2008 Speeches

February 26, 2008

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Rotary Club of Arima’s celebration of
Rotary’s Anniversary - World Understanding and Peace Day
Botticelli’s Restaurant, Grand Bazaar, Valsayn

Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself

Salutations…

Good evening!

On this “World Understanding and Peace Day,” I thank you for providing me with the opportunity to address you as you mark the anniversary of the Rotary Club’s founding.  It is a distinct pleasure for me to be here and I am honored to have a second opportunity, following my “World Understanding and Peace Day” remarks in February 2006 at the Rotary Club of Port of Spain, to commemorate this important day.  I also offer you a special, if belated, congratulations on the Rotary Club of Arima having celebrated on January 18 its 29^th anniversary of receiving its charter.

From humble beginnings in 1905, the Rotary now comprises over 1.2 million members who belong to more than 32,000 clubs.  I have to admit to some surprise that your “can do” spirit has even triumphed over the last continent – I understand you have two clubs there (at Base Marambio and Base Esperanza).  Let me just say that while I am always pleased to speak to Rotarians, lacking a good winter coat, I am glad that my invitation to attend anniversary celebrations at those clubs in Antarctica somehow got lost in the mail!

As befits its prestige and history, Rotary Clubs around the world have had, and continue to have, many famous and impressive members.  All of you are probably aware of well-known persons who belong to the organization from Trinidad and Tobago and other countries.  A brief, unsystematic examination of leaders from my own nation who were and are members, shows several Senators and Congressmen, at least one former President (Jimmy Carter), aviation pioneer Orville Wright, astronaut Frank Borman, founder of the Mayo Clinic Dr. Charles Mayo, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren and, lest I forget him, Colonel Sanders.

Equally impressive is the list of honorary Rotary Club members.  This list includes many presidents, prime ministers, Kings, Generals, Nobel Prize winners, humanitarians and business leaders from around the world.  I am exceedingly proud to say that I have enjoyed such a designation in the past from the Princes Town Rotary Club.  My pride stems not just from being included in such an august group, but also from being associated with an organization that does so much good locally and around the globe.

Worldwide, Rotarians are active in the effort to once-and-for-all eradicate polio. You spring into action when disasters strike – an increasingly relevant concern for the Caribbean and one that our Embassy recently featured in our annual Song and Verse Contest.  Also, in line with the “World Understanding and Peace Day” theme, you sponsor fellowships and meetings to foster international comity, and to move toward the goal so eloquently encapsulated in the five words you have chosen to describe today.

I applaud Rotary’s humanitarian efforts here and across the globe to advance world understanding and peace.  Locally, I understand that your own Club has been active on many fronts through the years, including assisting schools, helping a home for children, aiding the elderly, encouraging the formation of a Steelband in a less privileged area, and providing over $50,000 to the Rotary Foundation to assist its worldwide efforts.

One reason that I so enjoy speaking to Rotarians is that the goals of your Clubs are, in many ways, the goals of the United States.  I am speaking broadly, of course, but let us look at how U.S. goals and actions are consonant with yours.  Your organization, and my nation and its people, do so much locally and around the world that if I attempted a full compilation we shall still be here when next February’s anniversary rolls around.

Given those considerations, let me focus my remarks in only a few areas.  To help frame this discussion, and limit it, I quote the Mission Statement of the Rotary Foundation. This organization aims “to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.”  I also want to quote a comment by President Bush that, to me, is strikingly similar in spirit and tone.  Speaking in May 2007, the President said, “America is pursuing a clear strategy to bring progress and prosperity to struggling nations all across the world. We're working to increase access to trade and relieve the burden of debt. We're increasing our assistance to the world's poorest countries and using this aid to encourage reform, and strengthen education, and fight the scourge of disease.”  Furthermore, on February 14^th of this year, First Lady Laura Bush commented on the same goals.  American compassion, she said, “is at work through U.S. initiatives that improve education, reduce poverty, and fight pandemic disease.”

Now I shall elaborate on each of the areas mentioned in the Rotary statement and those of President Bush and the First Lady.  In the event that you missed any of the areas, they are health, education and poverty alleviation; and I shall begin with with the “alleviation of poverty.”  Later, I shall touch on two other concerns which are receiving great attention nowadays, violent conflict and global warming.  Of course, these two issues will also demonstrate the American ethic of caring for the human condition.

What is the U.S. doing about proverty and why is it doing it?  Well, first of all, the spirit of helpfulness is strong in Americans. “Service above Self” is a Rotary motto, but it is also descriptive of the best characteristics of the American people.  We, too, recognize that the answer to Cain’s question is yes, we are our brother’s keeper.  Or, more accurately, we try to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Like you, we understand that we promote world peace when we assist others; and peace saves lives and gives all of us a greater sense of security. A further and very important consideration is that you cannot be your brother’s keeper if you lack the means to keep yourself.

Our acceptance of the biblical admonition to love our neighbor is implicit in many American actions, and explicit in several international documents that we publicize.  To take only one hemispheric example, the OAS’ Inter-American Democratic Charter explicitly notes that “the fight against poverty, and especially the elimination of extreme poverty, is essential to the promotion and consolidation of democracy.”  In other words, seeking to eliminate poverty abroad is not an afterthought in our foreign policy; rather, it is a central plank in our hope to encourage the continuing spread and strengthening of democracy and peace across the globe.

Although the U.S. has sometimes been painted as uncaring with respect to poverty, the facts paint a different story.  Quite early in the Bush Administration, Washington acted as a driving force in forging the Monterrey Consensus.  This consensus, reached at a 2002 meeting of over 50 heads of state and more than 200 Ministers of government, recognized the importance of a balanced approach to development, including the need for developing countries to promote good governance and implement sound economic policies.  In other words, poorer countries accepted the need to do right by their people and richer countries agreed to support that endeavor.

And support it we have.  The Bush Administration has dramatically increased U.S. Official Development Assistance (ODA).  Using the latest full figures available from 2006, this rate of increase has been faster than at any time since the Truman Administration over five decades ago. The 2006 ODA amount of US$23.5 billion, for example, was the second highest annual expenditure ever by a donor country; the highest was the US$27.9 billion provided by the United States in 2005.

Now some may speculate that this huge amount of ODA is related to our efforts to bring peace, stability, democracy and development to Afghanistan and Iraq.  I won’t deny that these laudable efforts are costly, but let’s dig a little deeper into the figures.  It is worth observing that the drop in U.S. foreign assistance that I mentioned was due to a decline in amounts spent in Iraq and a large one-time forgiveness of Iraqi debt that was counted in the 2005 total.  Excluding Iraq, our overall assistance increased by US$2 billion in 2006 compared to 2005.  It is true that Iraq and Afghanistan were the largest recipients of bilateral aid in 2006, with US$4.8 billion and US$1.4 billion respectively, but another US$3.9 billion went to the world’s other least developed countries; and a further US$2.1 billion to other low-income countries, not counting U.S. regional and global programs.  Finally, I’d observe that in 2005, the U.S. pledged to double assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa from US$4.4 billion in 2004 to US$8.7 billion by 2010. We are on track to meet that goal, our 2006 bilateral assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa reaching a record high at US$5.6 billion.

I hasten to add that when we look at U.S. assistance around the globe, we should not forget that much of what the UN and other world and regional bodies do is funded by the United States.  We often don’t get credit for these activities, but without our human and financial resources, much of the good work undertaken on a multilateral basis would not be possible.

In this regard, I’d like to note that the U.S. is the world’s single largest contributor to the United Nations and to multilateral development banks (MDBs). In 2006, U.S. donations to multilateral organizations including the UN, World Bank, and other MDBs totaled US$2.4 billion. Of this amount, US$827 million was provided to the World Bank Group and US$637 million to the United Nations.  These contributions, in line with Rotary ideals, are to organizations promoting economic growth, poverty reduction, and increased living standards through developmental and humanitarian assistance.  It also is worth keeping in mind that our aid further leverages tens of billions of dollars from other donors.  In addition, initiatives spearheaded by the United States have removed a debt burden of approximately US$87 billion in current and future debt service for 25 of the world’s poorest countries.

Our contribution to poverty reduction was stated this way by President Bush on May 14^th of 2007:  “Along with our fellow G8 nations, we have relieved some $34 billion in debt from Afirican nations in the past 18 months.  That is roughly the same level of debt that was cancelled in the previous 11 years combined.”

With respect to the Caribbean, U.S. foreigh assistance was $113,229.000 in 2001.  For 2009, the request is for $315,440,000. Omitting Haiti, the increase is from $39,946.00 in FY 2001 to $69,568,000 in our 2009 request.

I can continue listing our anti-poverty and development aid for quite some time, but again, cognizant of the effect of alcohol and overeating on your attention-span, I shall instead briefly note a few other ways that the U.S. honors the “Service above self” motto.  Most specifically, I want to call attention to the work of our Peace Corps volunteers. 

More than 190,000 Americans have left home not to live the lives of rich expats in foreign capitals, but often to go to the most underdeveloped regions of the world’s neediest countries.  Over 8,000 Americans currently serve in the Peace Corps, covering 74 countries.  This also is sometimes dangerous work as was poignantly brought home to me two months ago when the body of a Peace Corps volunteer tragically killed in rural Suriname passed through Piarco Airport on its way home to loved ones.

Finally, as regards helping the most helpless, I’d note that the U.S. is the largest donor of humanitarian aid for victims of famine, war and natural disasters.  U.S. humanitarian assistance to this end totaled more than US$3 billion in 2006 and was aimed at helping those affected by disaster through the rapid delivery of food, water, shelter, and medicines. The U.S. also is the largest food aid provider, giving $2 billion, or 49% of total worldwide food aid in 2007. The U.S. further provides major resources for ongoing reconstruction efforts to help nations recovering from conflicts and natural disasters and also has provided over a billion U.S. dollars to demining efforts, directly contributing to saving thousands of lives.

Let me note that the U.S. reponse to poverty is designed ultimately to empower people to feed themselves.  That is, we give food to prevent hunger and starvation; but we shall try to break the cycle of famine, in Africa for instance, by purchasing crops directly from farmers, thus helping to build local agricultural markets. 

As I stated earlier, I shall try to limit my remarks in each area. I therefore, leave aside our leadership in trade; our innovative Millennium Challenge Account aid program that explicitly ties good governance to assistance; our Public-Private Partnership program that leverages government funds with private money; and the immense private and non-government international charitable efforts undertaken by those in my country, including by Rotary Clubs.  The fulsome nature of our assistance, and that this aid is not always well understood, necessitated my somewhat lengthy comments.

Let us now turn, more briefly I promise, to U.S. actions in the other two areas highlighted in the Rotary Mission statement I earlier quoted.  What about education?  The U.S. government encourages educational exchanges through a number of programs. My country’s private and public educational sectors are also active in this area.  We at the Embassy host an annual college fair, have an educational adviser on our staff, and facilitate student visas to bonafide applicants, over 95 percent of such applications meeting approval.  We also have long-standing and mutually beneficial programs such as the Fulbright Scholars and the International Visitors Program.  Our support for these programs, and public outreach and speaker efforts, is, I trust, in line with the Rotary’s belief that getting to know one another better is beneficial for all.

Additionally, some of you may have heard of the Centers of Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) in T & T.  However, you may be unaware that CETTs began with an announcement of an initiative by President Bush at the 2001 Summit of the Americas.  The teacher training centers are expected to improve reading instruction in the Caribbean, Central America, and the Andean region of South America.  The private sector was enlisted to secure the program’s sustainability beyond USAID funding, BPTT providing some aid to the Ministry of Education in T&T. 

The U.S. works in other ways to encourage the expansion of education, including to young girls.  We also help, at times, with the building of schools and repairs and with equipment.  We have done some of this even in Trinidad, sometimes providing computers, books, or sports equipment to disadvantaged schools.  In addition, we periodically have U.S. military engineers and construction personnel in your wonderful country and, as part of their training, they have helped repair school facilities.

The U.S. and Rotary Clubs are also in agreement – both in words and actions – on the need to tackle health concerns around the world.  I applaud you once again on being a leader in the battle against polio.  The U.S., too, is pledged to win this war and has made multimillion dollar contributions to this end, including through dedicated funds provided to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and in partnership with groups such as Rotary.  Since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative began in 1988, for instance, the U.S. has provided 28 percent of its total funding.  Just in 2006, the U.S. funded through UNICEF approximately 500 million doses of oral polio vaccine.

Let me just mention three other specific diseases that the U.S. is seeking to help control and eliminate.  In doing this, of course, I am omitting the programs we help fund and run in so many other areas, from pre-natal care to clean water; but I know that a full stomach and drowsiness are close friends.  Specifically, I want to highlight U.S. efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (also know as PEPFAR) partners with developing nations to fight the AIDS pandemic around the world. Before the G8 Summit in June 2007, the President announced his intention to work with Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR. His five-year, $30 billion proposal would add to the initial $15 billion commitment made in 2003, which is already the largest international health initiative dedicated to a specific disease.  Building on prior success, and in partnership with host nations, PEPFAR has supported antiretroviral treatment for approximately 1.45 million people globally through September 2007, including approximately 1.36 million in PEPFAR’s 15 focus countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Moreover, as of September 2007, PEPFAR had supported over 30 million HIV/AIDS counseling and testing sessions, and care for more than 6.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS, including care for more than 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children. These figures demonstrate important progress towards the program’s 5-year goal of supporting antiretroviral treatment for at least two million people, prevention of seven million new infections, and care for 10 million people infected with or affected by HIV.

In June 2005, President Bush also announced the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). A five-year, $1.2 billion program, PMI challenges other governments and the private sector to join the U.S. government in combating malaria, the goal being to cut the disease’s mortality rate by 50 percent in 15 countries in Africa. In its initial year, this program reached about six million people and the estimate is that in 2007 another 30 million persons benefited.

The U.S. has also been a strong supporter of global tuberculosis (TB) control efforts. Between 2000 and 2006, we committed approximately $500 million to building strong TB programs in countries with a high burden.  This current fiscal year will see dedicated TB funding of about $162 million, with another $150 million being channeled through PEPFAR to address TB/HIV co-infections.

Before leaving the topic of health, I want to make one more observation specific to Trinidad and Tobago.  Although yours is a richer country than many the U.S. assists, we seek to do what we can here.  Our Centers for Disease Control collaborates closely with Trinbagonian government authorities to counter public health threats and our U.S. military also is active on this front.

In the latter regard, many of you will recall last September’s visit of the hospital ship Comfort.  The dedicated team of over 500 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals treated almost 9,000 patients free of charge while here; and an accompanying team of Seabees helped repair needed local facilities, including doing renovations at a secondary school.  In March of this year, we shall have more medical personnel in Trinidad to help in rural areas; and later this year, late October or early November, we expect to have a visit of another ship carrying medical and construction personnel.

On February 14^th, President Bush stated clearly that American policies and actions are guided both by ideals and by interests.  One area of concern in which interests are apparent is climate change.  Thus, it should be understandable that when findings by a Cabinet-level working group and the National Academy of Sciences indicated that American compliance with the 1997 Kyoto Protocols would harm American interests, neither President Bush nor the Senate embraced the treaty.  More specifically, implementation of the Protocols was expected to have a negative economic impact that would cause workers to lose jobs and consumers to face price increases.  Also, primary emitters of greenhouse gases such as China and India were exempt from Kyoto.  Additionally, the Kyoto targets were arbitrary and not based on science.  It should not be surprising that 97% of U.S. Senators expressed reluctance to endorse.

Yet, recognizing our responsibility to help mitigate global warming, the American government proposed to help lead the way by accelerating scientific research on climate change, and on technology to monitor and reduce greenhouse gases.

In December 2007, President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act that is intended to improve vehicle fuel economy and increase alternative fuels.  Then in his 2008 State of the Union address, he committed $2 billion over three years towards an international clean energy technology fund.  He also expressed support for greater dependence on clean coal technology, solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power to generate electricity.  More generally, the U.S. is advancing a pro-growth, pro-development approach to addressing the climate change challenge.

Regarding violent conflicts, when President Bush took office in 2001, there were six major conflicts in Africa-- in Angola, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan.  The White House decided to focus on supporting the efforts of African leaders to bring about peace and stability.  U.S. Marines deployed to Liberia at the same time as Nigerian peacekeepers.  The war in Libera is over and this country has Africa’s first democratically-elected female leader.

The Defence Department now has a new African Command which will support efforts by African governments to reduce human trafficking, piracy and terrorism across the continent.

In Kenya, the U.S. is supporting the efforts of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan.

In Darfur, the U.S. has characterized the killing as genocide and delivers humanitarian aid.  The U.S. is also enforcing tough sanctions against the Sudanese government officials, rebel leaders,  and others responsible for the violence.  We are also using dipolmatic efforts to urge full deployment of a U.N. force.

In Zimbabwe, the U.S. supports freedom, and urges neighbors, including South Africa, to do the same.  In sum, the United States aids efforts at democratization and the search for freedom and development in Africa as well as elsewhere.

I hope that my remarks have made clear that the U.S. and the Rotary Clubs around the world are fighting similar battles with similar goals and similar aspirations. My country and your clubs exemplify the biblical injunction to love your neighbor as you love yourself.  For that reason, among others, it is a pleasure for me to stand before you and have the privilege to offer a few of my thoughts.

The American writer and humorist Dave Barry once said that, “All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears -- of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club…”  With all due respect to Mr. Barry, while he is right that I would not want to fall on a lobster in the dark, he is wrong about my feeling toward speaking to your club.  Again, it has been my great pleasure and honor, and I wish you all the best.

May God bless us all! 
 
I thank you.