Oscar arias sanchez biography of abraham lincoln

I am normally not one prone to becoming inspired by politicians.  I mean there have been some that have been inspirational, like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and others of that caliber. I must say that Costa Rica’s current president, Oscar Arias, inspires me.  This is not the first time he served as president.  He served from 1986 to 2000, but was denied a second term due to a constitutional amendment.  That amendment has since been revoked and Arias was re-elected in 2006 (albeit narrowly due to a hard fought race with left of center Ottón Solís who opposed the free trade agreement with the U.S.).  I have witnessed amazing changes in this country under the leadership of Arias.  For one thing, the free trade agreement (CAFTA, or TLC as it is called here in Costa Rica) passed via nationwide referendum due primarily to Arias’ staunch support despite bitter opposition from monopolists and isolationists who tried to use fear tactics to their advantage.  A lesser politician would have done everything possible to prevent a referendum that actually placed the final decision in the hands of the people that would be directly affected by passage of the law.  Of course, back in 1987 he won the Nobel Prize for his efforts in bringing peace to Central America that was at the time war torn.  Central America is indeed a peaceful and more prosperous place in the world due to his efforts then and his continued work now.  And then there is the fact that now one can generally get from point A to point B in Costa Rica without disappearing in a pot hole (granted there is still much work done, but no one can argue that infrastructure throughout the country has improved dramatically under Arias’ watch).  Arias appears to me to be a humble intellectual whose words generally mean something.  This is refreshing in a world where integrity among politicians is a rare attribute.

Óscar Arias Facts:

1. Born Septe

Dr. Rony Brauman 
President of Medecins sans Frontieres 
July 4, 1991 
Independence Hall 
Philadelphia, PA

First of all, let me tell you on behalf of all MSF members how happy and honored I am to be here to receive this award. And having worked and traveled extensively in Central America since 1980 - incidentally I’ll be in El Salvador next Saturday - I feel still more honored to share this prize with President Arias.

I think President Arias has been among the first ones to declare, and to prove, that democracy and human rights in the developing countries were not luxury items, or a kind of window-dressing coming once the shop is well supplied. He showed that democracy was not a wishable consequences of development, but the basis of real development.

In another, context, from a purely humanitarian point of view, we have come to the same conclusion.

I was recently in Sri-Lanka and Mozambique, where MSF has been operating for more than 5 years, and went then to Turkey and Iraq. To refer only to those causal examples, we all know what are the first causes of the sufferings in these countries: lack of fundamental liberties, forced relocation, oppression of minorities, which ruin the possibilities of the self-reliance of all these populations.

We, as doctors, are unable to say what is the good political system. It is not our duty. But having worked in most of the countries stricken by natural or man-made disasters over the past 20 years, we definitely know where evil is, where fundamental liberties are banned, where basic human rights are denied.

I would like to point out that this applies in a very practical way to the prevention and treatment of natural and man-made disasters. Since time lacks for a detailed demonstration, I’ll just say:

Firstly, that there is a very strong relation between famine and oppression in one hand, between the human consequences of a disaster and the socio-economic level of the country in the other hand.