An appeal to resist (katécon)

CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT GENOCIDE

 A FATHERLAND OF ALL A FATHERLAND OF THE POOR

At the end of  WWII  world populations judged the civilisation that had brought humanity to such a crisis and they came to the realisation that civilisation had, time and time again, been guilty of racism, aggression and genocide. In 1948, with the Convention for the prevention and repression of the crime of genocide, (a term defining not only the  extermination of a population but also   all acts aimed at “destroying all or part” of a human group as such) it was decided the time had come to create a civilisation of equal populations, free from genocide.

Today, however, the world appears to reason, decide and govern as if that choice had never been made. The nuclear wargames being played by North Korea and the US mean, in fact, admitting to the possibility of  genocide of one or more of the world’s  populations, or indeed of the entire  world population. The claim that unpopular regimes  can be overthrown through the destruction of their population  as “ collateral damage”, is itself genocide. The concentration of the planet’s wealth in the hands of a tiny minority of people  means  creating  “an economy that kills”, also a form of genocide as it threatens the existence of entire populations who are excluded from the world market. The devastation of the earth through climate change is an ecocide, exchanging the rapacious gain of money today for tomorrow’s genocide. The very aim of genocide is the cancellation of others and this is exactly what is happening when migrants and refugees are intercepted, hounded by dogs and repulsed by walls, driven back by warships and armed men, discriminated against, whether they are fleeing from war zones or famine. They are hidden from the sight of others as if they did not exist. All this means that the future of our civilisation is built on the denial of the existence of others. These practices are not only evil but they are totally without reason and none ever yield positive results. Opposite choices could, however, prove to be far more effective and advantageous, possible and politically capable of consensus.

The present day migrant population is made up of  many different nations and the illusion of preserving civilisation while  discarding parts of the world is particularly tragic because, by refusing to welcome and integrate migrants and refugees, these people become clandestine  and are thus transformed into criminals, not for having done wrong but simply for existing. What results from this is that the states of law and constitutional democracies betray themselves: alongside law-abiding citizens there exists a mass of illegal people who are legally invisible and therefore exposed to any amount of harassment and exploitation, while cohabiting the same land and sharing the same blood.

This situation evokes and renders starkly contemporary what the apostle Paul described at the dawn of Christianity. ”The mystery of anomy” was what Paul used to illustrate a world “without law”, the breakdown of social values, man’s claim to lawless, unbridled power which sets itself above all else, claiming for itself the role of God. But within that very intuition at the beginnings of the Christian era, there appeared the concept “katécon”, meaning resistance, the determination to hold back the forces of destruction and impede the triumph of the end, thus paving the way to the resolution of the crisis.

However this ancient term is interpreted, we wish to urge nations towards this resistance, to  exercise their power to halt these practices,  as happened in the 20th century when the international peace movement, through non-violent action,  obtained the withdrawal of the atomic threat, thus avoiding atomic war.

Today there are two impelling priories in this need to resist through action:

1. Mobilization to push for the simultaneous signing  and enacting by the Nuclear Powers of the UN resolution to ban nuclear armaments to which the majority of nations adhere.
2. Mobilization for the recognition of the universal right to migrate and settle in  places most likely to permit the fulfilment of life. One of the first natural rights proclaimed  in the modern era  is the “ius migrandi” which   represents the drive towards  profound  social and economic renovation and the most incisive  creator of a new world society where humanity is united and is  guardian of Mother Earth.

The aim of the present appeal is to transform this vision of the world and future  civilisation from being solely an ideal into becoming action and resistance, into becoming a fully-fledged “movement”.

 16/10/2017

1. Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize committee member in 1980, Argentina,
2. Shirin Ebady, Nobel Peace Prize committee member in 2003, Iran,
3. Jodi Williams, Nobel Peace Prize committee member in 1997, USA,
4. Mairead Corrigan-Maguire Nobel Peace Prize committee member in 1976, UK,
5. Enrico Calamai, Diplomat,
6. Francesco Coccopalmerio, cardinale presidente del Consiglio per i testi legislativi,
7. Luigi Ferrajoli, Philosopher of law,
8. don Luigi Ciotti, Founder and president of Gruppo Abele and president of Libera,
9. Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo,
10. Riccardo Petrella, promotore del Gruppo di Lisbona, del patto sull’acqua e della “Carta dell’umanità”,
11. Raniero La Valle, Journalist,
12. Grazia Tuzi, docente, Sapienza, Università di Roma
13. Fiorella Mannoia, singer, Roma
14. Fritjof Capra, scienziato, studioso di teoria dei sistemi, Berkeley (California) e Schumaker College (Regno Unito)
15. Lorenza Carlassare, Constitutionalist, Padova

Vedi le altre firme al link:  https://www.chiesadituttichiesadeipoveri.it/per-un-mondo-non-genocida-patria-di-tutti-patria-dei-poveri-2/