I was born in the land of oppression and wars, the land of mystery and darkness, the land of passion and love, where bullets protect honor. I was born in the land of rivers and dancing, delicious food and colorful flowers; the land where high mountains meet with seas and the streets are paved with cobblestones. I was born in a land where houses have faces, and mosques and churches create symphony from dawn to dusk.
The situation in Kosova is grim. Seventy-five percent are unemployed, the political situation is still unstable; injustice, poverty and fear are rising beyond the mountains and the rivers. The war is still fresh in the eyes of women, children, and the aged men sitting in front of their doors for hours, smoking in silence. They are waiting for hope that never comes. The fear and nightmares of war are robbing them of their future. Women and children suffer the most.

I will read you an excerpt from my memoirs of war.

Five years ago, when the war started in Kosovo, I was terrified from pain and the inability to do anything. I tried to send money, worked with refugees, picked up the dead bodies, dealt with suicides, rapes, hunger and devastation. I was there when women cried asking me for help, and I didn't know how to help; neither could I bear their pain nor could I change their pain. I spent nights walking beside the new graves, smelling the blood that had been shed on that land. I was haunted by the eyes of old people asking so many questions, which I took in with a feeling of such intense responsibility. I was there standing in front of the mirror that had been projecting a distorted picture of what I had known once to be a beautiful life. I saw people turn vicious toward each other, I saw people losing their minds; I felt shadows of the dead including some of my family following me, as I walked over my land where once I was born, and now walked in the name of a peacemaker.

Five years have passed, and other wars have begun, as I realized that I couldn't deal with the violence. I had internalized the violence, and spread myself into a thousand tasks so I wouldn’t feel the pain. As if I personally were supposed to stop the war, or help people survive, or protect those who sought protection from us; or at least be with them during their loss. I suffered because I was in a safer place than they were. I suffered because I was not in danger of dying. I suffered because I realized the game of the big powers and felt the helplessness of my people... All I am trying to say is that war is a monster, and all wars are the same: they never end.

Only a few days ago I received an e-mail from an Iraqi friend, who wrote:

“I was in Cyprus attending a non-violence peace consultation. There, I insisted not to see, read or hear anything, trying to forget. I do not know what to say! Everybody was demanding peace and non-violence, yet; nobody knows WHAT the real PEACE is?

“There, I went to swim. The sea was very friendly and warm.

It has been ages since I felt warmth and security in Iraq. Simply, there I felt that I was a human being again. I could smile, dream, swim and sleep without fear.

“Just few days ago, I was back to my apartment in Haifa Street—in Baghdad, where the real war was weeks ago. It was very painful to see my apartment; no windows; no glass, holes and traces of the bullets and shrapnel everywhere. Really, I missed my apartment, my memories and (smiles)! How can I be myself outside my little world? If I had another place to go I would, but what about the poor families in the poor buildings?
“I do not know if I could write to you another letter or e-mail. Any moment American friendly fire or a car bomb could kill me. Here in Iraq, dying is easier than dreaming. Is there any possibility to survive, without demanding to live?

“I am one of hundreds of thousands of single mothers in Iraq. What about women who are the bread winners of their families? Who can help them? Who can help me? Again all I want is to feel that I am a human being.
“What is going on in Iraq, Who is right and who is wrong?” Says Nermin Mufti, a journalist from Baghdad.
SO HOW CAN WE SLEEP IN THE MIDST OF GLOBAL WARS? When the wounds of the past wars, like the one in Kosova, have not healed yet, and the new ones in Iraq continue?

If we are to follow the Security Council’s recognition of article 1325, on the vital role of women in promoting peace, particularly in preserving social order and education for peace, we of the Albanian American Women’s Organization encourage all United Nations Members today to support us in establishing a plan for a peace conference in 2005-2006 called “HEAR MY VOICE: WOMEN & GIRLS IN WAR & PEACE.” We should be able to identify women and girls who help their communities in the regions afflicted by wars and invite them to New York, where the healing process would begin. This regular contact with women’s groups and networks will help us utilize their knowledge of the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, and will ensure us that those groups are actively involved in peace reconstruction processes, particularly at decision-making levels. This conference would enable us to tackle the issues of global security in war and peace, help us share our experiences in depth with one another, alleviate the feeling of seclusion, build trust, find a better way to make a difference, give support to each other, and show the victims of war that we care, while shedding light about the causes and effects surrounding women and girls in time of war.

Albanian American Women’s Organization is committed to peace, justice, enlightenment, and the education of all Albanian newcomer women and their families. We want to be the voice for these women and girls; we want to be the bridge between east and west, we want to help transform lives from fear to faith and replace nightmares of war with dreams of color, safety, success. and love, and yes, we want to be a place called home.

This year, the open debate will primarily focus on one particular issue covered by SCR 1325- gender based violence in conflict situations. It was proposed to use the opportunity or aria-style meeting to look more broadly at the range of prevention, participation and protection issues covered by SCR 1325 and which will be addressed in the Secretary-General’s report.