Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama addressed the 68th United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2013, in New York City days after terrorists attacked Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. This is an edited version of his remarks.
Before I left Ghana to attend this assembly, I learned of the terrorist attack that took place in Nairobi, Kenya. I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the many lives that were lost to those senseless and cowardly acts of violence.
As the death toll increased, so too did my grief, knowing that each additional number symbolized one more human life. Those numbers symbolized individuals who may have been strangers to you or to me but were of prime significance in the lives of the people who loved them: parents, children, husbands, wives, friends, colleagues.
When independence was upon us and our possibilities felt endless, the world saw how brightly Africa could shine. Then, for decades, that light was dimmed. There was a time when killing seemed almost commonplace in Africa. Indeed, there are plenty of graves that remain unmarked. There was a time when the ruthlessness of dictators seemed to be the order of the day. For decades the corruption, greed and depravity of a few caused the suffering of an entire continent.
We so easily could have succumbed to the wars, the poverty, the diseases — but we did not. We staggered our way through, year after year, but eventually we made it. We survived.
There is no place in today’s Africa for hatred and intolerance and the murder of innocent people. Not anymore. Not ever again. So we will mourn our dead. We will console ourselves and each other through the grief. But we cannot allow terror to defeat us. This must strengthen our resolve.
Ghana has been steadfast in our cooperation with regional neighbors to maintain the security of those nations that are enjoying stability and to restore security to those, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, that have recently emerged from turmoil.
We like to make mention of how the world has become a global village, especially when speaking of technology, culture and travel. The facility of that global village exists for warmongers and terrorist groups as well. They are using it to recruit new members, expand their cells, create intercontinental networks, obtain weapons, and conceal their identities as well as locations.
If we are to fight back, we must also work cooperatively. Nations in the developed world must align themselves with nations in the developing world. We must form partnerships and work together.
Fledgling democracies tend to be fragile. Their limits are still being tested; their characteristics are still being defined. Democracy is not a one-size-fits-all venture. Nor is it a one-time event. It is a system that takes decades to build, a process that pushes you toward a perfection you will never reach, but must try nonetheless.
The reason we are all gathered here today is to find the ways and the means to create a better, more peaceful and prosperous world.
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