Berihu's statement, Kampala, 29 September 2008
By Stephanie Castanie on Monday, September 29 2008, 15:00 - Statements - Permalink
Berihu Messele, Opening Ceremony, Kampala Conference on Cluster Munitions, Kampala, 29 September 2008
Dear Delegates, Respected guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am so happy and proud to be here to participate in this regional conference and to have the opportunity to share with you my story during this opening ceremony.
I am here to speak on behalf of an affected community from Ethiopia and also of many other victims of cluster munitions in the world.
I am Berihu Messele and this is Aynalem Zenebe. We both came from Mekelle, the northern part of Ethiopia, where we were injured by cluster bombs during a strike on the Ayder school in 1998.
On the 5th of June, it was around three o’clock in the afternoon when I heard the bombing of the school and with many other persons, I ran to the school to see what happened and I found many children dead or wounded. I tried to help and after thirty minutes, an aircraft came back to bomb the school again. Nobody had expected this. At this time, I have been injured and lost consciousness. I was taken to the hospital and after two days I realized that I lost my two legs. This same dark day, Aynalem was at home near the school and lost one leg. She was only seven years old.
On that day, a total of 53 people were killed. 185 were wounded, half of them were children.
Not only in Ethiopia, but also in around thirty other countries, civilians have been killed or maimed by cluster munitions. Civilians have been killed and injured during attacks, like I was, but also longer after attacks because of the unexploded submunitions that are so often left behind.
Before my accident, I had a peaceful life. After I lost my two legs, I had no good future for me in mind. I can imagine that in every place where cluster bombs are used, victims face the same problems as I have.
What would be the solution?
I have had the opportunity to be involved as a Ban Advocate and participated in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference in May. There, we succeeded to have a strong Convention that has been adopted by 107 States. I am calling all States to sign this Convention in Oslo in December, and to ratify and implement it as soon as possible.
As a Ban Advocate and an African, I am here to encourage you to declare officially that you will sign the Treaty. I call upon all of you to engage in the ratification process. As a survivor and a Ban Advocate, I believe that this Treaty can be the solution if this will not remain just a piece of paper, but will be concretely implemented, in order to improve our lives. I am happy that in the Treaty it is requested that the cluster munition survivors must be involved in the implementation of the victim assistance provisions.
Before the accident, I had a lot of dreams. After the accident, I lost my dreams. Now, I have another dream: not to see other people facing the same problems I have to face in my daily life, because of cluster bombs.
Please come to Oslo, in December, to sign this Treaty.
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