This week it is not easy to talk about happiness when a war puts on the roads hundreds, even thousands of Ukrainians who flee or will flee their country to escape the fighting, when the risk of war escalation is well there… This chronicle does not aim at a geopolitical analysis even if Edgar Morin in a noticed forum gave us a path “You have to think before getting indignant”. Behind this war hides a story, an energy conflict and a food conflict, but also a real-time war through the tactical use of social networks. The “pro-Ukrainian” or “pro-Russian” positions taken in our national media and political space make us forget the essential: our duty to humanity.
How can it manifest? ?
I will refer to an old quote by Michel Rocard, of which we only know the inglorious first half but of which we forget the end, which said “we cannot welcome all the misery in the world but we must take our share of it”. It is from this part that we must speak, without forgetting that we are often accountable for this misery of the world! Here misery is war, it’s fear, it’s foreign invasion, it’s populations under bombs. And obviously all European countries must welcome these populations… I emphasize that it was the same for many populations, those who are called migrants rather than refugees… Syrian, Iraqi, Eritrean, Afghan, and other Africans. Our duty of humanity concerns all refugees, all migrants.
Refugees or migrants, is there a difference? ?…
Behind the words, there are stereotypes… we don’t think, we categorize… with the received idea that “migrants” would make this choice for economic reasons, when refugees or asylum seekers would be forced to do so for political motives. However, economic and political constraints often overlap, and the distinction between different categories of “migrants” is generally arbitrary. For political scientist Ziad Majed, the “magnificent solidarity and humanism” towards Ukraine illustrates a “shocking distinction” which reveals, he says, a “dehumanization of refugees from the Middle East”. The duty of welcome and humanity imposes itself on us for all: and not only when war rings at our doors. We are all caught up in our emotions.
Positives and negatives? …
Yes, like all periods of strong tension, this multiplies tenfold both the forms of denunciation, of poorly thought-out aggressiveness, but also all forms of solidarity, donations, humanitarian aid, reception almost everywhere and The City of Paris has also opened a unique reception center dedicated to Ukrainian refugees in the 18th arrondissement, called “Urgence Ukraine” aims to “assess the needs” of exiles, then “direct them towards appropriate solutions”. So I want to end with a positive quote from Maria Montessori.
Which ? ?
Everyone talks about peace. No one educates for peace. We are educated for competition and competition marks the beginning of all wars. When we educate for cooperation and to offer solidarity to each other, that day we will educate for peace.