Speech Dies Natalis 2012
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
November 2012, Tilburg University
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Our dream has the size of freedom" are the poetic lines with which you gave inspiration to
the people of Liberia:
Liberia, the country of freedom.
The country of hope, for so many who found refuge in it after the dark days of slavery. The
connection of your country with the United States speaks for itself. But so does the
connection with Europe. It was the Dutch East Indian company that was among those
firms, trading slaves from West Africa to the Americas. It has deeply affected the realities
in your country. You have described this in great detail in your book: This Child Will Be
Great.
Madam President, we warmly welcome you to European soil. This is your own continent in
so many ways. I am reminded of your maternal grandfather, who was German, and who
lived in Liberia where he met your grandmother.
Madam, on Wednesday you have received the highest distinction of France at the Elysée
Palace from President Hollande: la Grande Croix de la Légion d'Honneur. This well
deserved honour is surely a sign of changing times. The entry of a new era, away from the
days that European countries competed over colonial control and rule in Africa, and over
access to its abundant natural resources. Away from competition between Dutch, French,
British and German territories. Today Africa and Europe are finding each other in very new
ways.
Our images are painted by the past. The destruction of the civil war in Liberia and in Sierra
Leone has shocked the world. We all remember the pictures of adults and children that
were maimed, the pandemonium frightened us all. You had the courage to go back to your
country, assemble the women, organize their participation in a constructive force to stop
the conflict. Your influential report "Women, War and Peace" published by the UN in 2002
has helped the understanding of the role that women play in conflict, not just as victims,
but as agents, who have a choice, to accept, to participate, to resist, to mediate, to call
their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons to account. In conflict we all carry
responsibility. Women can choose to help end conflict. This is what you have shown. It
has inspired women all over the world, and led to the groundbreaking UN Security Council
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Resolution 1325.
You have shown the power of imagining the future with fresh eyes. As the Flemish painter
Permeke put it: "I don't paint what I see, but I paint what I think I have seen." While we
paint we create a reality, we create our future. Our imagination is what we become.
Therefore how we imagine the future is how we shape reality. I was in Monrovia at the
invitation of your government this summer. I walked into one of the townships and a
young boy of some 18 years old approached me to guide me around and finally brought
me to his mother's place. His family had been destroyed by the civil war, his father, a
government official, killed in front of his eyes, his mother, uneducated, fled with her
children and in all those years of growing up, this kid had not once gone to school. What
did he want, I asked. To go to school. To find a job. And his mother, sitting in front of a
shack, was just grateful. Grateful for peace. Grateful for a quiet night. Grateful for the little
freedom offered by a country in peace.
Madam President, the expectations upon you are immense. It is not enough that you were
bold in firmly denouncing corruption, when western countries supported the corrupt
leaders of your country during the Cold War. It is not enough that you suffered the pain of
prison when you demanded democracy loud and clear, and we in the west continued to
support the dictatorial regime. It is not enough that you climbed the ladder of a
professional, first as Minister of Finance, then as World Bank Advisor, next as Under
Secretary General of the UN, and gave all of this up to serve your country. It is not enough
that you have heard the cries of your people and responded to it. We need you now to
succeed to construct the future: to get the children to school, to create jobs, to build
roads, to build homes, to bring democracy, to keep the peace. To realise the dreams
created through the hope which you embody as President.
At this Dies we celebrate the 100th birthday of our first female Minister: Marga Klompé.
She bears much resemblance with you. She also had German roots. She resisted Nazi sm
and became a leader in the resistance. She served in the United Nations where she
assisted in the negotiations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She served in
the European Assembly working for regional peace on this continent. She realised t he first
law on Universal Social Protection in the Netherlands.
As you have, Marga Klompé demanded respect for the human dignity of all, asked for all of
us to carry responsibility for justice and peace, individuals, politicians, companies. We all
have our role to play. As you are, she was a spiritual woman of faith. And like you, she was
a pragmatic realist.
And as you, she was and is supported by a strong, supportive and loyal sister. Your
achievements are no small feat. You have shown the world that women can lead. That
African women can lead. That women can lead countries out of conflict. That women can
play a pivotal role in bringing peace, in making peace, in keeping peace. That women are
good economists, good financial analysts, good strategists. That women care, as
daughters, mothers, wives, partners and as leaders.
In Europe we look at your achievements and wonder, is this the new Africa? The new Africa
won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2011. Europe won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2012. This
surely provides a basis for a partnership for peace and prosperity between our continents.
Madam, I congratulate you on your bold and courageous steps, which will remain to
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inspire the people of our continents to believe that peace is possible. 'Our dream has the
size of freedom' -- indeed, but reality needs exceptional people with your courage and
inspiration.
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