August
19 each year, the world over commemorates the World Humanitarian Day. The World
Humanitarian Day is an annual and international day dedicated to recognize
humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives while working for
humanitarian causes. The event was designated by the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored General Assembly Resolution on
the strengthening of the coordination of emergency assistance of the UN.
The World Humanitarian Day is a time to recognize those who face danger
and adversity while helping others. The day was set aside to coincide with the
anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad – Iraq, which
claimed twenty-two (22) lives including the live of the then Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Iraq in the person of Sergio
Vieira de Mello.
The invention of August 19 as World Humanitarian Day was the outcome of
the relentless efforts of Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation coupled with the
partnership of the deceased’s family with the Ambassadors of France,
Switzerland, Japan, as well as Brazil in both Geneva and New York tabling and
steering the draft resolution through the UN General Assembly. All the efforts
of the Foundation was to ensure that the tragic loss of the said hero among his
twenty-one (21) colleagues, and all the humanitarian personnel who have made
the ultimate sacrifices in relieving the suffering of the victims of
humanitarian crises were not in vain.
Sergio Vieira de Mello who was a citizen of Brazil, South America
dedicated his lifetime spanning over thirty years in the UN, serving in some of
the most challenging humanitarian situations in the world to reach the
voiceless victims of armed conflict, alleviate their suffering and draw global attention
to their plights. His death alongside twenty-one of his colleagues on 19th
August 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq deprived the victims of armed conflict worldwide
of a unique humanitarian leader of unmatched courage, drive and empathy who
championed their cause fearlessly and clearly engraved their plight on the
world map.
The tragic event also robbed the humanitarian community of an
outstanding leader and intellectual whose thought, philosophy, dynamism and
courage inspired all, and remains a timeless legacy to emulate by generations
yet unborn. Mindful of this legacy, in 2006 the family of the late humanitarian
icon and a group of close friends founded the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation
dedicated to continue his unfinished mission of encouraging dialogue between
communities and relieving the predicament faced by the victims of humanitarian
crises.
The World Humanitarian Day was commemorated
for the first time on 19th August 2009. Suffice to say that, this year’s
commemoration is the eighth of its kind in the history of the worthwhile event.
As the international community marks the event today, we are all urged to
borrow a leaf from the indelible landmark achievements of the great warrior and
legend – Sergio Vieira de Mello. To this end, we are all expected to strive
towards promoting selfless service in our respective endeavours at all costs.
Surely, the most important thing to any man remains his/her welfare.
Welfare could be referred to as one’s well-being, or organized efforts to
ensure the basic well-being of people in need. Since the term ‘humanitarianism’
has to do with human welfare, it is of no need reiterating the fact that this
remarkable event widely known and recognized as World Humanitarian Day was set
aside to sensitize mankind on the cogent need for people to help one another,
and for anyone to support any crusade that is targeted to promote lending hand
to persons that are in need or victimized.
We must be willing and ready to volunteer ourselves whenever our
services are required in our various jurisdictions. It’s very disheartening to
notice that whenever tragic incident occurred, some persons’ intent is usually
how they would benefit from the crisis. Rather than preoccupy our mindsets with
such devilish intention, we are bound to take into cognizance that no one who
benefits from a crisis scene lives a happy life regardless of his/her status.
To this end, it’s our duty to ensure that we bring succour to the needy, or
those victimized by a crisis such as war, terrorism, religious extremism,
massacre, and genocide, just to mention but a few.
Furthermore, since no one ever wishes to be in a community or society
made up of only him or her, thus we ought to ensure that the sustenance of the
well-being of our relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues, associates, or
what have you, as the case may be, is at all times our civic responsibility. By
so doing, we can boast of a peaceful society filled with thoroughly united
individuals.
So, as Nigeria joins the global community to commemorate the World
Humanitarian Day, I enjoin every relevant body to include the religious
institutions, civil society, mass media, governments at all levels and
well-meaning individuals, among others, to do everything humanly possible
toward ensuring that selfless service to humanity is deeply promoted come rain
come shine. In his words, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, ‘In a
world that is ever more digitally connected, each of us has the power and
responsibility to inspire our fellow human beings to act to help others and
create a more humane world’.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is ‘One humanity’, which
signifies that we were all created to be one indivisible body irrespective of
our individual affiliations. Hence, we are meant to contribute our quota to
ensure that we actualize such laudable motive no matter the challenges. Think
about it!
Comr Fred Doc
Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador 
No comments:
Post a Comment