| Samantha
Smith
by Kelly Lynn Demarest Mayer
The issue of war and peace has always been
a central theme in human history. People often take peace
for granted, but many people have devoted their lives
to this cause. We look to them with respect and admiration.
One such peace hero is a girl named Samantha Smith.
In the 1980s, the United States and the Soviet Union
were in the midst of the "Cold War" -- a war
between the ideologies of democracy and communism. Samantha
Smith, a ten year old from Manchester, Maine understood
this. She was concerned about peace. She suggested that
her mother write to the new president of the Soviet Union
about relations between the United States and the Soviet
Union. Instead, Samantha's mother proposed that Samantha
write to him.
In her letter, Samantha expressed her fear about a "nuclear
war" between Russia and the United States. She questioned
why Mr. Andropov wanted to "conquer the world or
at least our country." She stated that "God
made the world for us to live together in peace and not
to fight."
The following April, Samantha received a three page letter
from Andropov. He addressed her concerns and said that
the Soviet Union did indeed "want very much to live
in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors
on this earth." In his letter, Andropov invited Samantha
to visit the Soviet Union in the summer. The press showed
up at the Smith household. Samantha was an instant celebrity.
On July 7, 1983, Samantha flew to the Soviet Union. She
toured the country; met with the first woman in space,
Valentina Tereshkova; met with the U.S. ambassador; and
attended the Soviet youth camp Artek, on the Black Sea.
The children at the Artek Pioneer Camp were members of
a group called the "Young Pioneers," similar
to the Boy and Girl Scouts in America. Samantha discovered
that Soviet children were very similar to children living
in the United States, and that they also had concerns
about peace.
After returning from her trip to the Soviet Union, Samantha
continued to be involved in the crusade for peace. She
made speeches and television appearances. She wrote a
book, Journey to the Soviet Union. She traveled with her
mother to the Children's International Symposium in Kobe,
Japan.
Samantha's journey to the Soviet Union came to symbolize
peace between the two nations. Her interest in this issue
illustrates that peace is a concern in everyone's life,
regardless of age, race or nationality. Her actions prove
that one person can make a difference. Her courage, will
and desire to make a positive change in the world makes
her a timeless hero.
Tragically, Samantha and her father were killed in a
plane crash in August 1985 when she was 13 years old.
The Soviet government issued a stamp in her honor and
named a diamond, flower, mountain and planet after her.
In Augusta, Maine, a life size statue stands in commemoration
of the brave girl. The statue shows Samantha releasing
a dove while a bear, the symbol of Maine and the Soviet
Union, clutches at her leg.
Kelly Lynn Demarest Mayer is a student at West Potomac
High School in Alexandria, Virginia USA
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