|
Dear
Friends:
I
am very happy to be here today. Thank you very much for this invitation
to speak.
We
are living in a very special moment of human history. Many of you feel
shattered these days by the major events of September 11th in the United
States which nobody can ignore or disregard. But we know there is more,
like the events in Switzerland and in Southern France. All, just in the
last few days.
Now
that some time has elapsed since the original incident in Manhattan, we
should be able to share some deep reflections, not only with the view to
focus on what happened - as we are saturated by the media - but more
importantly, to see why did it happen and how can we, together,
eliminate any form of terrorism in the future.
-
This
is the time to go far beyond the surface of what actually happened.
-
This
is the time to heal and to love.
-
This
is the time to care and to serve.
-
This
is the time to be one and to respect our differences.
-
This
is the time to share our souls and to expand our tolerance.
Of
course, I care about the victims, their relatives, and all those
suffering and who, directly or indirectly, have been touched by those
events.
However,
everyone here should know that there is no process of human
transformation that does not have ‘a victim’ or ‘victims’. And,
you know that there are millions of them as a result not only of the
physical forms terrorism, but also as a result of economic, financial
and social terrorism; cultural and institutional terrorism; and
political and religious terrorism. Maybe the physical terrorism of the
type we have witnessed is the direct result of all other forms of
terrorism.
For
many of the disadvantaged people, globalization also represents some
form or another the expressions of collective terrorism. This is
terrorism against the poor, minorities and the powerless.
But,
there are many other forms of sophisticated terrorism which result from
the destruction of the environment, the use of inappropriate language,
the making available to children of violent movies and pornography, the
different forms of gender inequality, the progressive marginalization of
indigenous people, the constant violation of human rights and so many
more.
Terrorism
is everywhere and it must be corrected now.
The
tragedy we are living today is one where we tend to accept only some
forms of terrorism and not the others. The tragedy is also one where we
assign to life a different set of values, depending on who the victim
is. Obviously, to me no form of terrorism is acceptable. There is no
room for terrorism in my life. And all forms of life are of the same
value.
This
is why I believe the time has come to ask ourselves the following
questions:
-
Is
it possible to live in a world free of terrorism?
-
Is
this simply a utopia these days?
-
What
are the conditions to be met so that we may attain a world of peace
and security?
I
will come back to this in a moment.
[PAUSE]
It
is also important to note that this meeting is taking place in a very
special and sacred place: Assisi.
I
wonder what Saint Francis of Assisi would have said today in relation to
the tragedy we are all confronted with.
-
Would
he cry?
-
Would
he pray?
-
Would
he meditate?
-
Would
he forgive?
-
Would
he forget?
I
know that the most beautiful prayer of Saint Francis expresses, among
other things, the need for all of us to become an instrument of peace.
An instrument of love. An instrument of healing. An instrument of inner
realization.
I
do not know, but it would not be difficult to imagine that his first
approach would never embrace any form of violence. Saint Francis would
never use the same paradigm of the terrorists to resolve the problem. He
would not use the paradigm that created the problem. He would have used
a paradigm that can resolve it!! We know that violence cannot be
addressed with more violence. Again, any form of violence.
-
Would
he listen to him? or
-
Would
he teach, and dictate, to him what to do, when to do it, and how to
do it?
I
strongly believe that the first thing Saint Francis would have done is
to listen with love, compassion and rectitude. He would have entered
into the spiritual dimensions of the problem at hand.
And,
when I say spiritual, I am mean listening to the foundations and reasons
defining a racist, terrorists, and violent behavior.
Of
course, there are many explanations. But one explanation central to this
phenomenon, is
This
conference is taking place at the right time, when both spirituality and
tourism are in deep crisis. This is not just a crisis, this is a deep
rooted crisis on some of the most complex dimensions of human existence.
It is a crisis of values and beliefs. It is a crisis of identity and
direction. This is a crisis that touches on our fears, our commitments,
our own existence.
We
all know that tourism and spirituality are essential to build up a new
global identity. A pluralistic and transparent identity. An identity
with a new set of values.
But,
How do we do it right now when one of the sectors most hit by the
terrorist attacks is tourism. Just look for a moment to the airlines,
hotels, and the problems faced by tourist companies and businesses. Many
international meetings have been cancelled. Many tours have been
cancelled. But, even within this context, there is no doubt in my mind
that tourism must play a fundamental role in attaining a way free of
terrorism, a world at peace with itself.
It
is my contention that to bring back spirituality and tourism we must all
become warriors of peace. Until and unless peace is attained, it will
not be possible to move towards a sustainable path for humanity.
Thus,
let me talk about peace for a moment.
In
simple terms, you cannot buy peace in the supermarkets.
Peace
as a process of self realization is the key to focus on during this
meeting. We need
-
Peace
with the next door neighbor,
-
Peace
with the environment,
-
Peace
with all beings (including animals and plants),
-
Peace
with our individual existence, and
-
Peace
with our collective existence.
But,
we know that:
‘Peace
Is All And All Is Peace’
In
the interim, there is no doubt that in order to recover and strengthen
our identity we need a major process of healing and reconciliation.
Healing of the most profound nature and reconciliation with our selves
and others.
All
our activities have a healing quality. The existence of this quality and
the character of it depend exclusively on us. We know that being in love
is a healing experience. We know that serving is also a healing
experience. We know that respecting and being respected is also a
healing experience.
But
even if you cannot imagine what I am going to say today, economics can
also be a healing experience. The source of healing would come from a
mayor change in values. When human and spiritual values begin to
dominate the process of wealth creation, of economic development and
progress, we will be in a constant healing process.
Let
me finish by saying that the only time when there will be no victims of
a transformation process will be at that moment when we become
invincible. Invincibility is the only way to eradicate terrorism and all
forms of violence.
My
friends, I did not say “ex-vincibility”, but “in-vincibility”.
It is that state of our existence that also comes from within.
It
is essential we eliminate our inner terrorism. And by eliminating our
inner terrorism, all forms of external terrorism will be eliminated.
Let
us join our hearts and move forward. We move towards that horizon which
rejoices in peace and invincibility.
Thank
you very much.
|
