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RECEIVED MESSAGES
Please find some of the response to our initiative. Most E-mail addresses we keep confidential. When receiving serious proposals, we will publish them here, and act immediately. For the latest news visit the newsite at:
12 September 2000
- From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
Fears for Guinea refugees
Aid agencies in the West African state of Guinea have expressed concern about thousands of refugees fleeing the country. The exodus began after a speech by President Lansana Conte, in which he accused refugees of being involved in attacks on the country's borders. Entire families are reported to have been rounded up by security forces and gangs of youths. A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency the BBC that it and local
authorities were working together in Guinea to make sure the refugee situation
did not get out of control. They should go home. We know that there are rebels among the
refugees- President Lansana Conte
Between 600 and 700 Sierra Leoneans have sought refuge in their embassy in the Guinea capital Conakry. Nearly 80 people have been killed in border attacks since the beginning of the month, but BBC West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle says it is not clear who was responsible. According to the United Nations Guinea is host to an estimated 125,000
Liberians and 330,000 Sierra Leoneans who have fled civil wars in their own countries. It is the largest number of refugees in any one country in Africa.
Mr Conte said in a nationwide broadcast: "I am giving orders that we bring together all foreigners... so that we know what they are doing... and that we search and arrest suspects. "They should go home. We know that there are rebels among the refugees." President Conte also accused the opposition leader Alpha Conde, who is on trial for sedition, of recruiting mercenaries to topple his government. But a Liberian Government statement said the incident would not sour the cordial ties between the two countries.
Correspondents say the war in the region has led to the creation of a volatile triangle along the borders of Guinea, Liberian and Sierra Leone.
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:42:48 -0700
Mr. Willem Tijssen
SUBJECT: WORLD PEACE CUP A BRILLIANT IDEA!
You cannot imagine how delighted I felt when I opened my email messages this morning and there was this wonderful message from a senior UNICEF colleague from our New York Headquarters passing on information about your brilliant idea of organising a World Peace Cup!
You see, some of us in UNICEF have been tossing around a similar idea and the exact same reasons (she has shared a copy of a piece culled from your website because we in UNICEF (in war-torn) Liberia do not really have access to the Internet yet). I had even spoken to UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador George Weah a week ago and he was delighted about the idea and willing to mobilise his colleagues towards suct a noble cause. In order to give you the benefit of the internal brainstorming about this within UNICEF, I have taken the
liberty to hereby share with you (see below), the kind of email messages we have
been sending to each other.
The purpose of writing to you is, in fact, to suggest that we find a way of combining our ideas so that we can collaborate rather than compete. If you are interested in joint collaboration, I am sure we in UNICEF would be delighted to explore the best way forward!
With best wishes.
Scholastica Kimaryo
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 10:31:04 +0100
How can one assist in the successful organisation of this potentially
meaningful event? I am an experienced Sports Administrator, having
served as Secretary General of The Gambia National Olympic and
Commonwealth Games Association for six years and President of The
Gambia Volleyball Federation for seven years.
Good Luck and keep me posted on developments.
Best regards
Baboucarr Sarr
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 10:19:45 +0100
Dear Willem Tijssen
Thank you for this information. It sounds like an interesting
initiative but we are not really sure there is anything PBI can do to
support it, apart from advertise it through our networks.
Regards,
James Savage
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:50:49 +0200
Dear Willem
Thanks for your message. Yes, it would be great to link your
initiative with Jubilee 2000 globally and to explicitly raise the problem of
third world debt as a major focus of the plan. One big problem we
have here is a lack of capacity to give adequate attention to work on
such events, but in principle we are keen. What we could really do with
right now is some support in the Netherlands re fundraising of our
national conference scheduled for November 3rd to 5th. Please let me
know if you can help in this way?
Bets wishes and blessings.
Neville Gabriel
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 18:23:33 +0200
Dear Willem Tijssen,
As editor-in-chief of the Cannes Mipcom Daily News I received your
message about the World Peace Cup.
Is there a television element? Should there be? If so, we can help
with coverage in our magazine if someone is going to attend Mipcom (the
Cannes TV Festival) in order to promote awareness of the televisual aspects of
the event.
Best regards,
Julian Newby
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 16:33:40 +0100
i'm Daniel and i comke from S/Leone. Our beautiful country is been
destroyed because of gold and diamond. I would like to contact other Africans
and S/Leoneans to keep in touch.
ONE LOVE AND PEACE TO EVERYONE IN THE WORLD.
JAH BLESSINGS AND GUIDEANCE BE WITH US ALL.
DANIEL
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 10:59:45 +0100
Thank you for your e-mail of 4 September. The Minister would like to reply in writing, so I would be grateful if you would let me have your postal address.
Thank you.
Sean Coster
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 15:39:24 EDT 14:20:22 +0200
This sounds like a wonderful idea. I am the secretary of Waterside
Stone Foundation, a group dedicated to helping the amputees of Sierra
Leone. As a group, we would be willing to do anything within our power to help
make this dream a reality. Please feel free to contact us if there is anything
that we can do to help. Thanks and good luck!
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 14:20:22 +0200
Dear Mr. Tijssen;
As discussed by telephone this morning, I will send you some information about the UNHCR Refugee Education Trust by mail.
I would like to congratulate you on this initiative and wish you the best of luck.
Best regards,
Karin de Gruijl
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 22:09:36 -0400
Willem,
EMFocus is currently in the process of building a database of events
that are relevant to the interests of our users, and we think that the
World Peace Cup would certainly be an excellent addition to our list of
events. EMFocus would be more than willing to post information regarding the
World Peace Cup in its Events section, which can be found at the following
address:
http://www.emfocus.com/events/index.jsp?class=4
If this interests you, which I sincerely hope it does, please reply
to this e-mail with the appropriate information about your event as you would
like it to be presented, including: address, date, contact information,
and a general description of 500 characters or less. I realize that all of
the details may not have been ironed out completely yet, and if you would
like, perhaps (though I cannot promise) the description of the World Peace
Cup which you attached with your email can be presented in our Events
section. Yours is a noble cause indeed and I must say that I am happy and
proud that someone has undertaken the effort of establishing a true goodwill
football tournament for the world. Hope to hear from you soon.
Sam
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 16:28:45 +0100
Willem,
Thanks for sending your outline. Personnally, I think the idea of
linking football with issues affecting developing countries is very exciting.
I cannot however realistically see that the world football schedules
can accomodate another tournament. Or that the football bodies worldwide
will go for a tournament which does not raise revenue for them - they run a
capitalist business after all.
I like the idea of one annual game with mixed teams of the best
players in the world and see potential in developing this with TV, radio and and
other rights such as internet donated.
I think you need to think very carefully about the implications of
aid relief in war zones and its relation to you initiative. The focus
only on children seems the best way forward.
NetAid showed that unless your event is focused on just what issue,
who benefits and where impact is lost. The only major events that have
succeeded are responses to particular current situations whether it be war
zones, famine or disaster and not general areas or ongoing situation sin a
number of countries.
Hope thie is helfpul,
Glen Tarman
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 10:00:17 -0400
Dear Mr. Tijssen,
Thank you for your e-mail and the ingenious idea of using football to
bring hope to victims of conflict around the world. I fully recognize the
potential of this endeavor and would be glad to support it as best I can. I need
to figure out exactly how. If you have any ideas you have developed with other
individuals and/or institutions, I will be glad to consider them.
I hope to hear from you.
Regards,
Eric Chinje
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 15:26:14 +0200
we would like to have you on air, live, next Saturday, at 6.45-6.55
pm, Italian time. We could discuss about your interesting project.
We will call you quite soon.
Jubilaeum
English desk
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 10:58:37 +0100
Dear Willem,
The World Peace Cup is a very interesting initiative - we have been involved in organising football teams and matches for amputees blown up by landmines in the past, and used to have a regular league running in Angola for mine injured. Landmines is also an issue in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and sadly in other parts ofWest Africa. Landmines also have particular effects on refugees. All in all therefore, this is something we'd like to support. First of all, I need to know more about the organisation - who are you, where is funding from, how are funds collected and distribuited etc.
I look forward to hearing from you
With thanks
Tim Carstairs
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2000 15:36:01 +0400
Dear Marcel and Willem.
Thank you so much for forwarding this email and informing me about
this initiative. In as much as I am not a football fan, I do however agree
that it is certainly a way of escaping the hardship of life for many
people. One thing that has always amazed and touched me is that countries such as
Sierra Leone and the DR Congo that are suffering from brutal conflicts/war
are still very active in football. This is encouraging because it reminds
us that at the end of the day, life must go on and people need to be
uplifted even in the simplest of ways, our spirits always need to be raised.
I would be interested in offering whatever help I can, however I do
not know what I can do but will advise you when I think of a way of helping
this initiative. It may perhaps help if you can list some of the tasks
that need to be achieved and then one can identify which area they can help in.
I would like to know if it is possible to get in touch with Sullay -
how did you find out about him and is there someone who we can trust to
forward communication or more importantly assistance to him. Please advise.
Kind Regards
Tamara
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 20:44:41 -0700
Outstanding concept. I suggest a web site be set up for a virtual
dimension to the laudable idea. Keep hope alive!
Bolaji Sojobi
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 15:44:25 GMT
Hello Willem,
I've read your e-mail on the peacecup and I think it's a wonderful
concept!!
Me myself I work with minor (age 14 until 18) refugees in Holland who
have come there without family. They came all alone, because they
lost their family during the war and/or lived for a long time in the
streets. Some of them are former child-soldiers. I try to teach them skills they will need to live on their own as soon as they reach the age of 18. I also help them to integrate in the Dutch society. You can imagine that it is a difficult task for these
youngsters. Sometimes even here in Holland they have difficulties in
finding a goal in life.
But there is indeed one thing what makes their eyes twinkle and that
is football. Many of them have the dream of becoming great
footballplayers. Maybe it would be a nice idea to do something with
young refugees in different countries regarding the peacecup.
It also gives them the oppurtunity to do something for their
homecountry. I was thinking of helping out in any way during the big
event. So that they can meet for example their heroes of football.
I would appreciate that you would keep me posted on this lovely
project.
Kind regards,
Patricia Verhaaren
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 11:30:35 EDT
I have forwarded this email to the Liberian Ambassador to the United
States, William Bull, and have asked him to get the support of other African
Ambassadors. I will also ask him to have Liberia's Ambassador to the
UN, Neh Dukuly-Tolbert, make a request to Kofi Annan...what do you think? If
there is any other way I can help, please let me know.
Yvette Chesson-Wureh, Esq.
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