1
00:00:00,312 --> 00:00:05,493
(the aid worker
pernille ironside)

2
00:00:05,493 --> 00:00:10,624
[Applause]

3
00:00:10,624 --> 00:00:14,603
[Anderson Cooper] Thanks. You have the coolest name, by the way, yeah.

4
00:00:14,603 --> 00:00:19,489
[Pernille Ironside] So one of the groups you just mentioned earlier on, the CNDP [Congrès national pour la défense du peuple],

5
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:30,250
I was part of a humanitarian group that met with him and its commanders for the first time in 2007,

6
00:00:30,250 --> 00:00:32,726
in order to negotiate the release of children.

7
00:00:33,704 --> 00:00:38,707
You know, is that somebody I want to be friends with? Absolutely not.

8
00:00:38,707 --> 00:00:43,598
But it's a necessary part of our work in order to achieve results, and we did.

9
00:00:43,598 --> 00:00:49,966
It took several days in the bush with him and his thousand armed men

10
00:00:49,966 --> 00:00:55,080
who were extremely aggressive, confrontational,

11
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,879
and yet, we managed to make progress during that time

12
00:00:58,879 --> 00:01:02,875
and eventually released, at that moment, about 150 children.

13
00:01:02,875 --> 00:01:10,210
[Cooper] And kids can be saved, they can be brought back and the work could be done? [Applause]

14
00:01:10,210 --> 00:01:17,758
[Ironside] Absolutely. Absolutely: kids - it's not about saving per se,

15
00:01:17,758 --> 00:01:29,035
it's about restoring their rights and and their rights to be children in the most incredible environment.

16
00:01:29,035 --> 00:01:29,981
[Applause]

17
00:01:29,981 --> 00:01:36,390
[Ironside] You know, they all have, like any of our children here, they all have hopes and dreams

18
00:01:36,390 --> 00:01:43,194
and they have the capacity to overcome the violence that they have been exposed to and forced to commit.

19
00:01:43,194 --> 00:01:47,036
And I've seen children make that transformation through the programs

20
00:01:47,036 --> 00:01:50,142
that I've helped deliver with my colleagues.

21
00:01:50,142 --> 00:01:57,002
And I'd really like to emphasize that it's those colleagues who are, day in, day out,

22
00:01:57,002 --> 00:02:04,978
the Congolese and other national workers, who are really the unsung heroes. [Applause]

23
00:02:04,978 --> 00:02:09,807
(I Was Here - World Humanitarian Day August 19 - whd-iwashere.org)