First day of the year – World Day of Peace. The date is not limited to celebrating the absence of conflict but proposes reflections and encourages debates on the subject to ensure the wellbeing and development of humanity and may also be permeated by mutual respect with collaboration between people and nations.
Therefore, solidarity and fraternity become attributes for the promotion of the culture of peace and can contribute to the solidification of responses to overcome global challenges, such as the eradication of poverty, xenophobia and to generate joint solutions.
Aligned with these attributes, the Fraternity -International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF), through the Fraternity -International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), has been developing actions in defence of human dignity and humanitarian assistance in the missions carried out in various regions of the planet such as Poland, Angola, Roraima/Brazil and Portugal.
Solidarity and fraternity
According to Friar Luciano, manager of the Fraternity – HumanitarianFederation (FIHF), solidarity begins with sensitivity, empathy and attention to what is happening around us, an attitude less and less frequent in human beings of these times. He invites us to reflect on this theme: “When we are willing to perceive what others and situations need, we begin to experience a principle of solidarity, that is, we realize that what others experience in some way has to do with me and then I put myself in their place and therefore enter into another perspective, one of solidarity.
Friar Luciano ponders on the World Day of Peace: “May this brief reflection on this day awaken the intention to observe how attentive we are to this and how we can make room for such a natural process of human consciousness: to be in solidarity, to be sensitive and to act for something beyond my own needs. We need to be solidary, let us reach out our hands, there is still time, and the moment is now!”.
Aldenize Moreira Fin, Regional Coordinator of the RoraimaHumanitarian Mission, highlights the role of solidarity in the structure of the actions of the Mission Roraima with a focus on commitment to the common good, in building the culture of peace, respect for the value and dignity of indigenous people in situations of refuge: “We act on a voluntary basis in the search for lasting solutions for all who integrate the cultural activities and training that take place in the Indigenous Cultural and Training Center(CCFI),” she explains.
She reinforces the importance of solidarity in networking, for the development of projects and actions in the humanitarian response at the local and regional levels. “Add expertise, exchange knowledge and promote new life paths in the face of a context of forced migration,” she highlights.
“The Fraternity – Humanitarian (FIHF) is very attentive not to act alone, but in the range of partnerships, for a joint response. It is very clear that the capacity to deliver a response is greatly expanded when done in an integrated way. I would call this some what a kind of institutional solidarity, the design of this work in a more effective way is within an important axis of the Sphere Manual,” endorses Friar Thomas, Regional Coordination Assistant of the Roraima Mission.
Solidarity and fraternity permeate all the actions carried out by the Fraternity-Humanitarian (FIHF) and the affiliates. Whether in the promotion of dialogue and intercultural exchange for the realization of shared projects, or in the encouragement of education and training, as factors of development and work promotion.
Empathy and care form indispensable elements for overcoming the indifference culture, of discard and conflict, and contribute to solidifying the path of justice, sharing in solidarity and peace.
This first day of the year, World Day of Peace, is a date that invites us to reflect on what each and every one of us together can offer to build a world of peace.
More than an aspiration, a world of peace becomes a reality when people and nations commit to build together more inclusive, sustainable, just and caring societies. May every day of this year, in every small act, may we be committed to sowing peace and understanding among all beings that inhabit this planet.
