Ribbons of Hope Candlelight Vigil May 1999 Through the eyes of BaddTeddy At that point, I began talking about all of you. I began with those in the room with us that had made the trip to Washington. I spoke first of SuzyWoo2 who not only makes websites, sends out emails for the kids to a huge number of people, but who has a heart of gold. Who despite that she has trouble walking and spends much of her time in a wheel chair, and that it was a risk to her health came to Washington anyway to help the children. You would not believe the applause.
And so I stood in fron t of these parents, many of who remember last year only to well, and the feeling of depression when they did not have a single government official, media representatvie or even a supporter show up. And watched their eyes light up with hoipe as they too saw and felt the difference between last year. I spoke of Ric, who runs a newsletter, and an entire online organziation of Editors called "United Editors" that as a group may very well reach over a million people. Ric who had also brough his fiance, Kimmie, that also runs a newsletter that supports the children. And that Ric had brought his daughter Brandi (whom in one of the most touching moments of the whole thing, a man in front of the White House later that night bent down and said to her.... you may not understand this, but we are doing this for you, and other children like you). And that both of them would be going back to write about this when they returned home. (More smiles and more tears from the parents).
I introduced Marta, who had gone to the malls to hand out flyers of the children of many of those who were attending, who had made a thousand buttons saying "Ribbons of Hope Campaign", buttons of which every single parent in the room was now wearing. Marta who had traveled here simply to help the children. The tears and smiles were now flowing freely.
I introduced Patty, a lady who was so kind that she had come all the way to Washington just so tha the parents would not have to be alone when they stood in front of the White House. A lady who is kindness itself. (Tears and smiles).
I mentioned Jody Roth and her companions that had traveled to show their support, and the support of NetSafe (www.netsafe.org) a new organization dedicated to protecting children online. (appluase)
Then it was time to mention Dee Thomas. I told of how Dee Thomas has called the Senators so many times for the children, that twice when I was calling Senators offices they actually asked me if I knew Dee Thomas. They told me that she called them alot about the kids. Go Dee! I talked about how Dee had traveled from all the Way from California to Washington D.C. simply to be there if someone needed her. The strongest image I have of this kidn lady is of her holding and hugging one parent after another in front ot the White House while the parents let out their pain, frustration and tears. (There were lots of really wet faces and big smiles by this point).
Already these few people, had by the simple act of showing up, had made a difference in how the parents were seeing the world. For perhaps the first time, they saw that people really do care.
Next, I spoke of how people from the Internet community were going out to the malls passing out flyers for missing children and how many of them had made it onto local tv and newspapers with their efforts for the children. I talked about SASSKITTN who had run into every roadblock, who had been turned down by every printer and mall and who despite all the rejection from uncaring people had refused to give up. That Sass was sitting at a mall in Cincinatti as we spoke, handing out flyers of the children and ribbons of hope in front of Walmart. (You have no idea what it means to someone who has no hope, to hear something like this... the tears flowed faster and the smiles got bigger).
I Spoke of MyBluize46 who along with freinds and family was passing out flyers and ribbons at the "Puente Hills Mall" in the City of Industry, California even as I spoke and that she would continue to do so until the Vigil. (Bless her soul she hurt her back carring a case of flyers for the children but has already promised to do it again next year).
Imagine how the parents, who had come to Washington fearing that no one would be there to support them and their children felt when they heard all of this. Imagine how they felt when they heard Rita1of4 and TinaBTalks who had also gone out to local malls to ask the American people to stand up for the children. Imagine how they felt when I explained that Tina had created all kinds of websites that allowed all the people with missing childrens websites to connect with each other. That instead of individuals, Tina had almost single handledly found a way to network us all together and that because of this we were now working as a team, to protect the children.
Imagine how they felt when I explained that there are now in the neighborhood of 400 websites to show our support for the children and that we are going to try to create over 1,000 websites, for all of the children by this time next year. Imagine how they felt that there are over 200 online newsletters that have shown their support for the children. Imagine how they felt when they heard that organizations like the Knights of Kindness, Editors Exhange, Plymouth, Phoenix, Pride and United Editors and come together to create the largest online organziation to protect the children in the worlds history. Imagine how these parents who had felt there was no hope felt when they heard that millions of people would be reading about their children.
Imagine how they would feel if they knew you were reading this right now, and that you were going to ask everyone you know to help.
Then I told them of how many peopole were helping despite pain, suffering and problems in their own lives. People like a sweet young lady named Eileen that had put all of her personal problems aside to help the parents and children. That despite the fact that Eileen spends most of her time in a wheel chair, she gets up everyday and starts writing letters. Letters to me. To Maureen. To every single parent that she has an email address for. And she always write the same thing. A few kind words, words of support, words of freindship and she then depsite her own situation, she follows this with "How Can I Help You Today". (The eyes started atering again).
And when I told them there many people just like Eileen, who were just waiting a chance to become involved in helping, I think the parents finally realized they would never need to feel alone again...
I spoke of and mentioned every online organization that is helping and how the good people of those organzations and their readers were absoluterly hammering the US Senate with email. Believe me, all of you out there got a huge round of applause. To these parents, you letters could eventually make the difference in whether the US Government changes it ways or not, and asks for the return of teir children.
MAUREEN, PAT, MARGARET AND VIOLAINE
Maureen told me later that I made her cry. I think it was tears because maybe she had never really realized the impact she was having on so many lives. But I made sure she did. I stood in front of room and told them that Maureen is my hero. That she is the person who put all of this together. Without her there would be no conference. Without her there would be never have been a Candle Light Vigil. That without her, many of the children would never have come home. That without her, the people of the Internet would never have known about International Child Kidnapping. And without the fact that I had met her simply because she has anonymously sent me some advice to help someone else's child I would never have known that this kidn of probelm existed.
I said simply, without Maureen, none of us would be here, and none of you would have anyone to turn to. There was a stand ovation for Maureen. Yep, I think she cried.
Next I pointed to Pat Roush. I said I had gone to last years conference and how after there were no reporters, no media, and no supporters, I felt there was no hope. And that this was the feeling of most of the parents. Then I told how on that long sad walk back to the hotel, that I had felt this persistant tugging on my sleeve while I was walking along. I told how Pat Roush, when everyone else had given up for the day, insisted that I talk to her about how we could use the Internet to help children. And as she bombarded me with questions how other parents had gathered around to here the answers. So many that instead of just going to bed we all gathered in the hotel lobby. I also talked about the fact that Pat Roush was the one person, more than any person on earth who had started the movement to stop International Child Kidnapping. That her efforts have done more to change the laws on international child abduction, than any other person in America. I could go on about forever, but lets leave it that I said that she was also a hero to me, and that I noticed she was rubbing her eyes too.
Margaret saw it coming. She was smiling, looking at me and then looking away. I told how I had been sitting in the hotel lobby with Pat Roush, Maureen and several of the other parents last year after the Candle Light Vigil (thanks to that kindly sleeeve tugger) and talking about how all of you on the net had helped a lady named Abby, whose son had been kidnapped. That Abby had been taped for an appearance on Sally Jesse but the show had never aired and Sally Jess refused to air the show, And how 4 months later, thanks to all of you Sally finally aired that show. And how Margaret had sat in the hotel lobby and told mne thats funny, Sally did the same thing to me, I was taped for a show on Sally, and then I never heard anything, id just didn't air for 4 months. I told the parents gathered in the room last week how I had asked Margaret to stand up, and told her arms out, and how she had looked at me strangely but complied. But she understood when I tookd her into my arms for a hug when I told her that I had just recognized her. That she was one of the mothers that was on the same show as Abby. That her show had been canceled and that all of you had fought to air it. A year ago, Margaret cried because she found out people cared. And tonight was to be no different.
HOW WE CAN HELP THE CHILDREN VIA THE INTERNET
Next I tried to explain how the Internet is going to help children. And the first step is already taking place. People with things in common are finding each other. People that like humor are finding joke lists. Others that like stories or music are finding those too. And on the more serious side, people concerned with certain issues are gathering together in bigger and bigger groups. Groups for things like missing children, disability, animal protection, groups of people with similar illnesses, etc... And that as the Internet continues to grow so will these groups. And that the gathering we were having would have been impossible before the Internet. Simply there was no affordable way for all these people with so much in common to have come together as a family, to have planned an event like this, and to have found such support around the world. The Internet and Maureen Dabbagh had brought us together. I asked Maureen how many people were joining parent each month. She told everyone that more people were now joining that she could ever possibly keep up with. Finally, I explained what has happened with the people will begin to happen with groups. Right now is gathering member organizations around the world faster than ever before. Missing childrens agencies are starting to work together using the Interent. And within a year or two, I belive all of the worlds missing childrens agencies will be working together as one big familiy through the Internet.
I explained that while our first goal is to find and bring home the children, our efforts on the Internet have a second and possibly more important goal. To help speed up the netwroking process around the world. To help teach all the parents how to use the Internet. And to make everyone invoilved in missing children become one big family. A family so big that the governments of the world would have no choice but to listen
Then I said that towards the end of May I would be doing something to help every parent who wanted to use the Internet to help bring home their children. That I was sending out a complete book of computer tutorials I had written to all of them and to all of you, to try to help speed up the effort to help all of the children.
I also made alot of other suggestions and ideas, such as that we will create a pr data base website that will include allof the parents in the group and all of the media attention that they have gotten. One thing we have learned is that reporters are drwan to storeis already being covered by the competition and avoid stories (no matter how good) that no one else has picked up on. These new websites will definitely give policitians and the media great pause. When taken individually, the stories of these children may not carry much weight, but when you combine them all in one place, it really makes those at the top realize, these people mean business and they are reaching people all over the world. The parents loved the idea.
I discussed plans that all of us workjing together had come up with, plans that would have a major impact durning the following year. Plans that could in a close election unseat some of the politicians that are harming America's children. For instance, creating score cards for Senators that vote for and against bills to help the children. The impact of these score cards can be dramtic weeks before an election when the Senators opponent airs a commercail showing how his/her oppenent is ranked the worst in helping the parents of missing children. We don't have to look for media support for the websites, come election time, all we have to do is approach the better ranked of the two candidates with the score card showing their opponent ranked lower. I think they will be happy to use it in their advertising.
I suggested that we work to gether with other organizations that deal with child abuse, the disabled, etc... to allow them to also contribute to the Senate rankings on the score cards. We could support each others efforts for change and also create a much larger voting base come election time. And finally I concluded with the fact that within the next few years, that people around the world will be able to vote via thier computers, and therefore the impact of websites listing Senator scores could have a major impact on voters just prior to the actual vote.
There were many other ideas discussed, but there is simply not enough room for all of them here, and you will hopefully see them soon enough. The important thing is that with each new idea, more and more smiles appeared within the room. Many of the parents were starting to feel hope for real change.
I concluded by once again pointing out the major differences between last year and this year. Last year, there was no media, this year there is. Last year there was no government backthis year Senator Robb is trying to make May "National Missing Childrens Awareness Month". Last year there was no support from AMerican citizens because they did not know about American children being kidnapped and taken prisoner in foreign lands, and how this year, all of you were supporting them. With letters, emails, faxes, phone calls to your government officials. Hundreds of website for the kids. Missing childrens webrings. Banners, emails, handing out flyers at local malls, and also some of you coming to Washington to help. I said simply, there is a major difference between last year and this year. Last year, you tried to form a family and gather support, but found very little. This year you have become a family, and you have found not only support, but hope for a better future. A future in which we will bring the children home.
I saw something that day as I stood before all these good people that I did not see last year. A room full of smiling faces. A room full of people who were just beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe there really is hope for their children.
OPAL
I went to my seat, as we all took a break. And was busy hugging old freinds and news friends left and right. Every person there must have hugged every other person there a dozen times that day. It was a good feeling. And then as I sat, I looked up and saw something that shook me to my core.
A kindly lady approached me. She had a smile on her face. ANd as many of the parents were doing that day, she wore a t-shirt. A t-shirt with a childs picture. A picture I had seen many times. A picture that many of you had sent to me. It was a picture of a little girl named "Opal Jennings".
This kind lady introduced herself, as Audrey Sanderford (OpalFind), and told me that she was Opal Jennings grandmother. I knew who Opal was. She had been abducted by a stranger 7 weeks prior. Her family had been on America's Most Wanted three times since, and had been on almsot every show on television asking for help in finding there daughter. With all of the attention from the media, I had assumed that there was little that I could do to help, and so I had not sent anything out on Opal yet. And so now here I was standing face to face with Opal's grandmother, and she was asking if there was anyway we could do more to help Opal on the Internet. I can never explain the pain I felt in my heart, as I realized that I had let this lady and her granddaughter down. Maybe sending out Opal's picture would not help, but the fact is, I never tried.
That afternoon, I was amazed at how calm Audrey was. There was a sadness in her eyes, but she looked so strong, full of hope. The impression I got was that because Opal was the victim of a stranger abduction, the family had been getting a huge amount of press. Stranger Abductions get a huge amount of press compared to International Child Abductions. ANd therefore I believe, rightly or wrongly, that for the last seven weeks Audrey and her family had seen the good side of America, the caring side. And surrounded by some many caring people, the pain had never had a chance to fully settle in.
However, that night in front of the White House, I saw something completely different. I saw Audrey standing in front of the White House in tears. I and several others went over and held her until the tears stopped. Later I heard that one of the camera people say they had been with her for weeks, and this was the first time she had cried. I don't know whether is was seeing all the other parents in tears, or seeing the reality of how the Clintons had turned their backs these good people (including that night Opal Jennings), but I do know that she felt something that night, something so overpowering that it brought her first tears.
CHILDREN KIDNAPPED FOR BODY PARTS
What I heard next was the most shocking thing I had ever heard in my life. A lady from Argentina, whose name I did not catch, had come all the way to Washington to tell people here what was happening in her country. I am not sure I got all of this exactly right, because everything she said had to be translated into English, but this is how I understood what she was saying.
It seems there is a big river in Argentina, and when a child disappears in that area the government officials almost always say the child must have fallen in the river, and want to leave it at that. Simply the government makes little or no effort to try to actually try to find these children. This lady refused to belive the government, and started the only organization for missing children in Argentina. What she found was shocking. Many children were being kidnapped from Argentina to Europe. Others were being taken an killed so that their body parts could be sold for transplants. Others were simply kidnapped within the local area. But what made it even more shocking, was that she had believed government officials were taking bribes to cover it up. That there was alot of money in selling children for adoption and for body parts. The bad news is that there are still alot of children missing in that area and the government is not helping. The good news is this lady and her organization have found and brought home over one hundred missing children. She then stated that her organization has now joined parent in an effort to bring to light the global problem of child snatching.
The next speaker was Maureen Dabbagh, Nadia's mother and Founder of Parent. Maureen looked like a completely different person than the year before. At one point last year she went 36 days without eating a single bite to bring media attention to Nadia and the other children (A mothers desperate struggle) , and so she defintiely looks a little thinner. But there is something else. A new confidence in her eyes. A feeling that she is finally on the right track and that things are going as planned. That she will make a difference for these children and her own, and there is simply no one that can stop her.
Maureen spoke of many things, but the one that might shock all of you the most, is that she talked of how "Hill and Knowlton", a legal firm representing the Saudi's, had invaded the privacy of several American parents who had children kidnapped to Saudi Arabia, by pirating into their private emails. Yes, you heard that right. The Saudi government has hired people to spy on American citizens. In particular, parents whose children have been kidnapped to Saudi Arabia. She told of how this legal firm representing the Saudi's had tried to intimidate these parents, and how the parents had refused to back down.
At this point Pat Roush, talked about how Hill and Knowlton had threatened to sue her. I rememeber this well, because I was speaking to Pat on the phone when the threat arrived by mail. Instead of fear, Pat surprirized me by jumping up and down with the phone in her hands, yelling...Yesss... Yesss... Yess... Pat was thrilled at the thought that these people would try to sue her. That this would be the rallying point where everyone would come to her defense. That a mother of two kidnapped children was now being sued by lawyers that represented the Saudi's where here children were kidnapped. Much to Pat's regret, Hill and Knowlton bakced down dropping the lawsuit.
At this point other parents started talking about how they felt threatened by our own government. The state department in fact. The next half hour was one parent after another talking about how our government was supposed to protect our citizens, but that they felt more threatened by our state department than they did by the foreign government. What finally came of this, was the whole group deciding these threats were just that. That if the state department actually ever went after the parents of a missing child, that everyone in that room would be breathing fire down the state departments neck. That all of us on the net would jump in to protect the parent. That the newspapers, tv reporters, talk shows would soon follow, and finally the American people. Soon people who had been afraid of these threats, were actually hoping that the State Department would try to harass them. That this could actually be the key to getting the media attention that would help bring their child home.
Simply, everytime the parents faced and obstacle, by working together, they found a way to make it work in their advantage. Anyone attacking a member of this family is dead meat!
Pat Roush is the person that started the movement to stop International Child Snatching. And when she walked up to speak, the room grew silent. People wanted to hear what she had to say. Fortunately, a few days after the conference, a radio station in Baltimore did a 2 hour radio interview with Pat Roush, so you can simply click the following link and listen to almost exactly what Pat said at the conference Pat Roush on the Don Kroah Show .
For those of you who cannot listen to the link, there is one special point I want to make to all of you. Pat Roush played several tape recordings. Recordings where she was talking to Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ray Maebus. On one of those tapes, Ray Maebus told Pat that he had pesonally asked President Clinton to ask the Saudi government to return Pat's daughter Alia and Aisha. (President Clinton never did). Also on another tape Ray Maebus told Pat that he had arranged a deal so that Pat's daughters would be coming home within a few weeks, and he gave details of how, when and why. Then Pat told everyone how Ray Maebus had retired and Wyshe Fowler had taken over and essentially turned his back on Pat and her daughters.
There is no more doubting, some American officials have had the opprotunity to bring home some of our missing children, and instead for reasons known only to themselves, they chose to let the kidnappers keep our children.
Probably the saddest part for Pat is that her children are now adults. If they had been kidnapped to almost any country in the world, when they became adults they would be free to chose where to live. Because theyare American citizens they would be free to come home. But if an American woman or female child is kidnapped to Saudi Arabia, they are prisoners for life.
And it is for this reason, that while we expand our campaign to cover all the children, I will continue to focus on Saudi Arabia, because to children and theri parents, there is no more horrible place on earth to be kidnapped too.
THE CANDLEIGHT VIGIL
As the sun began to fall, parents of began to arrive in front what is supposed to be one of the biggest symbols of all that is good in the world. A symbol of freedom, strength, courage and that America cares about it's citizens. Parents of missing children from all over the world gathered in front of the White House. Home of the President and his wife. Outside whose gates daily gather those in search of hope and a better world.
As we walked towards the this place of hope, and of shattered dreams, and towards many of our number who had arivved before us, many of the parents remarked on two significant differences between this year and last year. Parents of misisng children were gathering outside the White House to ask for help and this year there were TV camera's and photographers. Not a lot of them, but still, this year unlike any year in US history members of the media had arrived to help America's children.
The second big difference was the lack of police and police sirens. Perhaps it was the bad press they received because of the way the sirens had been constantly run to drown out the parents cries for help last year, and the failure of the intimidation tactics attempting to stop last years march for the children, maybe it was the camera's, but whatever the reason the parents had one this small victory.
As for the vigil itslef, it was more a series of images, than of actual words. The parents, family members of those that were missing from grandparents to brothers and sisters gathered to join in circle around Craig Deanto who was playing his guitar and singing "Who Hears the Cries of the Little Children". The cirlce became a little larger as people from the Internet for the first time ever joined the parents in a show of support in front of the White House. Soon all the parents were clad in white t-shirts, with the pictures of their children in front, with messages such as "Bring Our Children Home" on the back.
As the parents began to sing with one voice, camera's began rolling, pictures taken, and those from the internet were taking mental images to take home to pass on to all of you around the world, as all of this was happening there was one thing missing at the White House. ANd that was even a single indication that anyone that lived there cared about the parents of these missing children. It would have been so easy for the President or Hilary to have showed in some way they cared. They could have come, they could have asked the Vice President to attend, they could have sent a representative, a letter, flowers or even just a note. But they did nothing.
The result of the Presidents direct snub of the parents, began to show. First in a misty eye here, then a misty eye there. As Craig belted out song after song he had written about the children, the parents marched creating a circle of light with their candles, voices rising with lose for the children as the parents began to look more and more like a rainbow, as each donned yellow, pink and blue ribbons of hope, and buttons saying "Ribbons of Hope Campaign".
That night good people walked by candle light, parents, family's, supporters from around the country, and you knew that if there was a ribbon of hope that night, it was in the people who were on the outside of the gate that surrounds the White House. While we had found weakness and a lack of caring on the inside of those gates, we also found the true strength of America was outside of the gate last night. It is not the government that makes America, it is the people.
And even strong people must have a moment of weakness. A moment when their hearts let out all of their rage, frstration and tears. And these good strong people were no different. Tears began to flow. Slowly, first one here, then another there. Margaret McClain who is one of the strongest women I have ever met in my life, became so engulfed in tears and deep heart felt sobs that she could barely stand. Arms quickly wrapped around her and held her to give her strength. Not strength to fight off the tears, but to let them out. Every person there understood that these parents had earned the right to cry. That there pain was not so much for themselves, but for the children, the children for whom our government cares so little. As Maureen took Maragaret into her arms, I could see the tears from her friend begin to trickle down her face. Then Violaine joined this spontanteuos show of love and support, then Pat Roush, and as the they all held each other, tears now freely flowing you realized that while they were crying from their own pain, also many of those tears were for those around them. They were tears of love and freindship.
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