Tak oto pisał mjr Paul Marcelo z kontyngentu filipińskiego, który w naszej Dywizji należał do jednych z najlepszych w działaniach humanitarnych.
TO OUR IRAQI BROTHERS
There is a special place in the heart of nations for those who risk their lives in defense of people and country. Our nations, having known ourselves the imperishable inheritance of sacrifice in the cause of nationhood and democracy, honors the gallantry of the Coalition Forces and the Iraqi people who choose to work side-by-side and fight terrorism for the attainment of peace and democracy in Iraq. They are the new band of heroes of this conflict for who among our fellow soldiers indeed has not been touched by their example of courage and dedication to duty? Who among the populace has not been drawn to the blessing of life and pursuit of happiness for which many of these heroes had risked their lives and are willing to risk more when the need arises?
In the time of strife that drenched this nation with sweat and blood, these heroes had faced many challenges. To every challenge, they had responded to the demands of the times – courage in the face of adversity and uncertainty; resourcefulness, and compassion in periods of peace. It is to the lasting glory of this band of heroes that leaders will establish a new government for Iraq.
Fitting therefore we reserve the highest tribute to them. But there is perhaps no greater tribute we can make than the peace and harmony we should maintain in this country in order to attain economic progress; for they will remain heroes only for so long as we make something lasting of the sacrifices they endured.
Peace and unity alone is the real anchor for our common goal, yet we sense it to be threatened by rising tensions among clashing self-serving ideologies, by the cancer we call terrorism and by the people’s indifference to the plight of this nation. In the process, more lives and resources are sacrificed.
In today’s dawning era, there is a greater need for heroes. Not much of those who will bear arms but those who will bear the instruments of unity, friendship and progress; those who will heal the terrible experiences of the past and envision the framework of your resurgence and development. For we know today that every Iraqi live for the same ideals and goals for which so many of your countrymen and kin died in their pursuit for peace; we will not built a nation from their blood, nor from the tears of their widows and orphans, nor from the deathless endurance of all your countrymen, only to hold in captivity those who would worship on the altar of peace, friendship, and prosperity. During the onslaught of cruelty, your forefathers dreamt of a nation borne by the tides of the rivers, by the constancy of the winds, by the lucidity of light, to where happiness for all will thrive. It may not take that dream as much time to bloom as it has taken an Old World to die. But the aspirations are there, and we are all, strong and weak, young and old, rich and poor, should help each other to build it.
Thus is the idea of human dignity, of justice, and of fulfillment for every man, woman and child; an idea which, like the immortal flame that shines over the graves of soldiers and martyrs, gives us a promise and certainty of the nation we finally win. It will be a nation where every Iraqi will at last be strong and free, and your sons will no longer have to hide in fear or to carry rifles, to sacrifice their lives, as Iraqi and Coalition soldiers died from tyranny, in bloody battlefields, in shallow graves, and in dark jails; where men with arms will no longer reap the fields of this precious land; and where peace, friendship and prosperity will finally rise, not from the remembrance of deeds of battle-torn soldiers, no matter how glorious, but from the ordinary deeds of ordinary Iraqis.
As I bid goodbye to this nation which had become my home for seven months, I pray that the people and their leaders will find the heart to give peace and unity a chance and that it will forever reign in the path of progress.
Maj Paul Marcelo
Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Iraq
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