Adventures with Ideas: Truth, Beauty and the Paradoxes of Life
Juliet Bennett's Blog
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • Home
  • Peace
  • Adventure
  • Honouring Outrage: Celebrating Courage in Paris

Honouring Outrage: Celebrating Courage in Paris

6 May ’13 1 Comment Written by Juliet Bennett

On 2 May 2013, in Paris, my colleagues and I represented the Sydney Peace Foundation at the Australian Ambassador’s Residence in Paris, where we awarded a posthumous Gold Medal for Human Rights to Stéphane Hessel for his life-long contribution to building a more peaceful and just society.

400px-Europe_Ecologie_closing_rally_regional_elections_2010-03-10_n04

Stéphane Hessel was a German born Jew whose family fled to France who became a fighter in the French Resistance where he was captured, tortured and escaped execution by the Nazis. On returning to Paris Hessel became a diplomat and was a one of twelve members of the committee who drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As the French Ambassador at the United Nations in Geneva, Hessel promoted non-violent responses to conflict and made a stand against human rights abuses.

In 2009 Hessel published a short 30-page book INDIGNEZ-VOUS! (Get Angry! Cry Out!) that became an inspiration to popular protest, particularly the Occupy Movements, around the world. Buy it from Amazon for only $4! The most worthy and yet shortest read I have come across.

outrage

Under its English title Time for Outrage, Hessel encourages citizens of the world to find our “reason for indignation” and “join the great course of history,” helping it to move “toward greater justice and greater freedom.”

He acknowledged that in this “vast, interdependent world” it is not always easy to see whose actions are causing the problems. Yet he reminds us, “there are unbearable things all around us… Open your eyes and you will see.”

Hessel describes two central challenges: “The grievous injustices inflicted on people deprived of the essential requirements for a decent life;” and “The violation of basic freedoms and fundamental rights.”

The widening gap between rich and poor is a reason for outrage, “not only in the third world… but in the suburbs of our largest Western cities.”

We must “not be defeated by the tyrannyoutrage2 of the world financial markets that threaten peace and democracy everywhere.”

Under the heading “Palestine: My Own Outrage” Hessel says, “Israel is not above international laws.”

As a Jew, as a survivor of the Holocaust, and as someone who had visited Gaza and the West Bank many times, his outrage at Israel’s cruelty towards the Palestinians is of particular significance. We must help others claim their rights and grip tightly onto our own—“we must never surrender these rights.”

Hessel calls for: “a rebellion—peaceful and resolute—against the instruments of mass media that offer our young people a worldview defined by the temptations of mass consumption, a disdain for the weak, and a contempt for culture, historical amnesia, and the relentless competition of all against all.”

Hessel believed in the power of people to make a difference.

Stéphane Hessel was originally selected to by the Sydney Peace Prize Jury to be the 16th recipient of the Prize in November. On 6 March 2013 before arrangements for this prize could be made, at 95-years old, Hessel passed away quietly in his sleep.

Following an address by Chair Stuart Rees, and a reception graciously hosted by Australian Ambassador to France Ric Wells, the Gold Medal was be presented to Hessel’s widowed wife Madame Christane Hessel-Chabry.

943473_510286375697354_1387115348_n

My boss, Em. Professor Stuart Rees (left); Madame Hessel-Chabry (centre); and Ambassador Ric Wells (right).

270897_510286289030696_1043473575_n

I was honoured to present a small gift – a silver necklace with dove pendant – to Madame Hessel-Chabry.

944730_510285992364059_82374455_n

The Sydney Peace Foundation hopes that this award will help broadcast Hessel’s words of outrage and hope, and that his legacy will continue to spread and inspire non-violent outrage around the world!

______________________________

Notes:

All quotes in italics are from: Stéphane Hessel (2010) Time for Outrage, translated by Marion Duvert, Hachette Book Group: New York.

The photo of Stéphane Hessel was taken by Marie-Lan Nguyen at Europe Écologie’s closing rally of the 2010 French regional elections campaign at the Cirque d’hiver, Paris.

The second photos shows French Occupy protesters participating in a rally as part of the 63rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, on December 10, 2011 in center Paris.

This is an adaptation of an article I wrote for the May 2013 Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies Newsletter PeaceWrites which can be downloaded here: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/peace_conflict/docs/PeaceWrites_May_2013.pdf

______________________________

PS. Other highlights of my 4 days in Paris included coffee, croissants, baguettes, flan, wine, cheese, frogs legs, snails, art and love.

968859_10151679139313487_331587751_n

The perfect picnic under the Eiffel Tower

971120_10151679139733487_597939909_n

Morning stop for petit déjeuner

942904_10151679142463487_1830025457_n

Pompidou

936915_510380102354648_1888583679_n

Final comment: the gorgeous dress that I wore to the ceremony in the Ambassador’s Residence is of my sister’s new collection: It will soon purchase from her online store Enough! by Nicole Bennett for $289.

Adventure, Peace
Similar posts
  • Business leadership in climate change — I am consistently surprised by the initiative and leadership taken by businesses to address the climate crisis. Not all businesses obviously (e.g. ExxonMobil, the Koch brothers and the other vested interest that have funded climate denial movement and created vast climate confusion), but MANY businesses and business analysts, scholars and consultants are doing a extraordinarily better job than many governments [...]
  • A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer a... — I have been trying to remember where I read or heard this story, perhaps Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra. After a big of Googling (key words like “farmer”, “horse”, “neighbour”, “son”), I discovered this story is claimed by various sources as Zen Buddhist, Chinese Proverb, Taoist and Sufi. The story goes something like this: There once lived a farmer and [...]
  • Why the right (brain) is right… — Are you a right-brain or left-brain type of person? Is there such a thing? Are there differences between our left and right brain hemispheres? Does it matter? Research into the left and right brain hemispheres was popularised in the 1970s, it exaggerated and reified the two sides of the brain as if some people were “right-brain” dominant: creative, image-based, intuitive, emotional; and other people [...]
  • New life: reflections on being a new ... — Every year I seem to have less and less time for blogging. This year has the record for the least number of entries, but for a very good reason: motherhood! Oh. My. Gosh. What a new appreciation I have for all the mothers of the world. Maternity leave is not a holiday by any stretch of the imagination. There is no time for reading. I certainly [...]
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the ... — My latest academic publication – on the work of my favourite philosopher of all time: Alan Watts, and how his “dramatic model of the universe” can contribute to peace 🙂 Abstract This article explores the contribution of Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model of the universe’ to the pursuit of peace. It locates Watts’ critique of dominant Western worldviews alongside process philosophers, ecologists and [...]
Women and Peace in the Middle East
A drop in the ocean

1 Comment

  1. michael P
    19 Jun ’14    

    Juliet cette robe est formidable et tu est vraiment adorable. Michel

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TRUTH

BEAUTY

ADVENTURE

ART

PEACE

  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Comments
  • Is “God” a Fractal?
    15 Feb ’11
  • Is Lindt chocolate slave chocolate?
    11 Sep ’09
  • Creativism – a philosophy for life
    10 Sep ’09
  • Free Documentaries: The Truth Is Free
    17 Apr ’10
  • Coming to grips with the elephant in the room
    28 Jun ’10
  • Optimum Trajectory, swimming against the current, and man who stare at goats.
    4 Aug ’10
  • A short biography
    2 Sep ’09
  • Sex or chess? Peace, the world’s trump card
    13 Apr ’10
  • Alan Watts Fan Club
    3 Dec ’12
  • Big History Blog Series: Chapter 1 – The Big Bang
    25 Mar ’10
  • My policy wishlist for Australia’s response to climate change
    17 Jan ’20
  • Business leadership in climate change
    1 May ’19
  • A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer and his son
    8 Oct ’18
  • What is life really about?
    1 Mar ’17
  • Why the right (brain) is right…
    22 Feb ’17
  • New life: reflections on being a new mum
    29 Dec ’16
  • Orwellian Australia: the “[Un]Fairer Parental Leave Bill 2015”
    1 May ’16
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the pursuit of peace
    18 Mar ’16
  • A new lens to view the world: the world as process
    14 Jan ’16
  • 2015 in review
    1 Jan ’16

Adventures with Ideas... on Facebook

Archives

Categories

  • Academic (35)
  • Adventure (119)
  • Beauty (23)
  • Featured Posts (10)
  • Peace (124)
  • Random Life Stuff (102)
  • Truth (164)
Constitutional Recognition

Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Personal Statement

As a "non-indigenous" Australian living on what was once the land of the Cadigal and Wangal Wangal communities, I wish to acknowledge the inter-generational responsibility that I feel toward the colonial past. As a beneficiary of "White Australia", to the Eora people of Sydney, I request your forgiveness. I stand in solidarity with your rightful demands to self determination and active participation in governmental decisions, and I hope I may learn from your eco-spiritual connection. May we, as Tom Trevorrow of the Ngarrindjeri puts it, learn to 'respect, care and share' the gifts that our planet offers us.

Tags

Alan Watts Atheism Big History Bridge Series Central America Chocolate climate change Conflict Transformation Creativism Ecology Europe God Health India India/Nepal inspiration Life in Oz Life philosophy Meaning of life Modeling My Brazilian My Christian Journey Narrative Narratology Occupy optimal trajectory Panentheism peace philosophy Photography Politics population Potentialism poverty religion slavery social construction South America The Pyramid Travel United States War What is God Wikileaks Yoga

Donation

evolve theme by Theme4Press  •  Powered by WordPress