Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-301"
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"en.20051026.20.3-301"2
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"Madam President, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner struck exactly the right note at the beginning of her speech when she said that this was an historic occasion: the first election for decades and the first parliamentary election in which we believe women were ever allowed to take part.
I personally found it a great honour to be a member of the team that was able to witness this momentous event. I want to thank very warmly our good colleague, Mr Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, who led us so wonderfully well. This is the second time I have worked closely with him in an election; we were in Lebanon together just before that. I also want to thank my long-time colleague whom I have always admired, Mrs Bonino, who has been committed to Afghanistan for so long. She was brave enough to go there while the Taliban were in power. Very few women would have shown her courage and commitment, and she is continuing her work.
I chose to monitor the women-only polling stations. I saw thousands of women, most in burkhas with their faces shrouded. Of course, they rolled them back when they came into the women-only polling booths. They could not do a great deal once they were there. Some spent half an hour puzzling frantically, trying to understand what the piece of paper in front of them meant, what to do and how to make a mark. They had no education. Let us not forget that Afghanistan is one of the two poorest nations in the world. Its health statistics are comparable only to Somalia’s. We will be helping Afghanistan for years to come with education, preventive health care – the basics. It is right and proper that we should do so.
However, we should also remember those from the European Union who have already given their lives for Afghanistan. Led by Mr Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, we witnessed a wonderful, moving tribute to the deaths of the 17 Spanish troops, whose names will be enshrined forever where they died. They sacrificed their lives for the future of the people of Afghanistan.
We cannot give up. The country is desperately poor. We shall be there for a very long time, but it is the sort of job to which the European Union is wonderfully suited."@en1
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