International Thanksgiving at UN, 1978 Nov 20 – SUMMARY

Filed under 2 or more | Thanksgiving - Gratitude

On 20 November 1978 Sri Chinmoy: the Peace Meditation at the United Nations sponsored the fourth observance of International Thanksgiving at United Nations Headquarters.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Guest speakers included ;

  • Ambassador Davidson L. Hepburn of the Bahamas,
  • Ambassador E. Owono Asangono of Equatorial Guinea,
  • Ambassador C. G. Maina of Kenya,
  • Ambassador Harald Rose of the German Democratic Republic,
  •  Mr. Zaim Imam, Political Adviser of Kuwait and
  • Mr. Christian Schmittlein , Third Secretary, from the Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • Colonel Geiger was also present as a representative of the Swedish Mission to the United Nations.

Following are excerpts from the programme.

See also DETAILS and PHOTOS of International Thanksgiving at UN – 1978 Nov 2o , which appeared in excerpt of November 1978 issue of “Meditation at the United Nations”

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

H. E. Mr. Davidson L. Hepburn , Permanent Representative of the Bahamas to the United Nations: Membership in the United Nations has been a catalyst to the Bahamas. The exposure has challenged our delegates to deal with issues in a more constructive and decisive manner.

 

Hence, we are more positive in our conviction that the true values of peace and harmony with one another and with one’s environment are within mankind’s grasp, and we hope that by sharing this belief with our colleagues here at the United Nations we can enhance the image of the organisation by fostering better relations and strengthening the call for the maintenance of universal peace and security.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

H.E. Mr. C. G. Maina, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations: We are happy to join all our friends in this International Day of Thanksgiving, even for the imperfect peace in an imperfect world that we have continued to enjoy in the past year.

It is our hope that men and women leaders everywhere in the world will have the opportunity to sit back and count not only the problems, but also the blessings that we have, because without the ability to sit back and reflect on the basic values of human existence and the relationship between man, his immediate environment and the rest of the universe, the human being often behaves no better than the lesser creations that inhabit the earth.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

H.E. Dr. Harald Rose, Permanent Representative of the German Democratic Republic to the United Nations: It will soon be thirty years since the German Democratic Republic was founded – an anniversary for which the people of my country are making preparations in many ways.

I am presenting to you a young State whose people can look back on a long and eventful history . . .For the German Democratic Republic the commitment to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations is not only motivated by political or juridical considerations. It is deeply rooted in our philosophy and ideology and in our concepts of value, in short, in our new life.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mr. Zaim Imam , Political A dv iser, Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the United Nations: The United Nations means a great deal to my countrymen.  We view the United Nations as the institution that can ensure our very survival through the establishment of international security and the rule of law. It is also the institution which completes the process of decolonization and ensures protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

To strengthen the United Nations, Member States should work to improve it as an object in itself . They should cease to use it as an instrument fo r the furtherance of national policies. My countrymen believe that with the proper political will, which must evolve in an increasingly interdependent world, the United Nations can fulfil its real goals.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

H.E. Mr. E. Owono Asangono , Permanent Representative of Equatorial Guinea to the United Nations (translated from the Spanish ): With Equatorial Guinea’s admission to the community of  nations, its people were born to a new light. It has meant the complete and effective acquisition of all its rights, duties and obligations before the international community.

The Equatorial Guineans feel that it is their duty and obligation to contribute to the common efforts for the edification of an honourable and prosperous universal human society, and, at the same time, recognize their right to participate in the benefits of this community.

I would like to say a few words to manifest the importance of and the highly significant role that meditation has for the human being. Because of the multiple factors of the social and political life of our environment, the process of humanization is very difficult. It is then indispensable and necessary to surrender every now and then to meditation, as a way to the purification of our spirit and the rediscovery of our inner self. The United Nations constitutes the hope and dream of the international community for the solution of grave problems th at affect humanity. We have then the obligation and duty to work pure in spirit here.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mr. Christian Schmittlein , Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations: The German artists, philosophers, writers and painters of the 19th century did not want to be “German” artists in the first sense; coming from middle Europe, they wanted to give their message and their way of thinking to all states. They did not want to be German national artists, but they wanted to be world citizens. This is true not only for Goethe, but also for Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx or any of the others. So, you see that the German culture is not limited to what is now the present Federal Republic of Germany. German culture has always been directed towards the larger world.

This is how we understand our role in the United Nations, too. We try to strengthen all the attempts and all the efforts for peace. The German culture, in the past as well as in the present in the Federal Republic of Germany, has tried to work for peace for all people.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Page Image from Devoted Report to SG-1978:

Click below for larger or different resolution photos -images.

See also DETAILS and PHOTOS of International Thanksgiving at UN – 1978 Nov 20 , which appeared in excerpt of November 1978 issue of “Meditation at the United Nations”