Belgo-Crimean Letter...
Si Vis Pacem... (If you want peace...)
by Henri-Jean Moxhet, founder and President of La Belgo-Criméenne asbl.
" Coping with the situation in Ukraine over which we ordinary citizens of a "free world" have so little grip, what is left?
Lucid observation or blind indignation.
The first, often stifled by the so-called mainstream media, is threatened with resignation. The second, by its bias, is doomed to exaltation.
In between is commitment.
In humanitarian action, in public speaking.
For what result? Undoubtedly modest but preferable to immobility."
(Hélène Richard-Favre) (1)
Four years ago... I happened to found "La Belgo-Criméenne" asbl. Nothing too surprising for those who know me a little, who have, more or less, had the opportunity to come across my wanderings, eccentric, in the literal sense.
For the others, I will have the opportunity to talk about it later, provided that you choose to embark on our cross roads...
Association dedicated as well to intercultural exchanges, taking as a pretext of entry the concrete experience of a Belgium-Crimea encounter, as to the defense and illustration of a certain way of being, human, into this world.
Our plan, to use the anthropological experience of cultural exchanges between two parts of the world that occupy a privileged place in my personal cartography, to approach what, still a student, more than 35 years ago, I had baptized "anthropoétique", was brutally stopped even before its implementation by the emergence of the Covid in March 2020 (an event that one day it will be necessary to have the courage and the lucidity to reread as an element of the collapse of civilization now in progress, as it seems to me, but that's another story).
At the very moment, at the end of 2021 beginning of 2022, to finally glimpse the hope of getting back on the road; To this freezing of material, geographical circulations, was added a freezing of mental circulations. A paralysis of all thought. By what strange curse did the world fall over then? Leading the West on a hypnotic march to the sound of war cries!
From then on... To take an interest in, and to defend, this fascinating and irreducible part of our European culture that is Russian culture became suspect... And dare to affirm that fueling the carnage is criminal, and that any human being, worthy of this title, would on the contrary devote all his energy to stop this madness and would have no other concern than to make every effort to MAKE PEACE !... Was sanctioned with an oh so infamous "pro-Putin" label...
* * *
When Georges Orwell introduced the concept of NEWSPEAK in his novel 1984, it was, it seems to me, the subject of some misunderstanding. 1984 being written "in the future". It was considered, which is not false, by the way, as a warning of what "might happen"... Except that what he exposes is not so much, as I see it , a "potential" risk that, rather, the description of what he sees at work in the present of his time, and which was already at work in other past times and other places. It has always been so, in fact.
Language is a product of the cultural system that conditions our relationship to the world and our perception of it. In this sense, every language is a Newspeak. The only difference, perhaps, is that today we have both the theoretical knowledge of it, and extremely effective amplification tools.
It is amazing that when Orwell gives us the example of this statement repeated over and over again by Big Brother: "War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength", everyone easily understands what it is about. Some kind of "brainwashing", of course.
But when in our media, our politicians and "journalists", our "communicators", intone in unison, with all the moral authority imposed by a learned old Latin phrase: "Si vis pacem, para bellum" (if you want peace, prepare for war), everyone obviously agrees !?...
It is, however, pure Newspeak. "Si vis pacem, para bellum" or "war is peace", it is exactly the same ! No need to make long and subtle studies to understand, as Michel Bühler explained very well in his "carte blanche" for the Swiss newspaper "Le Courrier" (2), on the occasion of a referendum against the arms trade, that if preparing for war made it possible to obtain peace, since the time that, for our political "leaders", there has never been any problem finding a few billion to buy arms ever more implacably lethal, at the very place where finding a few million for national education or services to people seems insurmountable... On this world should reign absolute peace !
Unfortunately, in the real world, whoever prepares for war will always get it!
He who sincerely wants peace, I guess, has no other choice but to prepare... Peace!
* * *
If you are receptive to the prestige of Latin expressions, allow me to suggest this version which seems to me infinitely preferable and much more likely to produce a positive effect (and which, incidentally, was chosen as a motto by the ILO):
Si vis pacem, cole justitiam ! (If you want peace, cultivate justice !)
Those who are lucky enough to have children, or to have attended in a somewhat diligent way with young children, have probably on a few occasions had this disturbing experience of being face to face with a little piece of cabbage (how do you translate "Bout de chou" in English ? Oh yes, "little cutie" I guess), which makes you noticing, straight in the eye, that "it's not fair!"... And finding yourself quite annoyed by the task of trying to work out a "satisfactory" answer...
The only perfectly correct answer would probably be: "it is true". But adults don't know (nor probably can, unfortunately) leave it at that... After the "yes", they have to resort to the "but", an association which almost always amounts to a confession. We know only too well that many things encountered in this life are not "fair"/"right", but have to be dealt with. This is where "discourse" and Newspeak come to the rescue.
It is good, it seems to me, to remember this experience when considering this idea of "justice".
Because Peace can only be made WITH the other, and no peace is ever possible AGAINST the other. Or else some kind of a "pax romana" (or "pax americana"), which actually has nothing to do with real peace (Newspeak here again). Supposing that I could annihilate the other enough to hold him in complete submission, I would certainly establish a hegemonic power capable of ensuring by force the absence of war... But for how long ?... And then, anyway, just as health cannot be defined as "the absence of disease", Peace cannot be defined as "the absence of war".
Isn't it strange that our countries which claim to be "developed" and "civilized" have no Ministry of Health - the one we call that way is in fact only a "Ministry for the management of pathologies and infirmities" - nor Ministry of Peace !?
If, to paraphrase the definition of health given by the WHO (3), we consider that peace, in fact, should be a state of materially, mentally and socially healthy relations, between human groups (countries, communities, social components,... ) and between individuals, ensuring mutually beneficial exchanges and the fair development of everyone (A bit ambitious, you might say... Wait, it's not over...). To establish such peace WITH the other, the need to cultivate justice becomes clear and obvious !
And please, spare me the games of "it's not me it's him" and "the chicken and the egg"... It's childish! The weakness of the "an eye for an eye" Law, by the way, lies in the impracticality of the idea that a mathematical equality between crime and punishment would extinguish these games... Humans being what they are, at the instead of satisfying both parties, it only encloses each a little more in his enmity. Returning evil for evil never begets good... Returning evil for evil cannot extinguish the spiral of violence, only fuel it.
Still, the idea of equality was rather interesting. The fact is that true peace, like democracy, is only possible between equals. And justice will only be fair if it is recognized - and therefore felt - as such by BOTH parties.
"The first rule before acting", said Abbé Pierre, "is to put yourself in the place of the other. No real search for the common good will be possible outside of this."
And the complementary exercise consist of taking a lucid look at yourself... We will have one day to have the courage and the honesty to look in the mirror, knowing, as happened to the queen of the Grimm brothers' tale (4), that very likely it will tell us things we don't want to hear...
You don't have a mirror handy?
Immerse yourself, if you dare, in the eyes of the children of war, of Donbass or anywhere else (there is only the embarrassment of choice), because if I write within the framework of this present war, this is about something that has gone on for far too long that I am talking... And also, at the same time, in the eyes of the child you were (and still are, if you take the trouble to listen...)
Dare to take a look... Beyond the "yes but" and Newspeak... You'll see...
It is neither fair, nor correct, nor honest, nor even intelligent to claim that a country, group of countries or supranational institution which has been preparing, nurturing and organizing the confrontation for decades; forms, trains and equips an army; scuttle all attempts at peace agreements; feeds the carnage with billions of ever more sophisticated and lethal equipment (even with zero respect to international war conventions...) as well as in military intelligence, target designation and guidance of missiles and drones... And which continue to trumpet to all winds that the only acceptable outcome is a military victory... Would be neither belligerent nor party to the conflict !???
It is neither fair, nor correct, nor honest, nor even intelligent to claim that there would be a "dirty" military war, and a "clean" economic, and therefore acceptable, even recommended war... Economic war is total war! It has exactly the same goals as military war, namely the annihilation of the "enemy" state, its destruction. And, if it apparently squirts less blood, it kills just as surely, or even in greater numbers (5) than military warfare. It is not for nothing that under international law "economic sanctions" can ONLY be imposed by the United Nations... Or else are illegal...
It is neither fair, nor correct, nor honest, nor even intelligent... Nor, especially, intelligent ! To prefer believe the war propaganda (of those who claim "not to be at war") that our medias serve us from morning to night and not to see the unacceptable limits crossed, rather than to use brain abilities! Our political tribunes who have all suddenly, and so to speak "as one man" (note this also applies to women) discovered a vocation of "warmongers", should remember that incitement to hatred is one of the (very) few limits to the freedom of expression enshrined in our penal code of Laws!And that, even more, perhaps, than military war or economic war, propaganda war which cultivates hatred and establishes long-term enmities (all the more irreparable as they are pathetic irrational xenophobia) between humans of neighboring countries (wherever they are on our small planet, by the way) is probably the worst crime against humanity that exist!
* * *
PEACE ! Now !
To put an end to the war, and return to a world approaching something a little bit resembling democracy (6)... It is a 180° turn that is necessary.
And, for those who would be tempted to object to me that we must have "reasonable" or "realistic" demands... I would answer that unless being desperately naive, nobody no more demonstrate, in this 21st century, hoping to be heard by the political world in Europe... We demonstrate to expose the political crimes and unacceptable loss of all values of a collapsing world, and to feel better, acting anyway "together" on the model, at the point where things are, "Be realistic! Ask for the impossible !"
We have no illusions about the very hypothetical results of demonstrations and other petitions... But, on the other hand, against all odds, we still believe in humanity (we have merit, some would say, since it is much more difficult than to believe in God), in the simple goodness of the ordinary human, the very kind that Vassili Grossman (7) celebrates on the fields of ruin of the Second World War.
We have no better way to access it (humanity) than culture, encounters and sharing. This is why our main action is directed towards the need, in the midst of the filthy surge of hate propaganda, to maintain dialogues, simple dialogues from ordinary people to ordinary people... We must tell them: we are not fooled by war propaganda! We are neither worse nor better than you, and refuse to surrender to inhumanity!
Belgium-Crimea
Spring-summer 2023
Photo: Sevastopol, 5 january 2014 © Henri-Jean Moxhet / Atelier du Snark
(1) Hélène Richard-Favre https://helenerichardfavre.ch/
(2) Si vis pacem... by Michel Bühler, the 13/10/2020 https://lecourrier.ch/2020/10/13/1663212/
(3) According to the WHO, health is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".
(4) "Snow White" of course.
(5) A simple example: according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the famine rate in Iraq has reached a very high level due to American "sanctions". Between 1990 and 1995 alone, an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children died of starvation and poor living conditions.
(6) Yes, I know, we can discuss the reality of the concept, but it is difficult not to see that our neoliberal political regimes no longer have much to do with the original idea, and are moving further and further away from it...
(7) To read absolutely, if it is not already done, Life and Fate by Vassili Grossman.
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