Valerie Amos and Laurent Vieira de Mello : World Humanitarian Day 2012

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Valerie Amos is the UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Laurent Vieira de Mello is the son of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary General's Special Representative in Iraq who was killed in the bomb attack of August 19th 2003. Laurent is the chairman of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting dialogue for peaceful conflict resolution and advocating for the security and independence of humanitarian actors around the world.

(the foundation president and the aid chief
laurent vieira de mello & valerie amos)

[Applause]

[Anderson Cooper] Thank you so much for being here.

The legacy of your father, I mean, there are so many people in this room

who have been inspired by your father.
What do you want his legacy to be?

[Laurent Vieira De Mello] Yes, actually, it's true that he has touched so many lives

that we receive lots of messages from people who were inspired by his work.

And his legacy is also running through these people who continue believing in his principles.

[Cooper] What - was there ever a time, in the wake of your father's death,

where you doubted the importance of humanitarian work?

[De Mello] No, I don't think so, because there is a lot of people in need around the world,

and they are most of them voiceless.

So if nobody goes there and helps them, nothing happens.

So you still have to do your duty, and it's the same for journalists.

Journalists get killed, but still they have to go onsite and report what's happening.

[Cooper] Yeah.
[De Mello] So we need that.

[Cooper] I also want to bring to the stage Valerie Amos,

whom I had the pleasure of interviewing earlier today, with Beyoncé.

And she's just returned from DRC, from Eastern Congo.

She's the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Valerie, please come up

[Applause]

[Cooper] So nice to see you.

First of all, just, World Humanitarian Day: why do you think this is so important?

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

[Valerie Amos] Well, I think it's important for several reasons.

One, it's about really honoring and remembering our colleagues who have given their lives.

And you talked very movingly about your father.

But it's also, I think, a celebration of the work that humanitarian workers do,

and what we're hoping to do with this campaign that we're launching next week-end,

it's really to get people to understand that every act of kindness, of help and support,

can contribute to humanitarian work around the world.

Part of my job is to try to give voice to that, and really to help the world to recognize that

there are lots of bad things going on out there, there are a lot of people who need help.

We tend to focus on the here and now, so people are really focusing on Syria.

There aren't many people in the world who have any idea of what's going on in Yemen, for example.

We still have ongoing crises in Sudan, in South Sudan,

and we've got 18 million people across nine countries in West and Central Africa

who are, you know, potentially, going to be extremely hungry in the next few months.

[Cooper] And now the situation in Mali as well, so...

[Amos] And conflict in Mali.

[Cooper] The website again?

[Amos] whdiwashere.org

[Applause]
(I Was Here - World Humanitarian Day August 19
whd-iwashere.org)