1
00:00:00,346 --> 00:00:06,929
(the foundation president and the aid chief
laurent vieira de mello & valerie amos)

2
00:00:06,929 --> 00:00:11,065
[Applause]

3
00:00:11,065 --> 00:00:12,511
[Anderson Cooper] Thank you so much for being here.

4
00:00:15,441 --> 00:00:19,591
The legacy of your father, I mean, there are so many people in this room

5
00:00:19,607 --> 00:00:22,760
who have been inspired by your father.
What do you want his legacy to be?

6
00:00:23,438 --> 00:00:27,485
[Laurent Vieira De Mello] Yes, actually, it's true that he has touched so many lives

7
00:00:27,485 --> 00:00:33,530
that we receive lots of messages from people who were inspired by his work.

8
00:00:34,053 --> 00:00:41,529
And his legacy is also running through these people who continue believing in his principles.

9
00:00:41,529 --> 00:00:44,800
[Cooper] What - was there ever a time, in the wake of your father's death,

10
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,473
where you doubted the importance of humanitarian work?

11
00:00:50,059 --> 00:00:55,871
[De Mello] No, I don't think so, because there is a lot of people in need around the world,

12
00:00:55,871 --> 00:00:58,655
and they are most of them voiceless.

13
00:00:58,655 --> 00:01:03,398
So if nobody goes there and helps them, nothing happens.

14
00:01:03,398 --> 00:01:08,913
So you still have to do your duty, and it's the same for journalists.

15
00:01:08,913 --> 00:01:13,889
Journalists get killed, but still they have to go onsite and report what's happening.

16
00:01:13,889 --> 00:01:15,589
[Cooper] Yeah.
[De Mello] So we need that.

17
00:01:15,589 --> 00:01:18,078
[Cooper] I also want to bring to the stage Valerie Amos,

18
00:01:18,078 --> 00:01:21,430
whom I had the pleasure of interviewing earlier today, with Beyoncé.

19
00:01:21,430 --> 00:01:24,737
And she's just returned from DRC, from Eastern Congo.

20
00:01:24,737 --> 00:01:29,071
She's the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

21
00:01:29,071 --> 00:01:30,587
Valerie, please come up

22
00:01:30,587 --> 00:01:37,941
[Applause]

23
00:01:37,941 --> 00:01:39,248
[Cooper] So nice to see you.

24
00:01:42,296 --> 00:01:47,127
First of all, just, World Humanitarian Day: why do you think this is so important?

25
00:01:47,127 --> 00:01:49,518
What do you hope to accomplish this year?

26
00:01:50,004 --> 00:01:52,677
[Valerie Amos] Well, I think it's important for several reasons.

27
00:01:52,677 --> 00:01:58,171
One, it's about really honoring and remembering our colleagues who have given their lives.

28
00:01:59,002 --> 00:02:02,144
And you talked very movingly about your father.

29
00:02:02,144 --> 00:02:06,270
But it's also, I think, a celebration of the work that humanitarian workers do,

30
00:02:06,285 --> 00:02:10,772
and what we're hoping to do with this campaign that we're launching next week-end,

31
00:02:11,603 --> 00:02:18,706
it's really to get people to understand that every act of kindness, of help and support,

32
00:02:18,706 --> 00:02:22,720
can contribute to humanitarian work around the world.

33
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:30,637
Part of my job is to try to give voice to that, and really to help the world to recognize that

34
00:02:30,637 --> 00:02:35,318
there are lots of bad things going on out there, there are a lot of people who need help.

35
00:02:35,318 --> 00:02:40,647
We tend to focus on the here and now, so people are really focusing on Syria.

36
00:02:41,370 --> 00:02:46,285
There aren't many people in the world who have any idea of what's going on in Yemen, for example.

37
00:02:46,931 --> 00:02:51,596
We still have ongoing crises in Sudan, in South Sudan,

38
00:02:51,596 --> 00:02:56,758
and we've got 18 million people across nine countries in West and Central Africa

39
00:02:56,758 --> 00:03:03,928
who are, you know, potentially, going to be extremely hungry in the next few months.

40
00:03:03,928 --> 00:03:05,428
[Cooper] And now the situation in Mali as well, so...

41
00:03:05,428 --> 00:03:07,298
[Amos] And conflict in Mali.

42
00:03:07,451 --> 00:03:08,521
[Cooper] The website again?

43
00:03:08,551 --> 00:03:11,590
[Amos] whdiwashere.org

44
00:03:11,616 --> 00:03:17,234
[Applause]
(I Was Here - World Humanitarian Day August 19
whd-iwashere.org)