When my husband took the Nobel Prize for Peace -- and do you know -- it has money with it -- he said the money goes to build new homes for the poor people in his village. And I told him, "Anwar, I am your wife and I have also something to decide in this, not only you. The money is for you and me." And he looked at me and he said, "Jehan, I hate these jokes." I told him I wasn't joking. He said, "Well, Jehan, I'm leaving for you something which is much more valuable than money." I said, "What is it?" He said, "Friends." I said, "But what kind of bank a I going to write my checks on?" Well actually I was teasing him because I believed in everything he said. Money comes and goes but friends last forever. And I'm today among friends who are much, much more valuable than any money in the world.
Salaam Alekom, Shalom. These words of peace are woven into our cultures. A part of our everyday life in the Middle East. Yet, so many people view our homeland as one in which only hatred and violence and extremism prevail. For eleven years now, I have spoken about peace -- especially the possibility of peace in the Middle East. I'm no political expert or soothsayer, but I believe with all my heart that some day a just and comprehensive peace will come. It will not be easy, and as we have already seen, it will not be quick. There will be many bumps and curves, many starts and stops along the way. But there is no other way, no alternative. Peace is the only way.
Whether in Cairo or Jerusalem, Oslo or Damascus, whatever they choose, the conflicting parties must talk to each other, negotiate and compromise, listen and understand, love and forgive. Whether on the White House lawn or the Jordanian desert, the treatises must be signed and the promises must be kept. Enough mistakes have been made, enough speeches have been given and enough time has been wasted. Sadat, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin -- they have done all that they can do to bring about peace between the Arabs and the Jews. But they are gone. And it is time for all of us as people who live, and like us of faith, to raise our voices and be heard. We must let the world know that our leaders will not abandon the cause. That they will never forsake peace.
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