| “Richard you are my hero”
 At the age of 10 richard moore was robbed of his eyesight when struck
by a rubber bullet as he walked home from school. He has never allowed
bitterness to stunt his development and in 35 years of blindness, he has
become a husband, father and successful businessman. A decade ago he founded
Children in Crossfire, a Co. Derry-based charity that helps impoverished
and vulnerable children around the world. Adam Kula spoke to the man who
at a recent International Conference on Children’s Rights was proclaimed
a hero by the Dalai Lama.
When the spiritual leader of the world’s 350million Buddhists His Holiness
the Dalai Lama paid a moving tribute to peace in the North of Ireland
at a conference in Derry City more than 1,000 people gathered in the city’s
Millennium Forum to hear the address.
The event, which was to commemorate the 10th ann-iversary of Children
in Crossfire, also saw the Nobel Prize-winning Tibetan lead-er pay special
tribute to the charity’s founder blind father-of-two Richard Moore
who he described as "my hero".
Richard recalled their emotional meeting on the tarmac of Derry Airport.
He said: "When the Dalai Lama stepped off the plane I was standing
waiting on the runway."
"As he walked towards me he said: ‘Richard, Richard — I’m
here.’ I don’t think I’ll ever find the words to explain
what that meant to me."
"He gave me a hug and put my hand on his face. I told him: ‘Your Holiness
I really appreciate you coming’ and he said to me: ‘Richard
— you are my hero’."
"The Dalai Lama telling you you’re his hero. I just can’t
explain how I feel about it. It’s such an incredible thing."
Richard Moore foun-ded Children in Crossfire in 1996 to help tackle poverty
in places as far apart as Colombia and Bangladesh.
But before setting up the charity, he was already well-known in the community
as a successful businessman and an accomplished folk musician.
Few would dispute the Dalai Lama’s description of him as a hero
but the 45-year-old Derry man said he owes his achievements to those who
supported him and helped him recover from his childhood trauma.
He said: "I bounced back from it very well because I come from a good
family, a good community with good support networks."
"Because of the generosity and kindness I received I just want to give
some of that back. Any compassion or charity I may have is only because
I’ve been so much on the receiving end of these things in my life."
At age 10 Richard was struck in the face by a rubber bullet as he walked
home from school robbing him of his eyesight.
Richard learnt the identity of the soldier who blinded him for the very
first time last year.
They have since met on a number of occasions and developed a remarkable
friendship even staying the night at each other’s houses.
In February their story was made into a BBC documentary Blind Vision and
later this year Richard is due to publish his memoirs Can I Give Him My
Eyes?
At last month’s conference the Dalai Lama invited the British soldier
who fired the shot 35 years ago to join Richard and himself on the stage.
In an extraordinary scene the three embraced one another before the Dalai
Lama presented both men with ceremonial Tibetan peace shawls.
The retired major who wished to be known simply as Charles spoke with
a voice trembling with emotion about his first meeting with Richard.
He said: "Thirty-five years ago I took a tragic action that resulted
in Richard being blinded. I was appalled and devastated by it and upset
for many years."
"But completely out of the blue I received a letter from him one of
the most inspiring letters I have ever received. If Richard and I can
do this then there’s hope for this country and everyone in it."
Richard said that when he initially invited the Dalai Lama to Derry for
the conference, he never imagined he would receive a reply.
He said: "When I originally sent a letter to the Dalai Lama I had never
dreamt he would say yes. I’d thought about posting one on previous
occasions and eventually told myself: ‘Just do it’."
He said he was astonished when he received a re-sponse just 10 days later
saying the invitation had been accepted.
He said: "When somebody like him steps up to the podium to speak you
are compelled to listen and the things he will say will reach many more
ears than anything I would say."
"The sense of energy and elation you get from him is almost impossible
to des-cribe. It’s almost incomprehensible that he travelled all
the way from India just to be with us."
The anniversary conference, entitled A Promise for the Future, included
a number of other high-profile speakers such as veteran journalist Fergal
Keane, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and director of Human Rights
Watch Jane Olson.
Addressing the jam-packed forum the world-renowned Tibetan peacemaker
spoke about the example which such acts of forgiveness and reconciliation
could set for the rest of the world.
He said: "Since my last visit parties which were previously fighting
each other have now come together and are sharing common responsibility.
That’s a wonderful development."
His famous sense of mischief was also on display as he told Richard:
"You may have lost your eyesight and are not able to fully appreciate
how beautiful your wife is but I certainly can."
The 14th Dalai Lama was born to a peasant family in north-east Tibet in
June 1935.
He is the first Dalai Lama in history to visit the West and last visited
the North in 2005. |
