Spiral of Violence Camara

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Helder CamaraSpiral of ViolenceU.K. 55p (11s)Australia $1.75

Dom Helder Camara. Archbishop of Olinda andRecife in the underdeveloped North-East of Brazil.has caught the imagination of the world by hisdescript ion of the situation of the underdevelopedcountries. In Brazil he is denounced as acommunist for assert ing the off icial teaching of thechurch and lives in constant danger of assassination.In 1970 organisations in many countries nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.Spiral of Violence is Dom Helder's symbol for thecentral problem of today's world : the violence ofpoverty which keeps over two-thirds of the world'speople in a sub,-human condit ion, the violence ofrevolt when peaceful demands have no effectand the violence of repression with which thepowerful try to crush the demands of the poor. Theonly escape from this spiral is to bring aboutjustice, and this book is Dom Helder's appeal to allmen of good wil l to exercise ' l iberating moralpressure' to redress the balance between thedeveloped and underdeveloped countries andbetween the privi leged and underprivi leged in therich countries.

Cover photo of Helder Camara: The GuardianS B N 7 2 2 0 0 6 2 4 1Sheed and Ward Ltd.33 Maiden Lane. London WC2E 7LA

Helder CamaraSpiral of Violen ce


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!CONTENTSPlease note that to minimise file size the introductionto this edition by Brian Darling has been omitted,thus the document starts at p. 25.

1. A threat to humanity1. Looking at the earth2. Violence attracts violence3. And then comes repression4. A real threat2. A Valid Solution1. Is armed violence the only solution?2. Gandhi, failure or prophet?3. Action for Justice and Peace1. Objectives and outlook2. Beyond the barriers3. Practical points

4. A world movement5. Appeal to youth

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To the memory ofGandhi and Martin Luther King

This .pdf file of Camara's text has been posted to the web as itappears from the original publisher's catalogue to have beenallowed to go out of print, though copies are sometimesavailable from internet shops. it is a matter of urgency that it isagain m ade available to the world in these troubled times.The trigger for my having scanned it was the 30 July 2006killing of more than three dozen children in an Israeli attack onQana in Lebanon. Around the same time as this was happeningsome of us were standing outside our local airport, GlasgowPrestwick, protesting the British state's abuse of Scottish soil toallow American munitions flights to refuel on their way to Israel.We had similarly expressed the outrage of the S cottish peoplesome months ago by protesting the use of Glasgow's twoairports for "extraordinary rendition" flights transportingAmerica's torture victims. I have a deep affection for mostAmericans and Israelis I have known. But like we see in theBiblical book of Jeremiah - which is a deeply important textthrough which to view even today's Middle East crisis - it issometimes imperative to bear witness before one's loved ones.(Alastair McIntosh, Scotland - www.AlastairMcIntosh.com)
http://-/http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/http://-/


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as surely as the most bloody war. But poverty does more than kill , i t leads to physicaldeformity (just think of Biafra), to psychological deformity (there are many cases ofmenta l subnormali ty for which hunger isresponsible), and to moral deformity(those who, through a situation of slavery,hidden but nonetheless rea l , a re l ivingwithout prospects and without hope, foundering in fatalism and reduced to a begging menta l i ty) .But we must be careful! Injust ices are notthe monopoly of the underdeveloped countries. Th ey exist in the developed coun tr iestoo, just as much on the capitalist side ason the socialist.In the capitalist world, even in the richestcountr ies , there are underdeveloped stra tawhich , in Canada , a re beginning to becalled 'grey belts'.As we al l know, President L ynd on Joh nson declared war on poverty in the USA.According to him, thir ty mil l ion NorthAmericans were l iving under sub-humancondit ions. Although i t is t rue that whatare considered sub-human condit ions in26

the developed countr ies are not quite thesame as those in the underdeveloped countries, it is no less true that the gap betweenpover ty and wealth in the r ich countr iesprovides some shocking contrasts .In the socialist world, in practice (maybethe the ory is different), th e U S S R , l ike RedChina, does not accept plura l ism within i tssociety.The struggle going on between the twogreat cou ntrie s of the socialist bloc is illu m inat ing in itself. Nevertheless both sidesare s tr iving equally to impose dia lec t ica lma te r ia l i sm and b l ind obedience . Theclimate is that of dictatorships, encouragement of informers and a reign of suspicion,of imposed self-criticism, of insecurity.Bu t injustices take on a com pletely differentdimension when we look a t the re la t ionsbetween the developed countr ies and theunderdeve loped count r ie s .

Twice the underdeve loped count r ie shave tr ied to hold a dia logue with the developed countr ies , through UNCTAD.1 T h e1 United Nations Conference o n Trade a n dDevelopment.

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egoism and indifference in the two empiresis a l ike , the capita l is t em pi re w ith th e U S Aat i ts head, and the socia l is t empire undert h e U S S R .

Aid is certainly useful, b u t it will alwaysbe insufficient. The core of the problemwill not be reached if no-one has the courage, which Populorum Progressio had ,1 todenounce the monstrous injust ice according to which the present policy of international trade is organised.

Even the Pearson Repor t , 8 though i tmakes t imid a l lusions to the problem of internat ional t rade , dwells much more onother points , such as the demographic explosion. Now, a l though there is a demographic problem, the Thi rd Wor ld wi l lnever accept massive family planning, imposed from outside, nor will it allow thevery complex problem of development tobe reduced sole ly to the dem og rap hic plan e .

1 Encycl ica l l e t te r of Pope Paul vi , t rans la tedas The Great So cial Problem, London (C a t ho l i cTruth Soc ie ty) 1967.'Partners in Developm ent, a report of theC ommi ss ion on In t e rn a t i ona l D ev e l opmen t .28

T h is is rea l ly just a subterfuge, a pre tex t ,another way of evading the centra l andoverwhelming problem of injust ice on aworld-wide scale.

At the moment the developed world isproud and self-confident, with its nuclearbombs, and thinks it can afford to laugh atthat giant with feet of clay, the underdeveloped world. But do the masters of theH-bomb really grasp the scope and consequences of the pover ty bomb?T hi s is the s i tuat ion of hu m an ity a t th ebeginning of the second development decade. I f t rue development implies the deve lopment of the whole man and of allmen, the n t he re is no t in fact a single tru lydeveloped country in the world.

Bu t there is ano the r unavo idable conclusion which is still more serious, a conclusion we must draw at tent ion to becauseof its tragic consequences, and it is this.Look closely at the injustices in the underdeveloped countr ies , in the re la t ionsbetween the developed world and the underdeveloped world. You wil l f ind thateverywhere the injustices are a form of29


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violence . One can and must say that theyare everywhere the basic violence, violenceN o . 1.

2. V i o l e n c e a t t r a c t s v i o l e n c eNo-one is born to be a slave. No-one seeksto suffer injustices, hu m ilia tio ns an dres t r ic t ions . A human be ing condemnedto a sub-h um an si tuat io n is l ike an anim al an ox or a donkey wal lowing in them u d .

Now the egoism of some pr ivi legedgroups dr ives countless human beings intoth is sub-hum an condi t ion , w here theysuffer restrictions, humiliations, injustices;wi thout prospec ts , wi thout hope , the i rcondition is that of slaves.This established violence , this violence

N o . i , a t t rac ts violence N o. z, revolt , e i therof the oppressed themselves or of youth,firmly resolved to battle for a more justa nd huma n w or ld .Cer ta inly there are , f rom continent to cont inent , f rom country to country, f rom ci tyto city, variations, differences, degrees,3o

nuances, in violence No. 2, but generallyin the world today the oppressed are opening their eyes.The au thor i t ie s and the pr iv i leged a re

alarmed by the presence of agents comingfrom outside whom they cal l ' subversiveelements ' , 'agi ta tors ' , 'communists ' .Sometimes they are indeed people committed to an ideology of the extreme leftwho are f ighting for the liberation of the

oppressed and have opted for armed violence . At other t imes they are people mov edby religious feeling, who can no longertolera te re l igion interpre ted and l ived asan opium for the masses, as an alien andalienating force, but want to see it at theservice of the human development of thosewho are imprisoned in a sub-human cond i t ion .T h e au thor i t ie s and the pr iv ileged lu m pthe two grou ps together . For them , thosewho , in the nam e of their re l igion (wh etherthey are clergy or laity), are working forfunda me ntal reforms, for a chan ge instructures , have abandoned re l igion forpolitics, are foundering in leftism or, at the3i


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very least, are innocents preparing the wayfor communism.There a re two main counte r -a rguments toth is a t t i tude . T h e au tho r i t ie s and the pr iv i leged pre tend to bel ieve that without thepresence of 'agitato rs ' , the oppressed masseswould remain with their eyes closed, passive and immobile .

Today, with a l l the means of t ranspor tand socia l communicat ion available ( including the transistor radio), it is r idiculous to think that one can prevent thecirculation of ideas or the spread of informat ion .

And secondly, monoli thic and obsessional ant i-com mu nism is responsible formany absurd i t ie s . The pr ime one i s ma inta ining injust ices because tackling them'might open the door to communism' .

In those places where the oppressedmasses have an oppor tunity for direc taction they engage in more or less thoroughgoing, bi t ter and prolonged agita t ion.When the masses have fallen into a kindof fatalism for lack of hope, or when a too

violent reaction cows them for an instant,then it is the young who rise.The young no longer have the pat ience towait for the privileged to discard theirprivileges. T h e yo un g very often see governments too tied to the privileged classes.The young are losing conf idence in thechurches, which affirm beautiful principles grea t texts , r emarkable conc lus ions butwithout ever deciding, at least so far, totranslate them into real life.

The young the n a r e t u r n ing mor e a ndmore to radical ac t ion and violence .In some places the young are the forceof idealism, f ire, hunger for justice, thirstfor authentic i ty . In others , with the sameenthusiasm, they adopt extremist ideologies and prepare for 'guerilla warfare ' intown or country.If t here is some corn er of the world wh ichhas remained peaceful , but with a peacebased on injusticesthe peace of a swampwith rot ten matter fermenting in i ts depthswe may be sure that that peace is false.

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Violence attracts violence. Let us repeatfearlessly and ceaselessly: injustices bringrevolt, either from the oppressed or fromthe young, determined to f ight for a morejus t and more human wor ld .3 . A n d t h e n c o n i e s r e p r e s s i o nWhen conflict comes out into the streets,when violence No. 2 tr ies to resist violenceN o . 1, the autho r i t ies consid er themselvesobliged to preserve or re-establish publicorder, even if this means using force; thisis violence No. 3. Sometimes they go evenfur ther , an d this is beco m ing increasinglycomm on: in orde r to ob ta in in format ion ,which may indeed be impor tan t to publ icsecurity, the logic of violence leads themto use moral and physical tor tureasthough any information extracted throughtor ture deserved the s l ightest a t tent ion!In the developed countr ies there are veryoften protests against the torture used inunderdeve loped count r ie s . T h e in ten t ion sare very generous and the results oftenvery good. I t is a liberating moral pressure:34

governments do not l ike to appear despoticor backward in the eyes of the world.But no deve loped count ry need ha rbourany i l lusions: everywhere violence wil lcome, everywhere the protest of the oppressed or of youth, confronted with injust ices , wil l ga in ground; everywhere i twill manage to create a feeling of panic inthe world of the oppressors.

Is it or is it not true that some universi ties in the r ich countr ies to confront theexcesses of youthful protest ( taking overbui ld ings , burn ing of bu i ld ings , b loodybatt les)have asked for and obta inedspecia l powers f rom the government?There are cases in which the rec tor wil lnow be able to decree a state of emergency.How is it that the psychologists, sociologists and educators did not foresee the bitterness of the young, their growing revolt ,the ir despair? Could one not hope thatthe youth explosion would have been predicted, foreseen and avoided, that it wouldhave been possible to face up to everythingthat is true and just in the agitation of theyoung, even the demands exploi ted by professional activists? What a bad example to

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appea l to v io lence and force ! To m orro w ,if protest spreads, the governments wil lalready have received suggestions fromthe univ ersities them selves. . . .Who does no t r emember tha t even peoplesof a high cultura l level have sunk into ad ic ta tor sh ip a t a t roubled m om ent in the i rnat ional l i fe? And even among thesepeoples of a high cultura l level , incredibleatroci t ies have been witnessed, under thee te rna l p re tex t o f ob ta in ing informat ion .

Psychological warfare em ploye d b othby the extreme lef t and the extreme r ight ,and by democrat ic regimes who are beginning to see protest increasingconsidersitself scientific.I t is the old In qu isi t io n, w ith the technology of the nuclear and space travel age

at its service.Let us have the honesty to admit , in thel ight of the past and, perhaps, here andthere, in the light of some typical reactions,that violence No. 3governmental repression, under the pre text of safeguardingpublic order , na t ional secur i ty , the f ree36

worldis not a monopoly of the underdeveloped countr ies .T h e re is not a coun try in the w orldwhich is in no danger of falling into thethroes of violence.4 . A r e a l t h r e a tIs there a real danger of seeing the injust ices in the world get t ing worse? What isone to think of the efforts of the developedcount r ie s to dea l wi th the underdeve lop-ment and pover ty of the poor countr ies?What is one to think of the efforts of thedeveloped countr ies to e l iminate the underdeveloped stra ta in their own lands?In the underdeveloped countr ies , s ince thebasic reforms, the changes in socio-economic , poli t ica l and cultura l s tructures , onlyexist on paper , the same conclusion wil la lways be reached: the r ich are get t ingr icher , the poor poorer .T h e m ost well-known case of 'war againstpover ty ' in a developed country is theU ni ted S tates . T h e Vie tnam war has absorbed the peaceful war which was trying

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t ional governments or dic ta torships. Lookat the map and count the number of countries in the hands of the military.Thus, the inescapable conclusion is tha tthere is a real threat of an escalation ofviolence, of seeing the world fall into aspiral of violence.

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2A val id solut ion

1 . I s a r m e d v i o l e n c e t h e o n l ys o l u t i o n ?When humani ty i s under the th rea t o fbeing engulfed in violence and hatred, wehave no r ight to comfor t ourse lves withillusions, to reassure ourselves with pseudo-solutions, whose main drawback is to distract our attention from the difficult anddar ing solut ions which are perhaps thetrue ones.

Let us have the courage to ask ourselves:does not non-violent action serve as a tranquil l iser? Apar t f rom armed violence , hasan underdeveloped country any chance oftear ing i tse lf out of underdevelopment, or4*


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have the underdeveloped strata of a r ichcountry any chance of reaching the generals tandard of na t iona l deve lopment?As a first attempt at a reply, let us try toexamine the real possibilities of armedviolence. There are voices which tell usthat the solut ion l ies in making moreVietnams. I t is important , then, to seek thetruth about Vietnam, especia l ly as regardsthe situation of the people.In broad terms, the s i tuat ion can besummed up as follows: Vietnam is a f ieldon which the capita l is t empire and thesocialist empire are locked in battle.I t wil l perhaps app ear u njust to place onan equal footing the North American soldier and the Vietnamese boy fighting inthe ranks of the National Libera t ion Front ,Vietnamese who wish, pure ly and simply,to defend th eir country and ul t imate ly a ttain the right to live in peace. And amongthese, there will doubtless be also Buddhists and Catholics, the purest and sin-cerest.

Bu t wh en it is kno wn tha t the war inVietnam is cost ing the U nite d S ta tes4'

twenty-seven thousand mil l ion dollars ayear, i .e . seventy-four million dollars a day;when we know tha t a l r eady more bombshave been dropped on Nor th Vie tnam thanon Germany and he r sa te l l i te s dur ing thesecond world war ; when one l is tens, in theAmerican senate , to voices revealing thateach Vietco ng ki l led costs the U nite d S ta testhree hundred and f if ty dollars , i t becomesevident that , however heroic the heroismof Vietnam, the American vic tory wouldhave been tota l and cer ta in i f another empi re had not been spending s imi la r sumsand supply ing equa l ly modern and deadlyweapons. And the American leaders a lreadyacknowledge the pract ica l impossibi l i ty ofa v ic tory in Vie tnam.

One could cont inue to ca l l absurd thecomparison between the resources employed by the Amer icans to domina te andthose ut i l ised by the National Libera t ionFront to defend the country. Here we havethe saddest and gravest lesson of the Vietnamese war : the Front , while acceptingand desir ing tac i t a l l iances a t the momentof bat t le against the common enemy, has apoli t ica l philosophy imposed on i t by the

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seems essential that the established regimeshould have a minimum of respect for therights of man, notably for freedom of expression. I t is fur the rm ore necessary th atno tota l i tar ian methods should be established to falsify truth, and no physical ormoral tor tures .If a member of the movement, acting inagreement with the pr inciples and methodsof peaceful violence, is put in prison, oneof the resources of the movement shouldbe to gather dozens, hundreds, thousandsof fellow members who would also agreeto give themselves up at the same time atthe gates of the prison, declaring theirsol idar i ty with their outraged brother . Thiswould clearly cause a sensation. Andthrough the accounts of the newspapers ,radio and te levision, and through the pressagencies , the movement would obta in nat ional and internat ional recognit ion.

But, in the underdeveloped countr ies ,author i tar ian regimes easi ly take controlunder the pre text of safeguarding ' thesocial order ' from attack by subversive elements or communists . Moreover , the press ,radio and te levision only transmits what46

favours th e regim e and i t is obvious tha t i twil l not venture to ref lec t l ibera t ing moralp r e s su r e .Worse s t i l l : the communica t ions mediafind themselves obliged to spread lies ordistortions of the facts, directly and sometimes officially communicated by the information services.Informers a re encouraged . Mora l andphysical torture is employed as a scientif icmethod of wresting confessions from the'subversive ' e lements , or those supposed tobe such. Instead of innocence being presum ed u nti l a cr ime is proved , the cr im eis presumed, and even if the suspect isfreed, through total lack of evidence againsth im and through the presence of ind isput able evidence in his favour , no open andfrank acknowledgment of the error comm it ted is eve r ob ta ined .How can mora l p ressure be brought in toaction in order to stir consciences as a prel iminary condit ion for a change of s tructuresif access to the newspapers andmagazines, to radio and television, is forb idden , wi thout formal prohib i t ion , bu t bysecret but effective order, in the name of47


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national secur i ty? How can l ibera t ingmoral pressure be brought into ac t ion ifmeetings and gather ings are prohibi ted inpublic places, and if conferences behindclosed doors draw suspicion both on thespeakers and the par t ic ipants?Fur thermore , one of the most ter r ibleweapons of the author i tar ian regimes is tospare the great leader and seize the humblecollaborators , who are without inner assurance, without moral resistance, insufficiently prepared to be able to face complex, malic ious and treacherous interrogat ion .When Gandhi went on a hunger s t r ike ,the whole world was grieved and there wasno empire , however powerful , capable ofresisting the moral pressure which arosefrom the four corners of the earth. But letus suppose that the established regime hadleft Gandhi without a voice, had placed hisclosest and dearest collaborators in prison,that i t had spread about them the worstslanders (for example that they informedagainst their comrades, that they wereafra id and had admitted their par t ic ipat ion in subversive movements , tha t they48

ab an do ne d S atyagraha . . .) what w ould theapostle of non-violence have been able tod o ?One might think of having recourse toleaflets and manifestos: but those whohanded them out would be p laced inpr iso n and tor t ure d as dang erous agita tors ,those who pr inted or s tenci l led them wouldbe beaten and their machines destroyed.I t is obvious that , among the s implepeople and those who a re jus t beg inningto become aware of things, the news ofprisons and above all of tortures leads tofear and f l ight f rom the Movem ent. U sethe pulpi t? Sure ly pr iests ac t ing in thisway would not be understood by themajor i ty of the fa i thful , who would reproach them with s traying f rom their evangelica l mission and accuse the m of en gagingin poli t ics .I t is c lear that anyone who , in proc la iming the Gospel , demands just ice as condit ion of peace , r isks imprisonment; i f he isa foreigner, he will be expelled.More serious still for the priest thanbeing put in pr ison is no t be ing put inpr ison, but see ing in pr ison a l l a round him

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mili tant laymen who have s imply echoedthe evangelical message.In such a climate, is it not obvious thatthe young above a l l a re going to abandonthe violence of the peace-lovers, go underground and try to prepare for armed revolu t ion?Now we repeat again and again: if Vietnam proves that even a first-class powercannot defeat guerillas if it does not havethe support of the local population, it alsoproves that the greatest heroism in theworld cannot stand up to a f irst-class powerexcept when i t can count on another suppor t ing i t f rom behind. Do not le t usdeceive ourselves. The socialist empires,whether of Sovie t or Chinese a l legiance ,are just as cold and insensible as the capitalis t empires towards the underdevelopedcountr ies ' hope for tota l development.The capitalist empires, with their affirmations of sacrifice for the free world, ofdefence of private enterprise, of safeguarding order from subversion and chaos, arein fact defending their political prestigeand the economic interests arising from it;they are indeed at the service of economic5

power and the in te rna t iona l t rus ts . Thesocia l is t empires for their par t are hard andin t rans igent , they do not a l low p lura l i sm,they impose dia lec t ica l mater ia l ism, demand b l ind obedience to the pa r ty , se t upa reg ime of to ta l and pe rmanent insecur i tyand fear, just like the fascist dictatorshipsof the ex t reme r igh t .W ha t would G and hi say, wha t would headvise the Thi rd Wor ld to do , f aced wi ththe s i t ua t ion o f hum a n i ty one hu nd r e dyears after his birth?But has Gandhi ' s doc t r ine pe rhaps agreater chance in the developed countr ies?Perhaps i t is precise ly there that the changeof s t ruc tures should begin wi thout whichthe poor countr ies wil l never escape f romtheir pover ty. I f not , there wil l never berespect for the human person, nor c l imateof freedom, nor any scope for a moralaction which proves its efficacynot withthe objects of mere reformism, but toobta in profound and rap id changes whicha lone would render the appea l to a rmedrevolu t ion unnecessa ry .But he re too grave doubts a r i se . The

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influence of the universities on publicopinion, especially that of the great andpowerful universities, those of the developed countr ies , is considerable . Now weare in process of witnessing strange anddangerous react ions in the very hear t ofthese universities: to face up to studentprotest and let us ad m it i t the excesses,abuses and pet ty ter ror which accompanyit, the universities, which have a universalresponsibi l ity , have not yet foun d a me tho dequal to their mission of wisdom, and theyappeal for discre t ionary powers: a ter r ibleexample and dangerous precedent , in tha ttomorrow a new dic ta torship could be insta lled. T o wh at poin t can this be e xpla in edby the bonds l inking these universi t ies ,e i ther direc t ly with the public powers, orindirect ly with the economic powersthrough the intermediary of the foundat ions that subsidise them?

T h e means of social com mu nica t ionrepresent an immense force , and one unti lvery recently unknown in such proport ions. But in the underdeveloped countr iesthey are a giant with feet of clay, given thefaci l i ty with which they can be manipulated by the state.5 3

In the developed countr ies of the capita l is t world, the mass media are beginningto become businesses, and huge businessesat tha t . The f reedom of journalis ts is nowbecoming, in most cases, a very relativething: i t ends where the interests of thebus iness begin . When independent andcourageous newspapers exist they aredestroyed, as happened in I ta ly withL'Avvenire dell'Italia.In socialist areas, it is enough to recallthat the means of socia l communicat ion arethe monopoly of the par ty.Religions, in capitalist areas, run a verygrave risk of being caught up in the system.They a re courageous in broadcas t ingbea utifu l p r inciples , bu t w itho ut sufficientene rgy to carry them th rou gh , for the veryreasonthough pe rhaps an unconsc iousonethat they will be themselves affectedby the process of incorporat ion.In socialist areas, religions are reducedto a l ien and a l ienat ing forces, through theabsolu te prohib i t ion made on them tounder take any sor t of involvement in thesocio-economic field, in the direction ofh u m a n d e v e l o p m e n t .

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W o u l d t h e r e b e s o m e h o p e i n a d i a l o g u eb e t w e e n p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s , y o u n g m a n a g e r sand young l eade r s o f t he worke r s? I t i s un necessary to point out the prac t ica l d i f f i cu l t i e s wh ich wo uld a r i s e f rom a d i a log uecapab l e o f l ead ing t o changes i n dep th o ft h e p r e s e n t s h a p e of i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r a d epo l i cy , t he hea r t o f t he fundamenta l i n j u s t i c e b e t w e e n d e v e l o p e d a n d u n d e r d e v e l o p e d w o r l d s .M u s t w e t h e n c o n c l u d e t h a t i n t h e d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s t h e c h a n c e s of G a n d h ia n d o f t h e m o v e m e n t s i n s p i r e d b y h i m a n dh i s example a r e so sma l l , i f no t none x i s t e n t ?

N o ! T i m e is w o r k i n g fo r G a n d h i . S o o n ,h e w il l b e a c k n o w l e d g e d a s a p r o p h e t . A n dh e r e a r e t h e m a i n r e a s o n s w h y . U l t i m a t e l y ,m a n w i l l m a n a g e t o c o n v i n c e h i m s e l f o ft he absurd i t y o f war . Wor ld war s , s i nce t hed i scove ry o f nuc l ea r ene rgy , a r e p l a ins u i c i d e . L o c a l w a r s V i e t n a m is t h e r e t op r o v e i t t a k e j u s t a s h e a v y a to l l i n h u m a nl ives , i n money and i n p r e s t i ge a s wor ldwar s .

E ve ryw here , a s we l l a s an i ne r t m a jo r i t y54

a n d a n e x t r e m e l e f t a n d e x t r e m e r i g h t w h oc la s h w i t h o n e a n o t h e r i n a s h i f ti n g b a l a n c eo f v i o l e n c e a n d h a t r e d , t h e r e a r e m i n o r i t i e sw ho a r e we l l aw are t ha t v io l ence is no t t h er ea l answ er t o v io l enc e ; t h a t , if v io l enc e isme t by v io l ence , t he wor ld w i l l f a l l i n to asp i r a l o f v io l ence ; t ha t t he on ly t r ue answerto v io l enc e i s t o have t he co urag e t o f acet h e i n j u s t i c e s w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e v i o l e n c eN o . 1.

T h e p r i v il e g e d a n d t h e a u t h o r i t i e s w i llc o m e t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t c o m m o n s e n seo b l i g e s o n e t o c h o o s e b e t w e e n b l o o d y a n da r m e d v i o l e n c e , o n t h e o n e h a n d , a n d o nt h e o t h e r t h e v i o l e n c e o f t h e p e a c e f u l :l i b e r a t i n g m o r a l p r e s s u r e .

T o t h o s e w h o t h i n k t h a t t h e a u t h o r i t i e sand t he p r i v i l eged w i l l neve r y i e ld t o t hev i o l e n c e of t h e p e a c e f u l w h i c h w i l l n o t b es a t i s f i e d w i t h m i n o r r e f o r m s , b u t d e m a n d sd e f i n it e c h a n g e s i n u n j u s t a n d i n h u m a ns t r uc tu r es i t suffices t o r eca l l t ha t t he i rch i l d r en a r e ve ry o f t en on t he s i de o f j us t i c e a n d t h a t t h e s e y o u n g p e o p l e a r e ap o w e r f u l v o i c e i n s u p p o r t o f t h e d e m a n df o r a m o r e u n i t e d a n d h u m a n w o r l d .

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All those who, all over the world, hungerand thirst after justice and accept the invitation to march together in the Actionfor Just ice and Peace must know:tha t the AJP is not and never will be apolitical party;that it does not belong in any way to oneman, one par ty, one country, one cultureor one religion;that it is a gathering of men of good willconvinced that only the roads of justiceand love lead to true peace, who areresolved to exercise liberating moral pressure to obta in just ice and help humanityto free itself from ha tre d and chao s.Within his own re l igion, each person wil ldiscover the necessary impulse to give himself en tirely to justice as con diti on of peace.Alongside the development of Actionfor Justice and Peace, it will one day benecessary to collect from the sacred booksof all the religions the exhortations, precepts and prayers which speak about peaceand justice, and similarly the examples ofthe great models in the various religions.For some religions the word ' justice ' always58

presupposes such virtues, and is in fact asynonym for holiness.As for peace, it is we ll-kno wn tha t th erecan be instances of false peace, with thesame deceptive beauty as s tagnant marshesin moonl igh t . The peace which speaks tous, which moves us, for which we are prepared to give our l ives, presupposes thatthe rights of all are fully respected: ther ights of God and the r ights of men. Notjust the r ights of some men, a pr ivi legedfew, to the detr iment of many others: therights of each man and of all men.Very vague? Too vague? God, who lovespeace and knows that it is the fruit ofjustice, will help men of good will. HisS pir i t wil l breathe over th e ear th as hebreathed over the waters a t the beginningof creation.

What seems vague wil l become def ini te .W ha t seems obscu re wi l l beco me c lear .And the movem ent which seems to be wi thout a leader , without a guide , wil l be leddirect ly by the Lord.

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2. B e y o n d t h e b a r r i e r sIs it possible to envisage a world m ov em entwhen there are so many barriers, of somany different kinds, so many divisionsbetween men, so many obstacles whichof ten appear insuperable?

Without be ing b l ind to the problemscreated by the differences in race, languag e,country and re l igion; without forget t inghatred, struggles, coldness and egoism, is ita dream or an i l lusion to think that thereare , everywhere , people who have madeup their m inds to dem and , in a peacefulbut resolute way, justice as condition ofpeace?W hateve r the colour of your skin, the shapeof your lips or your nose, whatever yourheight , you are nei ther a sub-man nor asuperman; you a re a human c rea ture . Youhave a head, a hear t , hopes, dreams. Moreimportant s t i l l : the creator and Father hasa whole plan of hu m an fulf ilment whichinvolves you.

If you belong to a tribe, a family, a race,you be long too to the human fami ly . The60

injust ices you encounter in your own env i ronment ex is t eve rywhere .If you have a special love for your race,for your people , come and join a l l thosewh o are resolved to bu ild a mo re unite d andhuman wor ld . Wha tever your language ,l i t t le known or we l l known, pr imi t ive orr ichwe sha l l be ab le to unders tand you .A look, a smile, gestures of peace andfr iendship, a t tent ion and del icacy, theseare the universa l language, capable ofdemonstra t ing that we are much c loser toone anoth e r than we imag ined . Everywherekindness touches, injust ice wounds, peaceis an ideal.Keep your language. Love i ts sounds, i tsmo dula t ion , i ts rhy thm . But t ry to marchtogether with men of different languages,remote f rom your own, who wish l ike youfor a more jus t and human wor ld .Whatever your count rya l i t t le c lan inthe midst of enemy tr ibes or a nat ionextendin g it s pow er know tha t , in yourown land, whoever truly possesses the spiritof Action for Justice and Peace will notfeel a stranger.

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It is true that each of us has his owncountry. But , while respecting and lovingthe country in which God caused us to beborn, having special ties with our countrymen, it is still possible to feel above all aman am ong men, a bro th e r amon g bro the r s .Do you unders tand th is a rgument? Youwill say yes, but you will think that menthink and act very differently. There arefrontiers, customs posts, barriers, the distances, the egoism crying to the other thathe is a stran ger.Come and help to build together a worldin which all men will recognise and loveone anothe r a s bro th e r s !

Whatever your re l igion, t ry to demandthat, instead of separating men, it helps touni te them.War of re l igions! Is this not the t ragedyto end all tragedies, a contradiction interms, an abs urdi ty! God is Love. R eligionmust gather men, draw them together .In the teachings of your faith, what arethe principles, the directives which call forjustice and peace?If your life has taken you far from

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religious practice or even from faith, perhaps you st i l l love truth. Perhaps you arecapable of suffering for justice. Then youwill be able to help a great deal and serveas an exam ple in difficult tim es !Beyond the barriers let us unite! If existing minor i t ie sand the re a re minor i t ie swithin a l l races, languages, countr ies andre l ig ionscan come toge the r in Ac t ionfor Justice and Peace, we shall have ther igh t to hope .3 . P r a c t i c a l p o i n t sAction for Just ice and Peace wishes toexerc ise l ibera t ing moral pressure to help,in a peaceful but effective way:to change the socio-economic, poli t ica land cultura l s tructures of the underdeve loped count r ie s ;to induce the deve loped count r ie s to in tegra te the i r underdeve loped s t r a ta and torevise radical ly the internat ional polic iesgovern ing t r ade wi th the underdeve lopedcount r ie s .A fundam enta l po in t i s doc um enta t io n .

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AJP mu st be well- inform ed: its m oral forcewill be won by the seriousness, accuracyand objectivity of its statements. Obviouslyarguments will always be possible, but individuals and organisa t ions must be able totake seriously the reports, analyses and proposals of AJP.

H ere a re some suggestions for basic documenta t ion on underdeve loped count r ie s :with regard to Latin America , the phrase'internal colonialism* is used in this continent to refer to those groups of privilegedpeop le whose wea lth is based on the p overtyof millions of their own fellow-countrymen.

This ra ises the fol lowing quest ions: W hat is the t ru th abou t th is pheno me nonof internal colonia l ism in Latin America?If the thesis is corr ect, h ow c an it besuppor ted?Are Africa and Asia similarly sufferingfrom this internal colonialism, or is theAfrican and Asian situation in this respecttotally different? T h e developed cou ntrie s have difficultyin understanding the expression 'subhuman s i tua t ion ' . To br ing i t home to64

them, wha t a re the po in ts to concent ra teon, the t ruest and most s tr iking aspects?Ho us ing condi t ions? Qu ant i ty and qu a l i tyof food? S carc i ty of c loth ing ? T h e ab senceof a basic educa tional system? T h e lack ofbasic guarantees for working condit ions?The lack of prospects and hope? The condition of de facto slavery?And now the same suggest ions direc ted a tthe underdeveloped stra ta of the r ichcount r ie s :Is i t t rue that even the r ichest countr ieshave their 'grey bel ts ' , the ir un der dev elo peds t ra ta? How can th is be d em ons t ra ted? It is likely tha t th ere is a rea l differencebe tween the underdeve lopment of the poorcount r ie s and the underdeve lopment of ther ich countr ies , but i t is a lso l ikely that thegap between r ich and poor , within the r ichcountr ies , is shocking. How can we makepeople see and feel this?Here are some suggest ions connected withthe necessary documentat ion on the re lat ions be tween the deve loped and under deve loped count r ie s :

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In August 1968, the pr ime minister ofJamaica paid a vis i t to Canada. Accordingto a Canadian newspaper1 he sa id then thathis country, to buy a Canadian trac tor , hadto pay in 1966 the eq uiv alen t of 680 tons ofsugar; in 1968, for the same Ca nad ian tractor, the price was the equivalent of 3,500tons of sugar. How can this grave situationof the decl ining pr ices of pr imary productsbe transla ted into terms corresponding tothe problem of each country of the ThirdW or ld? In th e cou rse of the last fifteen years, theinvestments in Latin America coming f romthe U nited S ta tes have r isen tog,800,000,000dollars. D ur i ng th e same per iod, the revenu efrom the investments repatr ia ted to theU nited S ta tes has r isen to 11,300,000,000dollars.*

Info rm ation such as this is of imp orta nc eas it is necessary as basis for studies and dis-1 Le Devoir, 12.8.1968.* Le Monde, Paris, 24.10.1968, quoted by the'Mem orand um on C anad a ' s fo rei gn po l icy t o wards Lat in Am erica ' ( re ference n ) , sub mi t ted tot he C anad i an G ove rnm ent by a Gr ou p of Obl a t eMiss ionar ies of Canada (8844 Est , Not re Dame,Montrea l 430) .

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cussions. I t exists in the Reports of theU n i t e d N a t ions Conf e r e nc e on T r a d e a ndD e ve lopme n t ( U N C T A D ) . You ce r ta in ly knowtha t the underdeve loped count r ie s a tGeneva and a t New De lh i have made aremarkable effort to show that in the relat ions be tween the deve loped an d the under developed worlds, a id is necessary butinsufficient.

U nt i l someone has the courag e to und er take a thorough rev is ion of in te rna t iona ltrade polic ies , the poor countr ies wil l cont inue to feed the wealth of the r ich countr ies with their blood.3Another type of in format ion i s connec tedwith physical violence , e i ther on the par tof the oppressed themselves or on the par tof the young, bo th in the underdeve loped

* Your gro up shoul d t ry t o ob t a i n t he re l evan tUNCTAD repo rt s . A se lec tion of these is ava i lab le inBri ta in f rom H er Majesty 's S ta t ion ery Office an din the U S A f ro m T h e B o o k s h o p , U n i t e d N a t i o n sHea dqu a r t e r s , New York NY 10017 . Fo r de t a i l edi nforma t i on wr i t e t o U N C TA D , I n f o r m a t i o n S e r vice, U ni te d N at ion s Office, Pa la i s des Na t ion s ,Geneva , Swi t ze r l and .

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countries and in the poor areas of the richcountr ies .What are we to make of the impatienceof those who go over to radical action andarme d violence? N ot that we wa nt to join

themour choice has a l ready been madefor Action for Justice and Peacenor is itjust idle curiosity. I t is a human interest,coupled with respect for those who, in conscience, have made a different choice butone which is no less devoted to the causeof justice.Action for Justice and Peace has taken itupon itself to study any violent reaction bythe authorities under the pretext of safeguard ing publ ic orde r . I t under takes inparticular to protest each time it f inds outfor certain that to rtu re is em ploy ed as a'scientif ic ' method of extracting informa

t ion, even when this information may beimportant or crucia l to nat ional secur i ty .Who is going to f ind this information?W ho? H ow ? W he n? W he r e ? Ca n onespeak in the name of Action for Justice andPeace? W he re does i t opera te ? W h o has theright to accept or authorise its members? Is68

the movement recognised? Is there not ther isk of seeing someone exploi t the movement for his own ends?One cannot c rea te a movement of t rus twhere dis trust prevails . We use this pr inc ip le a s po in t o f depar ture : eve rywherethere are minor i t ies capable of understanding Action for Just ice and Peace and adopting i t as a workshop for s tudy and act ion.Let us ca l l these minor i t ies the Abrahamicminorities, because , l ike Abraham, we a rehoping against a l l hope.Do you th ink you a re a lone? Lookaroun d you . Ta lk to you r f riends . Ta lk topeople in your house , in your ne ighbour hood, a t your school , a t your work, withyour le isure companions. You wil l be surpr ised to discover that your 'Abrahamicminor i ty ' a lready exists . And you wereunaware of i t .A plan of s tudy and act ion should be se t upat once. Go over again the list of informat ion to be obta ined. Try to complete i t .

Your Abrahamic minor i ty wi l l pe rhapsneed a c lear mind, someone of exper ience ,69


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capable of guiding the first steps, and gett ing s tudies and act ion under way. This'someone' already exists: all you have to dois find him.Encourage the b i r th of o the r Abraham icminorities in your town, in your area, inyour country. I t is obvious that a numberof Abrahamic minor i t ies should help oneanothe r .

These are the pre l iminary s teps. But ul t i mately, what must the AJP do and how mustit act if it hopes to atta in its very im po rtan tand very difficult objectives?The Abrahamic minor i t ies must discoverthe means of making different sorts of contacts:

W ith the leaders of the privilege d classes,on condition that the group possesses someone with an author i ta t ive character who iscapable of presenting the hardest truths inthe most authentic char i ty;With the leaders of the various religions.The Catholics of Latin America , a t Medel-lin (Colombia) and the Protestants atU ppsala (S weden) reache d very grave con-70

elusions about injust ices . Together , Catholics an d Pro testants have signed the greattext of Beirut about just ice on a worldscale.Th e r e mus t be s imi la r move m e n t s w i th inthe other re l igions. The t ime has comewhen each religion must rediscover, in itssacred texts, the truths capable of encourag ing the human deve lopment of the ou t casts of the modern world and of arousingthe consciences of the rich.W ho wi l l manage to m ake t he un ive r si ties exam ine the UNCTAD r epor ts in depth?If they have no value, they should be tornu p . If they are true, then it is terriblyser ious, s ince they denounce injust ice on aglobal scale.Who wil l manage to get the universi t iesto discover new models of development,which depend nei ther on the capita l is t noron the socia l is t empires? Perhaps the wayto a solution is through a socialisationwhich truly assures the development of thewh ole m an a nd of all m en . . . .Is one justif ied in expecting, in the universities of the developed countries, insti-

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tutes of study and research specialising inthe problems of the Thi rd Wor ld?The press, radio and television deserve part icular a t tent ion. I t is well known thateconomic power is making i ts presencestrongly felt in this f ield. Abrahamicminor i t ies among the repor ters working inthe newspapers, the weeklies, the radio andtelevision companies, or in the pressagencies, will obviously be of very particular significance and their influence will beexceptional .Why not a t tempt dia logue with the mil itary? When i t comes down to i t , under thehelm et there is a m an, a broth er in h uman ity. An d i t is evident that within thearmed forces there are Abrahamic minor ities to be aroused, encouraged, rallied toAction for Justice and Peace.

And poli t ic ians? O ne m ust t ry to approach them, with both the innocence ofthe dove and the cu nn ing of the serpent . . . .Sometimes, for a cer ta in t ime, the conditions of a country do not offer the mini-72

mum possibi l i ty of ac t ion. At such t imeson e studies, suffers, wa its. T h e responsibi l i ty of those cou ntr ies wh ere f reedom st i llexists then becomes even greater.On the in te rna t iona l p lane the re a reorganisa t ions which arouse the hopes ofAJ P .Christ ians now have a Pontif ica l Commission for Justice and Peace a nd a W or ldCouncil of Churches, both earnest ly concerned with opening roads of just ice andobta in ing peace . Wha t a re the ana logousmovements in o the r r e l ig ions?When wil l the great re l igions of theworld decide to devote a l l the ir moral forceto demanding just ice as condit ion of peace?W ill an organisa t ion such as U N E S C O havethe necessary independence, the moralforce and the interest sufficient to unitethe universi t ies of N or th an d S outh , of thecapita l is t countr ies and the socia l is t countr ies , for the construct ion of a more justa nd huma n w or ld?It is vital for the developed countries tocome to unders tand tha t , wi thout a change

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of structure s at hom e, a chang e of stru cture sin the underdeveloped countr ies is impossible.If these suggestions seem indefinite andvague, do some research and set yourimagination to work. We have presentedsome practical ways of acting: it is for theAbrahamic minorities of today and of tomorrow to go further, to say and above allto do th e rest, always faithful to the p ath s ofjustice and love, as condition of peace.4 . A w o r l d m o v e m e n tLet us hope against a l l hope, and imaginethat the Abrahamic minor i t ies wil l mult iply on the five continents and on the sevenseas. W hom then to speak to? Wh om totur n to? W ho m to cons ult? At all costs theerroneous idea must be avoided that Actionfor Justice and Peace is bound to any part icular country, any par t icular language,any par t icular re l igion. No Abrahamicminor i ty has accounts to render to anyauthor i ty .

But it is easy to understand that, at first,74

for som e, it is co nv en ien t, or alm ost necessary, to orientate oneself, to have a poin t ofreference , an info rm ation cen tre , an exchange centre .Wherever possible , a c ircular wil l be sentregula r ly to those Abrahamic minor i t ie swhose addresses are known, as an a t temptto pool ini t ia t ives, exper iences and suggestions.

T h e moral force of Action for Just iceand Peace wil l be bo rn of com m unic at ionbe tween the Abrahamic minor i t ie s f romthe different tow ns, differen t c ou ntrie s,dif ferent continents .

W he n the A br a ha mic mino r i t i e s o f t heThird World fee l themselves t ruly in sol idar i ty and, above a l l , when they meet f raternal echoes com ing to them from thedeve loped count r ie s , humani ty wi l l havetaken a s tep towards peace .T h e S pir i t breathes wh ere i t wil l . I t is perfec t ly possible for Abrahamic minor i t ies toemerge in N or th an d S outh , Eas t and W est .Even under tota l i tar ian regimes the idea of

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Act ion fo r Jus t i ce and Peace w i l l be ab l e t oflourish.

I s p lu r a l i sm poss ib l e w i th in Ac t i on fo rJus t i ce and Peace? Not on ly poss ib l e , bu tdes i r ab l e . S a f egua rded by t he e s sence o f t hemovement , de f i ned by i t s name , i t s i dea lw i l l be un i t y bu t no t un i fo rmi ty , va r i e ty i nu n i t y .

T h e m o v e m e n t w o u l d h a v e n o d e e pvital i ty i f i t took the same form in Brazi l asi n France , i n t he Ind i e s a s i n t he U n i t edS t a t e s , i n t he C ameroons a s i n Aus t r a l i a .E ach r ace , each l anguage , each r e l i g ionm u s t l e a v e i t s o w n m a r k o n t h e m o v e m e n t .

I s th ere ro om for conf lic t? Ob vio us ly . I fAc t i on fo r Jus t i ce and Peace does no tset i tself u p as a s ign of co nt ra di ct io n, if i tdoes no t p rovoke d i squ i e t , i f i t does no tsow doubts , i f i t does not a rouse grea t devot i on and p rovoke ha t r ed , t hen i t i s p r e pa r ing i t s own fune ra l .

I t does not c la im to be the so lu t i on . I thopes to he lp men a t a t ime when a l l of usa r e g rop ing fo r a way ou t .An d a s fo r t he l angu age s : w ha t a r e t heof f ic ia l l anguages for cor respondence? I say7*

a n y o n e . T h e r e is a l w a y s s o m e o n e t o h e l pu n d e r s t a n d . A n d t h e h e a r t w i l l g u e s s t h er e st . T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g is t o g e t s t a r t e d .T i m e is p r e s s i n g . W e a r e h u n d r e d s o f y e a r sbe h i nd , an d a l l of us be a r d i r e c t r e spons i bi l i ty for the s in of omiss ion.5 . A p p e a l t o y o u t hY o u n g p e o p l e , m y f r i e n d s , m y b r o t h e r s .

P e r h a p s I a m m a k i n g a m i s t a k e o r a ms u f f e r i n g u n d e r a n i l l u s i o n : b u t I c o n t i n u eto be f a sc ina t ed by t he you th o f t oday .Many o f my hopes fo r a more j us t andh u m a n w o r l d f in d t h e i r r o o t s a n d t h e i rs u p p o r t i n t h e y o u n g .

I c o n t i n u e t o t h i n k , a s a t M a n c h e s t e r , i nE n g l a n d , t h a t t h e y o u n g n o l o n g e r t o l e r a t ethe seven cap i t a l s i ns o f t h e mo de rn wo r ld :racialism, colonialism, war, paterna lism,Pharisaism, alienation and fear.Y o u c a n n o t i m a g i n e h o w m a n y l e t t e r s Ir ece ive t e l l i ng t e r r i b l e t a l e s abou t t heyoung o f t oday . Over aga ins t t he s even* S peech to the Congress of the Bri t ish S tude ntChr i s t i an Movement , 'Response to Cr i s i s ' , Apr i l1969.

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cap ital s ins yo u ar e f ighting, th ey em ph asi sethe seven capi ta l s ins in to which you aresa id to fa l l : snobbery, menta l l az iness , prot e st , d ru gs , sex , com pro m ise and a the i sm .

T h e y t a l k a b o u t y o u r s n o b b e r y , b e c a u s eof your c lo thes , your mus i c , your l anguage ,your r eac t i ons : peop l e fo rge t t ha t eve ryge ne ra t io n h as i ts ow n s tyle it suffices tog l ance t h rough an o ld f ami ly a lbum. . . .

Men ta l l az ines s? You do no t accep tteac hin g whic h i s dry as du s t , ou t of da teand r emote f rom l i f e , wh ich t he un ive r s i t yt r ie s t o i ns t i l i n to you . T h e ad u l t s sh ou ldhave a go a t d i s cus s ing w i th you t he r ea la n d t e r r i b l e h u m a n p r o b l e m s o f o u rt i m e ! . . .

H o w c a n y o u n o t p r o t e s t w h e n y o u h a v eto b r ea k t h r ou gh a she l l o f p r e jud i ces andt o b r e a k d o w n i n h u m a n a n d r e a c t io n a r ys t r u c t u r e s ? It i s t rue that you of ten takeyou r p ro t e s t t oo f a r and t ha t i n d o i ng SQyou i nvade your s choo l s , t ake t hem ove rand s om et ime s r ansack t h em . I t i s a p i t yt h a t t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s c r a m m e d a s t h e y a r ewi th psychologis t s , soc iologis t s and educat o r s h a v e s h o w n t h e m s e l v e s i n c a p a b l e o ffo r e see ing your r evo l t wh i l e i t was t ak ing78

s h a p e , a n d t h a t t h e y d o n o t m a n a g e t o e n g a g e i n d i a l o g u e w i t h y o u . S o m e o n l y d is cove r t he appea l t o fo r ce , when t he so lu t i ond e m a n d s u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d l o v e . I n d e m a n d i n g o r i n a c c e p t i n g s p e c i a l p o w e r ssuch a s t ha t o f dec l a r i ng a s t a t e o f emer genc y, they offer a sad an d te r r ib le lessont o g o v e r n m e n t s , w h i c h a r e a l r e a d y t o o i n c l i ned t o d i c t a to r sh ips i n l aw o r in fact .

A s f or d r u g s a n d n a r c o t i c s : w i t h o u td o u b t y o u y o u r s e l v e s , t h e y o u n g , a r e a l r eady conv inced t ha t d rugs a r e on ly a f a l s eh o p e , w h o s e p r i c e i n t e r m s o f h e a l t h ,v i t a l i t y and c r ea t i v i t y i s t oo heavy . Doub t l es s you your se lves t h i nk a l r e ad y o f sna t ch i n g y o u r c o ll e a g u e s , y o u r f r i e n d s , y o u rbro the r s ou t o f t h i s t r ag i c sna re , l a i d bys o u ll e ss m e r c e n a r i e s , e x p e r t s in c o m m e r c i a l i s ing vice , even a t the cos t of your l ives . Buti t i s a p i t y t ha t t he ad u l t s do n o t a sk t h em selves what l i es a t the bas i s of the despai ra n d b i t t e r n e s s w h i c h d r i v e s t h e y o u n g t ot h i s a t t e m p t a t e v a s i o n . T h o s e w h o c o n d e m n t h e y o u n g a r e v e r y o f t e n i n c a p a b l e o ft h i n k i n g t h a t p e r h a p s t h e i r e g o i s m , t h e i rl ac k of u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d o p e n n e s s a r ed i r e c t l y c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e d r u g i n v a s i o n .

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In what period has sex not exercised itspowerful a t t rac t ions? Cer ta inly you yourse lvesmore s imple , more authentic , moredirectfeel the necessity to investigate themystery of love which, though it very ofteninvolves sex, is by no means reduced to thecall of th e flesh. T o o m uc h talk is m ade offree love. But w hat is love really, and wh encan one talk of freedom?

Com prom ise? He re lies a rea l dang er .To the degree in which the compromise a l larou nd you is broad and tem pting , thestruggle to be under taken is more arduous.And compromise is a siren ready to seduceyou.Your position with regard to religionand God depends to a great extent on ourat t i tu de and o ur response to l ife . W hen youmeet people who are trying to live a religion which refuses to be an opium of the

masses, an alien and alienating force; whenyou meet people for whom the love of Godinvolves human love, your atheism willgive way to respect , to sympathywhoknows?to fa i th .And now I have a quest ion to ask you,80

precise ly because I know that we have a l l aworld in common, even if you disagreewi th me and cons ide r me a dreamer and afool.You have hea rd my appea l . The impor tant thing now is not to agree with i ts posit ions, but to discuss them. I have no needto ask you for sincerity (you abhorhypocrisy and lies) . I ask you to challengefacts with fac ts , a rguments with arguments .I ask you to br ing new points of view ornew perspectives.

If I know you as well as I think I do, weare in agreement on our way of looking a tthis world wh ich is gr oa nin g w ith injustices. And injust ice is for you violenceNo. 1.You wil l agree in recognising that , ingenera l , youth is losing pat i en ce an d sl ipp in g in to rad ica l ac t ion and a rm ed v io lence .You a lso agree that th e gov ernm ents areready to react in a bruta l way. And theyhave no scruples , even when i t comes toto r tu r e . Y our doub t or th e do ub t of ma nyof youbears on the fol lowing point : isnon-violence feasible, even in a positive and

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demanding movement such as Act ion forJust ice and Peace?W hat separates us? W e are uni te d in ou raims: we wish for a more jus t and humanworld . You th ink perhaps that only armedviolence will have the power to shake anddemolish the inhuman s t ructures whichcreate slaves.If I joyfully spend the rest of my life, ofmy powers , of my energies in demandingjust ice, but without hatred , without armedviolence, through l iberat ing moral pressure, thro ug h tr ut h and love , i t is becauseI am convinced that only love is construct ive and s t rong.I know your sincerity and I respect yourchoice. Leave no-one indifferent ar ou ndyou. Provoke discussions. Your youth mustforce people to think and take up a posit ion: le t i t be uncomfortable , l ike t ru th ,demanding, l ike jus t ice.

Help Act ion for Jus t ice and Peace: support it, challenge it, discuss it. You may besurprised to find yourselves helping theAbrahamic minor i t i es , enab l ing them toassert themselves and to act.82

This i s my appea l . Br ing me yourwarmth and your f r i endsh ip . Wi th you 1must remain young in soul , keep the hopeand love I need to help al l men, ourb ro t h e r s .

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Spiral of Violence Camara