Dear Nenad, 
 
 
Greetings! I am planning a trip to New York City on March 3-6 to discuss 
our Roots of Peace event planned at the United Nations in May 2002. As you 
can see from the attached, I am delighted to announce that Roots of Peace 
will establish a garden beneath Isaiah's Wall to raise landmine awareness on 
a global basis! This has been my dream...now come true! 
 
Please call me at your earliest convenience, as I would like to arrange a 
meeting with you. Also, included is an article printed in the SF Chronicle discussing our landmine removal efforts in Croatia! 
 
With Kindest Regards, 
 
Heidi 
heidi@rootsofpeace.org (Heidi Kuhn) 
Roots of Peace 
 
This is the HTML address for the San Fr. Cro article: 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/03/M 
N16174.DTL 
 
Dear Heidi, 
It's Divine to Demine 
Nenad 
 
Dear Heidi, 
 
I am very inspired by your passion and creative ideas for how to successfully deal with the seemingly irresolvable landmine crises which afflicts places of instability around the world. I have heard of your cause and seen your web site. I can see that the support for what you are doing only continues to grow with each passing year. Your cause in and of itself is like a seed of hope that is on the verge of blooming into something beautiful that our world right now so desperately needs. Your cause initially caught my attention because of your demining efforts in Croatia and Bosnia. I am a half first generation Croatian that grew up in California...but through out my life was afforded the opportunity to visit the beautiful country and home town that my father grew up in. To hear of the families and children that were afflicted by the terrible war that our country, Croatia, had to endure is heart wrenching. To think of farmers and children going out into fields infested with mines is something that my min 
 
I have always believed that a good economy can help detract from political instability. By working with the soil of war torn areas of conflict and developing products such as wine and coffee will surely contribute to improving the economies of these areas. I believe you are essentially warding off future conflict in these areas because you are giving the inhabitants of these lands something to believe in and something to work for together for the greater good of their own society. Maybe I am too idealistic, but I believe that the beauty of your ideas for vineyards and gardens goes well beyond what is visible to the human eye. The true beauty of your cause is the sense of hope and opportunity for achievement that you will give to the inhabitants of these lands. The beauty is the hope for unity across humanity that these fields will now stand for. 
 
Your letter to William Castro regarding your idea of planting a "roots of peace" garden at the United Nations peaked my interest even more. What a great way to let the world know about your cause! Imagine all of the tourists and people that will be exposed to this idea everyday. I would like to know how I can be of help to support this particular idea and your cause in general. Your idea mentioned a need for further corporate sponsors. My father, Jure Sola, born and raised in Croatia, is co-founder and CEO of Sanmina-Sci corporation. I intend to discuss with him your cause and any further information you can provide me with. 
 
I look forward to hearing from you. Congratulations on such a profound success. 
 
Warm regards, 
 
Martina Sola 
Business Development Manager 
Sanmina-Sci Corporation 
 
 
Dear Martina, 
 
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement! Our proposal for a Roots of Peace Garden has been formally approved by the NYC Parks Commission, and hope to unveil our special Mines to Vines garden beneath Isaiah's Wall on May 6th--International May Day Celebration, where seeds of hope grow in sharp contrast to the seed of terror on New York City soil. 
 
We are actively trying to raise $60,000 for the planting/gardening/maintenance of this Roots of Peace Garden. For corporate donors, there will be a permanent plaque displaying their names for global citizens to view as they visit this historical site. 
 
We would greatly appreciate the support of the Croatian community in assisting us with our goals...this is far more than a garden, and may sow the seeds of hope that the world so desperately needs. Thank you for helping us get the word out to generous donors who may contribute tax-deductible dollars to this worthy cause. 
 
With Kindest Regards, 
 
Heidi Kuhn 
 
 
 
February 15, 2002 
 
Mr. William Castro 
Bureau Commissioner of Manhattan 
New York City Department of Parks 
16 West 61st Street 
New York, New York 10023 
 
Dear Mr. Castro, 
 
I greatly appreciated the opportunity to speak with you earlier today 
regarding the prospect of planting a Roots of Peace Garden beneath the 
inspiring words etched in stone at Isaiah’s Wall—a prophesy that’s become 
the international motto of the United Nations: 
 
    "…And They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares, 
          And Spears into Pruning Hooks, 
                So That Nation Shall Not Fight Against Nation, 
          And There Shall Be No More War…" 
 
Beneath this wall of opportunity exists the fertile soil of New York City 
where the roots of peace may be planted inspiring global citizens to embrace 
these prophetic words inscribed 2000 years ago, as our society strives to sow 
the seeds of peace in the new millennium. This Roots of Peace Garden would 
serve as a source of inspiration for thousands of visitors to the United 
Nations, as they reflect upon our humanitarian roots. 
 
Roots of Peace is a humanitarian organization dedicated to the eradication of 
landmines by returning demined land to productive agricultural 
use—converting" swords to plowshares" or Mines to Vines by replacing the 
scourge of landmines with bountiful vineyards in countries suffering the 
aftermath of war. The scourge of over 70 million landmines silently planted 
in over 70 countries represent the most primitive form of terrorism facing 
our planet today—the phantom enemy of a landmine prevents innocent farmers 
and families from cultivating their fields and walking the earth in safety. 
The Roots of Peace Garden would remind global citizens that we are actively 
embodying the words etched in stone by removing the deadly seeds of terror by 
replanting seeds of hope. 
 
The UN Global Compact and Roots of Peace will co-host a luncheon on May 6, 
2002 in the West Terrace Room of the Delegate’s Dining Room of the United 
Nations where we will showcase our efforts by successfully developing 
"Public-Private Partnerships in Zones of Conflict". The luncheon will 
consist of corporate CEO’s, California & New York vintners, US Government 
Leaders, UN Dignitaries, politicians and Ambassadors from landmine affected 
countries, where we will all lift our glasses in a global toast to peace 
during the Spring planting season that the world may go "…from mines to 
vines." 
Roots of Peace was launched by Mrs. Nane Annan just a few years ago, 
following the death of the late Princess Diana who catapulted the issue of 
landmines to the forefront of the international agenda. Her Majesty Queen 
Noor of Jordan has taken the royal torch in lighting the way forward, and 
will be invited to attend this distinguished event. (In fact, there is a 
rare Black Iris of Jordan that could be incorporated into the Roots of Peace 
Garden along with the English Rose!) His Excellency Kofi Annan has 
personally supported our efforts over the years by attending a Roots of Peace 
event hosted in the Silicon Valley of California, where he stated to an 
audience of business entrepreneurs: 
 
"…you have turned mines to vines by replacing seeds of death with seeds of 
life… 
and you have shown the world that even with modest beginnings, a partnership 
backed up by persistence can make a real difference." 
His Excellency Kofi A. Annan, June 2000 
 
Roots of Peace is proud to have demined hundred of acres of land in the 
Balkans, and now strives to raise funds to demine the rich agricultural 
vineyards north of Kabul in the Shomali Valley of Afghanistan. Of course, 
these vineyards will produce grapes and raisins with respect to the Muslim 
culture and we are working closely with both the United Nations and the US 
Department of State in properly identifying this new 
Roots of Peace Mines to Vines initiative. We hope to announce significant 
funding for this demining project during our May 6th luncheon. 
 
As we discussed, specifically I would envision launching the Roots of Peace 
Garden either before or after the May 6, 2002 luncheon hosted at the United 
Nations. Both fine wine and grape juice could be served at a ribbon-cutting 
ceremony beneath Isaiah’s Wall to toast to our vision to convert "swords to 
plowshares" by replanting rice in Cambodia, coffee in Angola, wheat in 
Afghanistan, cashews in Mozambique or grapes in Croatia by replacing former 
minefields with agricultural seeds. The Roots of Peace Garden would serve as 
a living representation of our UN global humanitarian vision. An ecumenical 
blessing of the Spring Planting Season honoring the plight of farmers around 
to world cultivating their lands with dignity and safety could also be 
incorporated into the opening. 
 
The Roots of Peace Garden would be annually sponsored by a corporate donor 
who would agree to supply the flowers and maintenance fee to support the 
living blossoms. 
A grapevine could also be incorporated into the center of the garden 
symbolizing the various choices of the vine—the juicy nectar of grapes, 
raisins or a fine bottle of wine. This grapevine could be pruned and cared 
for by the emerging vintners of the New York Vintners Association. Flowers 
would include the American Beauty Rose and Peace Rose Also, a fountain of 
water could be incorporated into the garden representing the universal 
principles of life. We look forward to developing this vision with you 
further! 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Heidi Kuhn cc: Mrs. Gillian Sorensen, United Nations 
 
 
Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, 
please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!