Mines to Vines - Italian Fundraiser Benefiting Afghanistan

April 18, 2008 - Rome, Italy

Over 400 guests gathered in Rome, Italy, for a special fundraiser organized by Ms. Flavia Taggiasco, Roots of Peace European Director, as a benefit raising euros to replace the scourge of landmines with schools and soccer fields in Afghanistan.  Earlier that same the morning, I was literally walking in boots through the mud riddled minefields of Croatia—located across the Adriatic Sea—where thousands of landmines remain silently planted in the earth poised to blow the limb off of an innocent child or farmer as they walk through the growing green grass sprouting in Spring 2008.  Over a decade after the Serb/Croat war has ended, these “seeds of hatred” remain planted firmly in the ground until the world realizes the global solution—removal.

 

 Traveling with the President of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, Mr. John Hoch, who has never visited a war-torn country, it brought the image home to a personal level.  The City of San Francisco, namesake for the “St. Francis the Gardener,” reminds us of our moral obligation to replace these landmines with bountiful agricultural fields so that the seeds of democracy may truly flourish on lands cleansed of landmines.  Unlike HIV-AIDS, cancer, or other social ills, Rotarians internationally realize the potential of a project beyond their astounding accomplishment, PolioPlus, to rid the world of polio—a future vision to rid the world of landmines.

 

 As our Croatian Airline plane touched down from Split to Rome, we changed from our fatigue boots into elegant evening attire and high heels for the Roots of Peace benefit—quite a juxtaposition from earlier in the day, and not quite knowing what to expect from the humble description of the event by Ms. Taggiasco.  As we walked into the posh location on Via de Babuino 65, we were stunned to see so many guest gathered on the streets waiting in line to climb the Roman staircases into a room filled with authentic hand-made Afghan rugs, clothing, jewelry, and ancient artifacts flown into Rome by Princess Homaira Wali, as together we raised thousands of dollars to benefit her country during this important window in history in collaboration with the Zahir Foundation.

Glancing around the room, one could see a myriad of diplomats, journalists, noble families, as well as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Italy, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Italy and the Ambassador of Jordan to Italy.  The Roots of Peace MINES TO VINES brochures were all translated into Italian and posters surrounded the room describing our work in the minefields of Afghanistan to educate the hundreds of guests filling the room.

 Overwhelmed by the spirit of generosity, I stopped for a moment to think “how” I actually met this incredible woman, Flavia Taggiasco, CNN Producer, who has volunteered her time, talent and treasure to raise the visibility of Roots of Peace to an international level among her colleagues.

Just months before on October 3, 2007, Flavia coordinated a private audience with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at The Vatican, so that I could personally appeal to Cardinal Renato Martino and Cardinal William Levada regarding the importance of planting “peace and justice” only after landmines are removed from the earth.  On this special evening in Rome, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was ironically in the United States on a special mission to proclaim the importance of “faith, hope, and love”—important ingredients for planting seeds of hope of former war-torn fields.

 

Reflecting back further to the “Harvest of Hope” in 2003, I vividly recall the first opportunity to meet Flavia Taggiasco in her role as CNN producer as she joined us with CNN reporter Alessio Vinci to walk the minefields of Croatia as she told the story through the lens of her camera from the soils where families and farmers not dare walk.   My own daughter, Kyleigh Kuhn, age 17, joined us as we drove to the remote interior sites such as Dragalic, Karlovac, Ciste Male, Ciste Velika and Bibijne.  There, farmers greeted us with sincere appreciation for removing the landmines from their soils so that “peace on earth” may be a possibility for those who till the soils long after the guns are silenced from the war.  Emotional stories of both Serb and Croat families touched our hearts, as we realized the importance of this “global pandemic” of landmines which hold the land hostage for years to come. 

 Kyleigh, a Junior in High School, had visited Croatia on her 13th birthday to see the plight of children living outside of California who could not run the beaches or hike the mountains without the fear of landmines beneath their tiny feet.  Such stories deeply touched her during her teenage years, as she returned to Dragalic with a Mexican piñata which was joyfully tied to the soccer  goal post of a field demined by Roots of Peace—a strong symbol of the international and cultural nuances which reminds us of the seeds we have in common rather than those which separate us.

The laughter of the children at Dragalic School located near the Bosnia Herzegovina border was a priceless “return on the investment” of demining.

 

In the classrooms, the Mayor showed us the 20 computers donated by Roots of Peace and expressed the deep appreciation by children who could not cross the road safely before Roots of Peace—now, they were crossing oceans with e-pals in the United States and worldwide!

 

Throughout the years, Flavia, a mother of two children, kept in touch with us, as this was far “more” that a CNN Global Solutions short documentary story which aired worldwide.  While she has had many opportunities to cover worldwide stories, the Roots of Peace initiative deeply touched her heart as a mother, as it takes only eight pounds to detonate a landmine—the average weight of a newborn child.

 Now, five years later, Flavia’s deep commitment has come to fruition with her role as Roots of Peace as European Director, as she brings in her stature as a highly recognized media professional sincerely supported by her personal circle of friends who have joined her mission in support of planting the roots of peace on earth.   In closing, I am reminded of the inspirational words by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has…”