Chandra Sitaula Sharma fled political prosecution in Bhutan, his home county. He spent more than two years in a refugee camp in Nepal.
Sharma was offered a second chance to build a life in the United States because of the United Nations.
“I might still be there today, if it were not for the effort and vision of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Organizations for Migration,” said Sharma.
He is now the president of the Scranton-based Bhutanese Cultural Foundation.
"From being a refugee to becoming a U.S. citizen and contributing to my community here in Scranton, I found a new identity and purpose," he said. "Having once experienced deep helplessness, I now do my best, no matter how small, to support others in need.”
Sharma joined the United Nations Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania to celebrate U.N. Day outside the Lackawanna County Courthouse Friday. The U.N.’s blue flag was raised. Lackawanna County Commissioners also presented the association with a proclamation.
"As we gather this morning to celebrate the 80 years of the founding of the United Nations, let's pray that at the 100th year celebration that it can be said that we are truly a united nation, all working together, helping those in need to be free,” said Norma Jeffries, a community activist.
The U.N. was founded after World War II on Oct. 24, 1945.
"From eradicating smallpox to healing the ozone layer to preventing World War Three, the United Nations has led the way,” said Joe Riccardo, secretary of the United Nations Association of NEPA.
The U.N. is made up of 193 member states. U.N. Day promotes peace, unity and global partnerships.
"To abandon the United Nations would be to ignore the lessons of our darkest chapters. To abandon the United Nations would be to abandon all hope for peace and freedom throughout the world," Riccardo said.
Scranton’s connection to the U.N.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. William Warren Scranton II was the 13th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from March 1976 to January 1977. He served under President Gerald Ford.
Scranton worked to bridge the differences between Israel and the Arab Nations, Riccardo said.
"He ... held accountable the Soviet Union for their treatment of dissidents and their oppression of their citizens,” he added.
Riccardo said Scranton was also hard on the U.N.
“He said 'the United Nations, too often, is long on declarations and short on implementation',” Riccardo said.
Former Scranton Mayor David Wentzel and his wife, Janet Wentzel, helped found the local U.N. chapter 57 years ago.
The U.N. today
The speakers mentioned the conflict and shaky ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, Russia’s war on Ukraine and the record number of people who are displaced across the world.
They also talked about attacks on children while in school and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting U.S. citizens.
Rabbi Daniel Swartz and Dr. Ahmed Gomaa, from the University of Scranton, offered prayers.
They said the United Nations isn’t a perfect organization.
"This is a celebration, but we still have problems. It has not been easy victories for the United Nations. This is an organization that has both risen and fallen and tried again,” Riccardo said.
But they also celebrated projects funded by the United Nations Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Riverside art and science students created an art installation using material they gathered along the Lackawanna Heritage Trail. They turned invasive Japanese knotweed into paper and made small sculptures with plastic and debris from the Lackawanna River.
Scranton Prep’s Model U.N. Club donated sustainable backpacks and hygiene products to Community Intervention Center to help eradicate poverty and promote good health and wellbeing.
A symbol of peace
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey joined the celebration. He quoted President John F. Kennedy.
"None can be uncommitted to this goal of the long labor of peace,” Casey said.
He repeated the sentiment.
"So many of you are in your daily work in government and out of government as citizens of this region, of citizens of this county and this Commonwealth in this country, let us as we move forward on this 80th anniversary, let us all be committed to the long labor of peace.”
Throughout the ceremony, a plant was covered up by a paper bag. Inside was an olive tree for the Lackawanna County Commissioners.
Abington Heights senior Ella Tourscher also said olive trees are economically vital to Palestine. Fifty-two thousand trees have been destroyed since the start of hostilities with Israel in 2023, she said.
The trees represent peace, reconciliation and eternal life.
"We, high school students from Lackawanna County, present to you this olive tree as a fervent wish, as a gesture of hope that peace will blossom among the ruins of a world currently engulfed by conflict and violence. We ask that you, our local leaders, use the influence and power of your position to push for peace in the world and in our own communities,” Ella said while flanked by her peers from Prep and Riverside.
"So today, let this be our plea, a call for every local and global leader, every voice of influence to stand together and fight, not with weapons, but with courage, compassion and conviction for World Peace and for peace here within our own land,” she said.
