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Chandrika needs your support: Clinton tells world community
Excerpts from President Clinton's Speech to the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), on July 15, 2005. Normally governments pledge 90% of what's needed and then only give 40% of that figure. I imagined the S.G. (Secretary General) asked himself, who can I find that is good at making people feel guilty about the money they owe -- and he thought, I'll ask Bill Clinton, he doesn't have a job anymore anyway. To my delight, I did not need to collect money because the world came forth generously. Rather, my attention has turned to ensuring the money is spent wisely, transparently and in a standardized manner….

I don't like to get involved in other nation's political affairs. At this point, I don't like to get involved in my own nation's political affairs. But there is an issue I would like to address here and it involves a dear friend of mine. President Kumaratunga has lost a husband, father, and was blinded herself in an attack, all stemming from political violence.

The leaders in this room shouldn't criticize her decision to place the needs of her country ahead of her personal wishes. Around the world in Rwanda, South Africa, and in Colombia, we see too often that it's those who wish to reach out to improve relations suffer from political violence. She needs your support. When you can't kill, imprison, or occupy all your enemies, sometimes you have to make a deal…and that is where politics comes in. Look around the room and ask yourselves if you would be here if that were not the case.

Many areas that were destroyed by the tsunami had one-dimensional economies that relied mostly on fishing or tourism. When we rebuild we must focus on rebuilding in a sustainable manner. Not just building new houses, but training on how to build houses so that they may be self-sufficient and create new areas of economic development. I visited Maldives, which two days before the tsunami struck was elevated from least developed country status. After the tsunami struck Maldives lost 62% of its economy. I would like to finish by remarking on an experience I had to place this in perspective.

Many of the villages in Indonesia elect a representative to liaise with people like me and show us around the village and voice their complaints. The family I met at one village had one child, a boy, and I said to my interpreter that he was the most beautiful boy I had seen. She responded yes, and not so long ago, he had 9 siblings who all perished from the tsunami. And yet his mother was smiling and upbeat, trying to pull her family back together. I have spent much time with these people and they are good people. Many of them did not have the opportunity to receive the same education as those in this room, so they were on their fishing boats or in coastal villages when all hell struck. You all owe them your best, they deserve it.

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