Look back
A journalist came to me to ask three questions of today. He could have asked the same questions to any one of us, questions to invite us to look back into the past to enlighten the future.
At the end of this century, which event do you want to remember?
The collapse of the Berlin wall. I remember discovering with astonishment the overwhelming images of the TV News. The collapse of the Berlin wall is an influential event which lead to the collapse of communism, the end of the cold war, the opening of the boundaries. The impact of this event can still be noticed today like the waves of the sea breaking on the shore after an earth quake. Maybe some days, historians will say that the 21st century started with the collapse of the Berlin wall, without taking notice of the calendar. This is because we have plunged into a new world for the whole planet, where every thing is moving fast.
At the end of this century, which image do you keep?
The image of this young Chinese who had the unbelieving bravery to challenge tanks on Tiennanmen Square. He stepped out from the crowd to stand in front of the first tank, surprisingly face to face. One man alone, unarmed, challenging the guns! More extraordinary, he dared to climb the caterpillar and step up on the tank. And then he leant over to say a few words to the driver. An unforgettable moment. Our young hero was trying to establish a communication. We don't know what he said, but he knew that in this tank, there was a human being, with a heart, able to hear words of peace.
We don't know either who this young Chinese was, neither what happened to him. But by his noble gesture he is representing all that is best in us, with our bare hands, our spontaneous reactions in the face of injustice, our nonviolent struggle against persecution.
What do you dream for the next millennium?
The dream of human fraternity. To live together whatever is ones nationality, ones ethnic group or faith or the color of ones skin. A dream that in Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians can live together with equal rights. I dream that human fraternity includes all the living beings. We are member of the planet earth, we belong to the cosmos. Human fraternity and cosmic fraternity are linked together.
And what will be your answers to the journalist?
