'Bond' on the case of child poverty

Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / Roger Moore, known to millions for his James Bond movies, brought his UNICEF campaign against child poverty to a luncheon at the Ottawa Congress Centre 21/3/00

International film star Roger Moore played The Spy Who Came In From The Cold yesterday as he shivered in a media tent atop the Ottawa Congress Centre prior to a UNICEF charity luncheon.

Portable heaters in the tent slowly warmed the affable 72-year-old actor, who was a little shaken (but not stirred) by the chilly Ottawa weather, and quipped about "freezing to death" while walking from the Westin Hotel to the outdoor terrace at the Congress Centre.

"You don't need coats, you are all hardy Canadians," joked Mr. Moore, who was impeccably dressed in a dark suit, pink shirt and red tie. At his side was girlfriend Kristina Tholstup, who tried to brave the cold temperatures, but finally relented and wrapped herself in a fur-trimmed beige cape.

Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / Accompanying Mr. Moore was girlfriend Kristina Tholstup

Mr. Moore was ushered into the media tent by UNICEF staff for a question period with reporters that was promised but never happened. Still, he graciously posed for photographs with corporate sponsors and signed autographs for admiring James Bond fans. One of the fans was Ottawa artist Katerina Mertikas, who presented Mr. Moore with a painting from her UNICEF international greeting-card collection.

The outdoor love-in with the actor only served as a warm-up to the main event, a charity luncheon attended by 200 people at the Congress Centre; it raised $20,000 for UNICEF's programs for needy children around the world. Ottawa Senators owner Rod Bryden was the master of ceremonies.

Mr. Moore, the star of seven James Bond films in the mid-1970s and '80s, made a splashy entrance by being driven into the hall in a black BMW as Bond movie music played in the background. He arrived to a warm round of applause and sat at the head table next to Sheila Copps, the heritage minister.

Mr. Moore gave an impassioned speech about protecting the human dignity of children around the world.

"As it's been said, I've been with UNICEF for quite a number of years. I've seen many things that I've been impressed with and I have seen many things that have depressed me," said Mr. Moore, who will receive a honourary doctorate in law tomorrow from Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, in recognition of his humanitarian work for UNICEF.

"When I am asked, 'What do you remember about the things you've seen?' I say I remember the smells -- poverty has a smell -- and it's not just because people are unwashed. There is a real smell of poverty you find when you're travelling in the Third World.

"There is a smell that is not with us -- and I'm sorry to bring it up at lunch -- and that is the smell of burning flesh."

He said he remembers the gruesome smell when he visited children in hospital wards and looked into their sad young faces.

"I was not prepared for the sight of a child without limbs on a bed who was a victim of a landmine."

He said it was a sight he has seen often in his travels around the world as a UNICEF ambassador for children's rights.

Mr. Moore became interested in working with UNICEF through his friend, actress Audrey Hepburn, and for the last eight years he has devoted his time to worldwide humanitarian causes. In May he went to Macedonia on an advocacy mission, visiting various UNICEF projects in refugee camps.

Mr. Moore said we often take for granted the most basic things in life, such as a simple glass of water.

"On our tables," Mr. Moore said, "we have glasses and they (waiters) just pour water into them. Think of the millions of people who have no access to water and those who will not even drink out of a glass. So we come to the injustices of the world, and in order to get water many families have to send off their children or the women to bring back water."

About 40,000 children die every day from starvation or abuse, he said. UNICEF is trying to stamp out the exploitation and abuse of children around the world and restore some dignity so they can build a life for themselves, Mr. Moore said.

"A child has the right to play, to have a name and an identity and be a person. The child has right to be helped and get an education. And if you take those things away, you lose that child."

A limited edition lithograph of the Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun was auctioned off for $1,000 to Tom Hicks, of Jetform Corp. At the end of the luncheon, Mr. Bryden presented Mr. Moore with an Ottawa Senators jersey with the number 007 stitched on the back.

Maria Minna, Canada's international co-operation minister, announced yesterday that $1 million will be donated to UNICEF to provide new textbooks for children in Kosovo