[Dialogue] Fw: Happy New Year from The Elders

Thu Jan 13 09:02:39 CST 2011

For any who may not be aware of or connected to this group... 

--- On Thu, 1/13/11, Desmond Tutu <connect at theelders.org> wrote:

From: Desmond Tutu <connect at theelders.org>
Subject: Happy New Year from The Elders
To: "Randy Williams" <rcwmbw at yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 8:54 AM

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My dear friends,

On behalf of all the Elders, I would like to express our deep gratitude for your support and interest in our efforts over the past year.
We are all getting a little older, but you inspire us to keep working to try to make our world a more peaceful, equitable and harmonious place to live. 
As you may know, I retired last year. I hope to take life more slowly: to watch cricket and to sip tea with my wife. I will, however, continue my work with the Elders – someone has to keep them in line!

Across the world, New Year is an ideal time for reflection, to think about the year gone by and to look forward to the year ahead. As you can see, 2010 was a busy year for us. 
Delight at Aung San Suu Kyi’s release

We all rejoiced when Honorary Elder Aung San Suu Kyi was released in November, following 15 years under house arrest.
There can be no doubt that the efforts of people around the world calling for her release had an impact. Don’t listen to the cynics – if the world had remained silent she would not be free today.
But, as Daw Suu Kyi told me after her release, there is much to do. We must not turn our backs. 

More than 2000 political prisoners remain in Burma’s jails and the Burmese people continue to be denied fundamental rights and freedoms. We will do all we can to support our sister and all those working for a more prosperous and just future for Burma and its people.
2010 – Africa’s year

How proud we were to welcome the world to Africa for the football World Cup in June.
The optimism and energy of the continent was palpable, and a real highlight for us was when we joined 80 top students to discuss Africa’s incredible potential.
With Africa’s future in the hands of such talented young people, I have every faith that our continent will soar.

A special moment was to be reunited with Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, ahead of the first ever international Mandela Day, a global call to action to recognise that we all can make an impact on the world around us. 

The urgency of peace in the Middle East

We Elders are deeply worried about the lack of progress towards peace in the Middle East. As global citizens, we must all push our leaders to help bring peace to this volatile region.
In October my fellow Elders Mary Robinson, Lakhdar Brahimi, Ela Bhatt and Jimmy Carter visited Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank, to hear directly from those affected by the conflict. 

At the end of the year The Elders issued a renewed call for peace based on international law and respect for human rights.
Visit our blog to read stories from extraordinary Israelis and Palestinians who live with this conflict every day and are trying their best to end it. The Elders will continue to do what we can to support efforts to reach a two-state solution and a just and secure peace for all.
Ending child marriage

In 2010 we announced that we will build a global alliance to help end child marriage.
If we don’t act now, one in three girls in the developing world, or 100 million girls in the next decade, will be married before they reach 18.
This puts the health of young girls at risk in pregnancy and childbirth, and denies them their education, perpetuating poverty from generation to generation.

By bringing together grassroots and international activists, as well as community and religious leaders, we hope that our alliance can create a groundswell of support for a world without child marriage.
Sri Lanka, Sudan & Zimbabwe

As I write, the people of Southern Sudan are taking part in an historic referendum to decide their future – we pray that the process is carried out fairly and peacefully. We as Elders sincerely hope that this is a big step on the path to lasting peace for a country that has suffered so much over many decades.
In Zimbabwe, my good friend Mary Robinson witnessed a ground-breaking agreement between leading women of all political parties to work together for democracy and equality – an example their male counterparts could do well to follow. 

Sadly, we have yet to see much progress towards genuine national reconciliation in Sri Lanka. In August we called for a greater response from the international community to the Sri Lankan government’s continuing disdain for human rights. 
Your ideas

Many of you wrote to tell us about the work that you are doing to bring positive change to your own communities. My friends, you are truly remarkable people!
You’ve also shared ideas and feedback, for example Thomas from the United States told us:
“I would like to see an online community created, where common folks like me can join in a dialogue and obtain occasional feedback from the Elders.
“Primarily I want to see discussion about what each of us can do - how each of us can promote the causes of this organisation.”

Well Thomas, we’re on the case. Our team is working on new ways to help us develop a lively and open Elders’ community. Just as we keep asking you to demand more from your leaders, it’s only right that you should continue to ask more from us! 
Wherever you are in the world, I wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2011.
God bless you,
Desmond Tutu

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