Remarks on the occasion of Visit to Tibnin Orphanage
Lebanon, 15th October 2011
What a wonderful welcome back to Tibnin Orphanage! My warmest thanks to the Director, Mr. Mohamed Fawaz, staff and students of Tibnin Orphanage for that generous welcome and a very special thank you too to the marvelous young dancers/singers for their most enjoyable performance. Weren’t they great?
It is such a heart-warming occasion for me to be back here again, fourteen years after
I first visited Tibnin and this Orphanage, just weeks after I had first been elected President of Ireland. I know that there are photographs here of that visit but I do not need to see them to recall the experience, the warmth of the welcome I received again then, the dedication and great work of the Director and the staff, and the beautiful children being nurtured and educated here. I remember a young girl who greeted me then, Fatima, who has gone on to successfully complete her university studies and who is with us today. I have a photograph in my official residence in Ireland of Fatima presenting flowers to me back then in 1997. Well done on finishing your studies Fatima. You are now a great role model for the younger girls here and a credit to yourself and those who cared for you here.
Most of all, from that visit, I recall the depth and warmth of the relationship with the Irish Battalion peacekeepers, who had both supported and protected the Orphanage and its children over many years in the most dangerous times in this area. I heard moving stories from you of love, respect and heroism, which I have not forgotten and which reassured me of our ability to be the very best of friends to one another despite differences of culture, language, politics or religion.
I am looking forward to seeing today’s life in the Orphanage and meeting the children and staff who live and work here now. It is great to know that once again, Irish peacekeepers from Camp Shamrock are helping out here and I am looking forward to seeing Private Michelle Tarpey’s English class in action in a few minutes.
Tibnin Orphanage has for many years held a special place in Irish hearts thanks to its relationship with generations of Irish Battalion members and I know that the Irish Government is planning to provide assistance to the Orphanage through our Irish Aid programme. Those details are currently under discussion and I am sure the human links of care which bind Tibnin and Ireland will be important to us both for a long time to come.
I wish to pay tribute, in particular, to the Director of the Orphanage, Mr Mohamed Fawaz, whose dedication and deep affection for the children in his care are very much in evidence. I wish the children happy lives and great fun and fulfillment to all those who care for them.
My thanks to you all.