An Ethiopian OdysseyChapter 28 - The peace cranes flutter 22nd February 2005 The final stop of the American odyssey was NY. Along
with the prospect of meeting Azeb Fesseha, I also longed to visit Ground
Zero. What would I find there – would I find a link to the rainbows
I kept thinking of, rainbows of peace, every time I thought of people
affected by the tragedy of 9/11? Chapter 28 ‘The peace cranes flutter’
explains two links to peace that I found there. In front of me, a UN employee titillated a Chinese woman he was plainly trying to impress with details of the latest meetings and gossip about the rape scandals in the Congo. It was clear that lots of management time was being devoted to it. I wondered how much energy had been invested in advance in ensuring that soldiers who wore the blue beret represented everything the UN stood for, especially security and safety, particularly when ordinary people had endured great devastation, whether through natural or man-made disasters. After the UN man had told Deepak how many times
he’d met him, it was my turn. I blurted out, “I’m writing
a book to help fund a Garden of Peace in Jerusalem. It will be published
next year.” “Ah,” he leaned back, pushing his glasses
back up his nose. There was the slightest pause and flicker of his eyebrows.
“That’s a very good idea,” he continued in a professional
manner, composure restored. He wrote ‘Good luck with your book on
peace’ and signed it with a flourish. |