{"id":196112,"date":"2009-09-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T17:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=196112"},"modified":"2019-03-12T17:08:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T17:08:37","slug":"auto-insert-196112","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-196112\/","title":{"rendered":"Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA 60th anniversary\/High-level session – Queen Rania of Jordan – Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n

\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah
\nÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA @ 60
\nNew York, United States of America
\nSeptember 24, 2009<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Remember the Living<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Thank you, Karen.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

You know, this is one event I wish I wasn’t at.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

I wish there was no need for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA… I wish there was no anniversary to mark…and I wish that there were not 4.6 million Palestinian refugees in need of humanitarian aid.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

But, you and I know, the reality is very different. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Theirs is a life interrupted…a life half lived. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Hours wasted at checkpoints… …another work day lost…another pay cheque cancelled.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Worried about what the family will eat… weighing up how far food will stretch…praying for an aid parcel.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Wanting your children to go to school… afraid of the dangers they face …frustrated at the lack of teachers and textbooks. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Waiting for the trucks to get through because you need diapers for your baby… or blankets to keep your children warm at night.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Weeping as you watch your grandfather moan in agony, cancer riddles his body. His suffering could be relieved, if only he had a travel permit to get to hospital. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Yes, the reality for Palestinian refugees is painful and protracted.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

But for 60 years, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA has alleviated that pain. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Not just by providing shelter, but…sanctuary.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Not just food, but…nourishment.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Not just healthcare, but… compassion.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

And not just immediate needs, but the tools for long-term empowerment: primarily, education.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA has invested millions in getting children into quality schools by building new classrooms, training teachers, and enriching curricula. But that’s only half the story. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Schools in Palestine provide a vital psychological service for little people whose childhoods have been crushed by trauma, loss, and conflict. For them, school provides a comforting routine … supportive words from teachers…a welcome distraction…a time to play.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA’s presence reminds the Palestinian people that they are not alone; that in their darkest hours, an international aid agency stands by their side. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

So, I want to record my deep gratitude to the tireless staff at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, people who have, and continue to endure indescribable hardship and danger, and risk their lives to help Palestinian refugees every day. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

And I, especially, want to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives courageously helping others. Thank you. You are not forgotten. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ironic isn’t it? To remember the dead…when so many have forgotten the living.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Gaza. Over 3,500 homes still not rebuilt…almost 53,000 homes damaged…4,000 shelters falling apart … countless factories destroyed… infrastructure fractured… almost 300 schools and kindergartens in disrepair… water and electricity intermittent… one in two people unemployed…seven out of ten living in poverty…farm exports at a virtual standstill…1.5 million people cut off, trapped… children waiting for prosthetic limbs…ventilators for newborn babies out of order…<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

In January, I made a YouTube video for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, describing Gaza as "Hell on Earth". I never imagined that, eight months on, after pledges of almost $4.7 billion, it would still be: Hell. On. Earth. But that is the shameful truth. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Not one penny of the billions pledged for reconstruction has reached Gaza!<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A ban on the entry of building materials means reconstruction has not even started!<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

And right now it’s Eid al Fitr…the holiday Muslims celebrate after Ramadan, traditionally a festive time, when families eat meat and parents give their children gifts. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

There is nothing to celebrate in Gaza today. There is no money for meat or gifts. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

And, now, the agency that is the lifeline for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon is, once more, on the verge of financial collapse. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

If we let Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA collapse, it will be the youngest that bear the greatest weight.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

If we let Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA collapse, we risk fuelling frustrations… losing focus for peace talks… and destabilizing our region further.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

There is so much at stake. All of us depend on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

To the global community, to the Arab world, I say: your assistance is needed now more than ever!<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

For 4.6 million people, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is not a choice or an option; it is not a whim or a luxury. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is a way of life; it is a way of living.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Please remember the living.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Please support Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA. Thank you.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA @ 60 New York, United States of America September 24, 2009 Remember the Living Thank you, Karen. You know, this is one event I wish I wasn’t at. I wish there was no need for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA… I wish there was no anniversary to mark…and I wish that there […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[909],"document-category":[2773],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,2005,2349,2153,1745],"entity":[1985,1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-196112","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-jordan","document-category-speech","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-refugee-camps","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-state","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/196112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/196112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=196112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}