Queen Noor of Jordan

10/2006 - The finale of our journey to Afghanistan culminated with an invitation by Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan to attend the King Hussein Foundation International PEACE-BUILDERS Gala hosted in New York City. In less than 30 days, this was quite a contrast to exchange our bullet proof vests in the Afghan vineyards for elegant ball gowns in the Big Apple!

Few mothers living in America have shared the experience of walking through a minefield, yet our three smiles depicted our genuine spirit of commitment towards illuminating the landmine issue so that families do not have to suffer the perils of landmines for generations to come…

What had led us to this moment? Seated at our table this evening was and old friend, Jerry White, Founder of Landmine Survivors Network, and it was at this moment that memories began to converge regarding the pathway that led us on a quest to the minefields of the world. Nearly 10 years ago, Jerry had entered the living room of our family home in Marin County, just outside San Francisco, with a compelling story on the landmine issue following the death of the late Princess Diana whom he personally escorted through Bosnia in August 1997.

Overcome with grief after attending her funeral in England, he spoke from the heart. As he sat on our living room couch, he rolled up his pants to reveal his artificial limb much to the surprise of our children who were not yet teenagers. Jerry told his personal story of a young Catholic boy from Brown University hiking the Golan Heights on a beautiful April morning with three buddies. Boom! Suddenly, his leg was torn off and his two friends had to walk him through an unmarked minefield—step by step—as blood spilled from his strapping body as they were all uncertain of the pathway that lay ahead. As a cancer survivor, I suddenly realized that landmines were a cancer to the earth. A childhood friend quietly played “Candle in the Wind” on the piano, as I lifted my glass in a toast that “The world may go from MINES TO VINES…” It was an epiphany of sorts, as a cascade of blood to wine washed through my mind like a wathercolor wash…turning killing fields into bountiful vineyards.

Unknown to our family was the fact that Jerry and the other speakers were destined to win the Nobel Peace Prize on the landmine issue just days later. Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, would later join our Roots of Peace Board of Directors…The scene was set.

As years went by, Jerry told me the special story of Her Majesty Queen Noor and King Hussein, as his final vision was to eradicate landmines from his beloved country of Jordan. As the King was riddled with cancer, he prepared a special “gift of life” for Jerry upon his visit to Jordan. According to Jerry, the Queen had taken him across the desert in her Land Rover to the banks of a river. Faith was his guide. Upon arrival, a gathering of interfaith clergy appeared as King Hussein and Her Majesty Queen Noor had arranged for the removal of landmines at the site where John the Baptist was said to have performed miracles along the riverbank. Once infested with landmines, these pristine waters were now cleared of these deadly seeds of terror.

My deepest respect for Her Majesty Queen Noor has only grown throughout the years as this story was revealed to me, for her grace radiates from within. Her particular words on this evening called upon global citizens to remember that we are “all sons and daughters of Abraham.” As a Hashemite descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, King Hussein believed he had a responsibility to reach out to and support all people—Arabs, Muslims, and others—to provide hope and opportunity to help them achieve their potential and accomplish their goals. Her Majesty said that he also knew that by focusing on a broader concept of human security—sharing the opportunities and benefits of our world with all people, and enabling them to contribute in return—could we transcend the deprivation and hopelessness that so often lead to conflict and insecurity.

On the eve of our traditional season of “Peace on Earth,” I am reminded of generational wisdom derived throughout the ages from many cultures.

As we prepared to depart on our mission to Afghanistan, several friends of various faiths sent us words of inspiration:

“The Sacred Hoop of any Nation is but one of many that together make the great circle of creation. In the center is a mighty flowering tree of life sheltering all the children of one mother and one father. All life is holy. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. To harm the earth, precious to God—to upset the balance of the circle—is to heap contempt on its creator. Therefore, with all our heart and mind, we must restore the balance of the earth for our grandchildren and the seventh generation.” ---From the Wisdom of Black Elk, Chief of Seattle

“It is a crucial thing to come to a point of decision, to weigh courses of action, to sense the meaning of directions. It is in such a moment that you know ether you are on the side of life or death, and the choice is yours to make. To affirm life is to accept growth, to accept challenge, to move with all of one’s full-orbited intent in response to the deepest that stirs within. Then the miracle takes place, the deepest thing in you, somehow makes contact with the deepest thing in life, and you know that the decision is on the side of life, not death.” ---Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart (1957).

“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation
Neither shall they learn war anymore.”
--The Isaiah Prophesy 2:4-5