10/23/2000
In memory of those who died - silently - while serving United Nations principles. They serve quietly so we can live in a quiet world. They serve in silent dignity in a world where loud is the rule. They are the exception to that rule. Their rule, like their role, is to give their best in silence. Perhaps they invented a new language - where the most important work is not spoken but sensed; in which impossible peace amongst people are strived for in selfless dedication. Perhaps one day their silent language will tell us more, so much more that it will transcend spoken languages to a unifying one. Perhaps then we will find the universal language sought by generation after generation of those who struggled for that one language of peace.

And if peace ever comes, perhaps it will be heralded not with loud announcements with booming voices but with silence, a great silence. From that day forward, maybe loud voices could take a vow of silence. And the language of silence that these men and women began in our time will be the language of all of us. On that day we will remember the day when we all marched together, men and women of the United Nations, to honour their memory and to proclaim that enough is enough - the silent ones are no more an easy target. And the world will listen to the sound of silence.