Boarding the Peace Train

PRAISEWORTHY PEACEMAKERS
Two hundred and fitt y charitable Washingtonians joined Refugees International (RI) on October 10 to honor former United Nations Ambassadors John C. Danforth and Richard C. Holbrooke; actor Sam Waterson of “Law and Order;” and Samantha Power, author of“A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide;” for their exceptional humanitarian eff orts.

SHARING THE EXPERIENCE
The annual RI awards dinner, “Celebrating Peacemakers,” was held at the Kennedy Center and raised about $250,000 for humanitarian aid. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley and Dale Mathias co-chaired the memorable evening supported by such venerable trustees and donors as Jim Kimsey, Mariella Traeger, Robin West and Eileen Shields- West.

EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS
The four honorees were recognized for distinctive contributions to peacemaking: Danforth for his achievements in negotiating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a violent civil war in southern Sudan; Holbrooke for his role in negotiating the Dayton Agreement, now celebrating its 10th anniversary of bringing an end to the bloodshed in the Balkans; Waterson for 20 years of devoted service to the RI board of directors; and Power for her written eff orts to increase public awareness about genocide.

Jim Kimsey and Cid Szegedy

Beli Nasseri, Roya Rafei, Sanvi Nasseri and Mariella Traeger

Azar Nafisi	Ken Bacon

Sam Waterson	Smith Bagley, Jessica Savitch, Moroccan Amb.Aziz Mekouar, Amb. Elizabeth Bagley and Irish Amb. Noel Fahey

Sen. John Danforth and Richard Holbrooke	Nadir and Kati Bulgari and Roya Rafei

PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON