Too many men, women, and children throughout the world feel unrecognized and excluded
Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts [...]
The advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people [...]
All human beings should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”.
On October 17th 1987, defenders of human
rights from across the world, marked and
outraged by extreme poverty, gathered in
Paris in response to a call from Joseph
Wresinski (Founder of the International
Movement ATD Fourth World in 1956), to:
Pay homage to the victims of hunger, ignorance and violence.
Affirm their conviction that poverty is not
inevitable
Proclaim their solidarity with those around
the world who struggle to overcome it.
On December 22nd 1992, aware of the
urgent need to put an end to poverty and
extreme poverty, the United Nations recog-
nized October 17th as the International Day
for the Eradication of Poverty.« When you have nothing, you are no longer treated like a human being. You aren’t important to anyone. »
Too many people on this earth daily face intolerable conditions:
« Hunger, ignorance and all the violence - I can’t stand it any more! »
Although they are outraged, many people remain silent:
« What good is it? Who cares what I think?»
On October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty,
more and more men, women, and children gather together every year
to raise their heads and find renewed hope:
« Rare is the day when you can speak of poverty without shame.
When I saw all those people coming together, when I sat down with
people that I had never dared to approach, when I spoke up in front
of everyone, it gave me a sense of courage, of strength. That day, I
realized that all these people wanted us to count for something. »
Many want to see an end to the discrimination, the indifference, and
the rule of the survival of the fittest that generate extreme poverty [1], the
most ruthless killer and greatest cause of suffering on earth [2]. It is a
scourge in all societies and undermines peace within and between
nations. In 2000 the Member States of the United Nations expressed
their determination to eliminate extreme poverty, and placed it at the
top of the Millennium Development Goals [3].
The struggle against poverty will be sustainable, with lasting effects,
only if it is based on the experience, the know-how and the
participation of those who confront it every day: children deprived of
a future, adolescents condemned to menial work or forced idleness,
men and women subjected day after day to crushing humiliations,
families destroyed by hunger, fear and uncertainty.
If the dignity of every person is to be recognized, people of all origins,
convictions and beliefs will need to take action, and refuse to accept
this injustice
« Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty.»
Every October 17th these words inspire countless peaceful gatherings and acts of solidarity. They motivate those who feel excluded by society to participate in the Day’s events. They give them renewed courage to continue their struggle against the intolerable conditions of extreme poverty, and not to give up. These words mobilize people from all sectors of society to join forces with those who until now have been excluded to rebuild and change our democracies, our attitudes, our behaviours, and our lives together.
[1] According to a Gallup poll of 53,749 people from 68 countries, 26% of the world’s population ranks poverty and the growing gaps between the rich and the poor as its biggest concern. This percentage rises to 40% for people polled in Latin America and Africa. The second greatest concern, terrorism, lags far behind, with 12%, followed by unemployment, warfare, and economic problems. Source - Quebec newspaper Le Devoir March 27, 2006.
[2] World Health Report, “Bridging the Gaps”, 1995
[3] We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty” stated in the UN Millennium Declaration (September 2000).
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