A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. (M. Gandhi)
1. In a ‘sick’ country, every step towards healing is seen as an affront by those who benefit from its sickness. They, therefore, do not hesitate to destroy the independence of the courts, the free press, the prestige of the legislative or any other perceived impediment; as deemed necessary, they will incite nationalism, will persecute minorities; popular discontent will be countered with xenophobic outbreaks –which is a simple solution to their problems…and it is good for business.
2. But courts do exist and justice is possible. The law does live in the minds of men. If a judge is honest, the law is protected. If that is the case, so are people whose human rights are being flagrantly violated –but is that the case? The question, then, is: Under what circumstances is real justice possible…?
3. Religion also exists. But either God (who is invisible) is our invention and can’t do anything about injustice, or She is a force in Nature, but not in History (…and such a force is simply not succeeding as a justice- and human rights-promoting mother).*
*: – Religion is about eternal truth #
– Development is about change.
– Human rights are about social justice.
4. We are all in history, that is sure; but some are more than others… In history, too much happens that is untold. For the sufferers of human rights violations, history is the world’s bad memory; it remembers the wrong things. For these sufferers, it is the same fate wherever they are in the world; they all carry similar packs of servitude, diminished opportunities/access, marginalization and vulnerability on their backs; and that is forgotten by history. Government after government has destroyed their freedom with impunity by reducing their worth. But if they become active adversaries, they are beaten, imprisoned, starved, degraded; no actively rebelling victim of human rights violations is innocent in the eyes of a corrupt state.
5. One thing we have learned: There is no such thing as an apolitical wo/man; you cannot be one without the other –that is clear enough. You cannot thus sit still and see yourself and your family destroyed. Where there is no fight for universal human rights, there is no freedom. If the state acts in ways that are abhorrent to human rights, it is the lesser evil to actively oppose it. By being conspicuously silent about theses acts, we provide-for and virtually-accept the (often not so) veiled attempt of these states to oppress to maintain the status-quo.
6. But, beware: Where there is opposition to oppression, there is also repression. [Fortunately, legitimate human rights claims cannot be suppressed forever by authoritarian means].
7. This leaves me to ask: Better repression than widespread public and passive acceptance of injustice? Or: Is the war on injustice the real locomotive of history?
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City
cschuftan@phmovement.org