post on former Peace Corps Director and present UNICEF Director Carol Bellamy and her speech in Denver where she said tha to achieve stability over the long term, the U.S. can't ignore the broader issues like hunger, sickness, violence and exploitation of children that can only produce a culture of hostility and rage against those who fail to intervene.
"If Sept. 11 did anything, it opened eyes in the U.S. to the fact that the world is a pretty small place," Bellamy said. There's no place to hide from the world's problems.
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Small world, infinite potential
By Diane Carman Denver Post Columnist
Thursday, September 26, 2002 - Sure, it's an election season when whipping people into a nationalistic frenzy is considered good politics. As the home of several military installations, Colorado has a tradition of supporting military solutions to international problems. And the 9/11 terrorist attacks succeeded in making most of us chicken hawks to one degree or another.
Still, despite all this, Ted Turner thinks folks here are capable of resisting the impulse for militant isolationism.
I know it's astonishing, but he might be right.
When Turner made his $1 billion contribution to United Nations causes five years ago, one of his objectives was to help ordinary Americans understand their important role as citizens of the world. He launched the Better World Campaign, and Denver was selected as one of the six cities for the project.
As a result, in the past year people here have been able to meet world leaders, learn about international issues and participate in forums to help solve our common problems.
This week, the world's children were on the agenda. Talking about orphans, the impact of violence, barriers to education, child labor, child soldiers, and the devastating effects of AIDS on the children of the world is not as titillating as threatening to bomb Baghdad off the face of the Earth. But the forum still drew a standing-room-only crowd on Tuesday.
Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF, was delighted. "The best part was that there were lots of young people there," she said. The room at the University Club was so crowded, several were turned away.
Right now, she said, the world is a "pretty tense place," and the focus among leaders is on national security. But to achieve stability over the long term, the U.S. can't ignore the broader issues.
AIDS is stalling or reversing many of the economic and social gains of the past two decades in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia and the Caribbean. A lack of educational opportunities breeds political instability and discontent.
And hunger, sickness, violence and exploitation of children can produce only a culture of hostility and rage against those who fail to intervene.
"If Sept. 11 did anything, it opened eyes in the U.S. to the fact that the world is a pretty small place," Bellamy said. There's no place to hide from the world's problems.
Bellamy didn't come here just to talk about problems, though. She also came to remind us of the vast opportunities the world has to offer - even in a place like Afghanistan.
"We're very proud that we were able to get schools open all over Afghanistan in a matter of weeks," she said. "We shipped 7,000 tons of educational tools to the country, and our agency is leading the girls education effort for the U.N."
Given demographic trends, the workforce of the future, as well as the growth market for goods and services, lies in the developing world. Assisting in that development goes beyond altruism or even the quest for future political stability - it's good business.
The human potential is astounding, Bellamy said, and often underestimated.
"I see it all the time. A person from the U.S. with graduate degrees lands in Senegal and is entirely dependent upon people who are illiterate but speak three languages.
"Just because you're poor doesn't mean you're stupid."
Diane Carman's commentaries appear here Thursday and Sunday. E-mail: dcarman@denverpost.com.
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