I am sitting at the window of the 5th Floor Presidential suite of the Holiday Inn Hotel in Sarajevo. Climbing up above the noise of the still war-scarred town are incredibly beautiful hillsides with their autumn tints, the minarets of the mosques and the slopes that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics and the lethal snipers of the Bosnian Serb forces in the prolonged siege of Bosnian War. Father and Mother Moon left very early this morning after a moving and intimate celebration and a great event the night before.

Our preparations had been truly hectic many of our event team arriving just three or even one day before the Inaugural Convocation. Just one example – Kurt Wenzel traveled for three days from northern Germany but when he arrived at the border, the police refused him entry for lack of any documentation for the bottles of juice for the exchange blessing ceremony. He drove around to the next border crossing to try again and was helped by a generous border guard who allowed Kurt to pass through.

Dr. and Mrs. Moon Father swiftly through the airport to their hotel in city center Sarajevo. Father Moon remarked in his speech how the war-damaged buildings he saw on the way reminded him of his own ravaged homeland during the Korean War. That same evening as our Founder shared his speech with an audience of about 470 (400 of them Bosnians) we could all feel his serious mood and that he was sensing the suffering and hurt of a community so profoundly wounded by bitter, inter-ethnic strife and still struggling under 50% unemployment.

Father Moon spoke very directly of the need to appoint 30 Ambassadors of Peace to support each of the 160 members of the Bosnian Parliament (meaning 4,800 in all) so that peace can be secured. He also shared that he would dearly like to be able to stay for a month and educate the people of Sarajevo and that this would bring a complete turn around in the nation’s fortunes. He spoke of how he has many times rejected invitations to meet with national Presidents because they lack knowledge of God and fundamental truths such as the importance of lineage and the need to resolve the battle between body and mind. Dr. Moon spoke directly to former President Ganic as he amplified on the speech text.

Professor Ganic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1999 to 2001, had made a beautiful address earlier in the program to welcome Father and Mother Moon. When I visited him the day before he was thoughtfully preparing his words and told us that he felt this visit was truly a State visit and ‘like the visit of the Secretary General of the United Nations’.

Professor Ganic, Professor Matic (Prime Minister in 2001), Professor Domazet (Finance Minister 2001 to 2003) and Professor Tihi (Rector of Sarajevo University) all received Leadership and Good Governance awards. It was a beautiful picture as they all lined up for their photo at the end of the program. Shortly before that all the audience stood up as they were asked to submit their applications to take up responsibility as Ambassadors for Peace in response to Father Moon’s request for 4,800 Ambassadors to be appointed in Bosnia.

The Leadership and Good Governance awards.

The VIP Reception created the venue for Rev. Dr. Kwak to meet some 50 VIPs including some very distinguished national figures. This was the result of the wholehearted cooperation of Professor Domazet who brought some 30 high level dignitaries despite the competition of the Austrian Ambassador’s invitation at exactly the same time to an Austrian national-day event. Professor Domazet’s guests were joined by a distinguished group of medical doctors and Professors from Zenica invited by Dr Mustafa Mehmedbasic who has supported our IRFF Medical Team for many years.

What an amazing 24 hours in the history of Sarajevo! May this city truly rise from the bitter ashes of conflict to become a city of peace and inter-religious harmony!

 Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Information
Tparents Home