Front Page
Foreword
Arrival
Opening
Groups
Between the Acts
Peoples' Parliament
Demonstration
European Parliament
To the President of the European Parliament
Final Plenary
Looking Ahead
Kairos Declaration
PEOPLES' PARLIAMENT
Ursula Brunner, Frauenfeld, SchweizThe voice of the people was heard at this people's parliament. The Commissions made their presentations in the most varied ways, loudly and softly, symbolically and forthrightly. This was a powerful experience for me personally. I was moved by the resolute, confident demands of the black women and men. So much so, that first something inside me rebelled and with horror I perceived my own white arrogance. This was a new experience and a necessary shock.
I come from the former East Germany and lost my job two years ago. In all, over 50% of people in my town have no work. The official statistics are all lies. I was shock to meet many unemployed people here. So they exist in Western Europe too! Our Commission was dismayed by the issue of child labour. Children are forced to work while adults remain jobless. All of us are very afraid for the future. In Magdeburg two women are sterilised every day for fear of losing their jobs. Why don't the churches protest? What do the politicians say to this?
Sometimes we are tempted not to use our own resources: witnessing to misery, injustice and poverty, and also to our own strength, our diversity and the beauty of life. Nor do we always succeed in our attempts to live a new culture, instead of avoiding it together. Sometimes we are carried away by our deepseated Eurocentrism. And other times we race off to yet another meeting... to put off doing something ourselves.
