Betty
Williams
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to Quotes from Women, Power & Peace
 Betty
Williams,with Mairead Corrigan
Maguire, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1976 for their work to bring peace to
Northern Ireland. She says, "The Nobel Peace Prize
is not awarded for what one has done, but
hopefully what one will do." In the 31 years
since receiving the award, Williams has devoted
her life to relieving the suffering of the
world’s children. She founded the Global
Children’s Studies Center in 1992.
This evolved into founding the World Centers
of Compassion for Children International
in 1997, in honor of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, who serves on the advisory board. www.centersofcompassion.org
I
believe we have to be as dedicated to the cause
of peace, as any army would be to the cause
of war.
The
Dalai Lama and I have many good laughs together – he’s
a scream, he loves a good laugh! …That’s
one thing in peace work which I think is absolutely
essential – you have to have a sense
of humor….We see suffering beyond belief,
and you take it to bed it with you...and if
I didn’t have a sense of humor, I don’t
think I’d survive this, you know?
[on
the violence going on in the world in the
name of the religion] I’m sure
it’s got nothing to do with God, you
know? If we’re trying to talk about
God, get the name God out of war! It doesn’t
belong there!…
It
says clearly and distinctly, “Thou shalt
not kill.” Have any of you ever found
any “ie”s in there?
I’d
love to see a woman in office in the United
States of America. However, the term woman
comes first. Not one of the boys. I think Hillary
has to remove herself from being one of the
boys. And that’s the message you’re
going to have to give her. To me, to stand
for what’s right – it doesn’t
matter if she loses the election or not.
But
she will have much more of chance of winning
the election if she stands up in the name of
womanhood and says “I’m going to
change my country for the better” Because
you know something? On 9/11, the day that will
go down in infamy, in New York City, when 3,000
people lost their lives, on that same day,
35,615 children died in our world from conditions
of malnutrition, and nobody said a word. Hillary
Clinton should be addressing the issues of
14 million hungry children in the United States
of America.
If
you really are an American, take your country
back.
Our
universities, particularly in the United States,
we turn out products, not whole human beings,
and part of the job we all have to do, is to
change that. I actually think there should
be departments of peace studies in every university.
I
try to center myself to do the best job that
I can for the work that I do, for the women
that I love, and the children that we’re
going to change the world for.
Let
me tell you something girls – you are
going to have to stop knifing each other in
the back. Women are terrible with that!
It
really doesn’t matter how little you
do, because small can and is beautiful. As
Jody said yesterday, even if you only give
one hour a month to a cause, it’s one
hour a month you’re not doing now.
And
I don’t think I’m any more important
than any other woman in this room, but the
one thing that we do have connected, is the
womb thing. It’s a womb thing. We have
got to protect the fruit of the womb. I figure
if God had wanted men to procreate she would
have gave him a womb wouldn’t she?
Every
little act of kindness, every little act of
justice, and every little act of love, never
goes amiss. Never ever.
I
am working with a few scientists in Italy,
and we are going to highlight and shame scientists
who get involved in the work of death and destruction.
I
get a lot of hugs. I need this kind of sustenance.
And I certainly need to know when I leave a
place like this and I’m on my own again,
that I have women like you who are with me,
both in my heart, and my spirit, and most definitely
in my head – that’s what gives
me hope.
Interview with Betty Williams
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