My story
To be equal, to most of us means to be the same nationality,
the same gender, same religion...
I used to have the
same thoughts, too.
But one day I asked
myself:
„Is that what equality really means?“
And the answer is
- No. If we aren't the same religion does it mean we aren't equal? I realized
that those believes are the main reason for judging people, fights, even
wars... And people who think that way also make others think there are
differences between us. Why can't we just forget about all those small
differences that bring us apart?
If we could do it,
we would be able to realize all the common things we have. First and most
important thing-we're all human beings. Then, we have families, friends,
somebody to care for. We all have the same needs-food, water, oxygen...
And you can see
that there aren't any big differences to have a good reason for any problems.
It's all in the
people's heads...
What if our
community is different than another one's?
Does it mean we
have to look exactly the same as our family, friends, teachers? Or, do we have
to have the same opinions, feelings, thoughts as theirs?
Thinking about all
those things, I turn around myself, and I see lots of people around me.
They are so
different than me, I am different than them. But those differences make me
unique as an individual person, not as a group nor community.
And what happens
with the utopia for a world without conflicts, full of happiness and
friendship?
I think it will
remain only an utopia for a while, but we have to do something if we want it to
become a reality.
We can start from
where we are right now-Europe. And we can start achieving it with, let's say,
Aces, because Aces melts prejudice about differences among teachers and
students, and crosses borders of countries all over south-eastern Europe. From
the icebreaker activities all over to partnership projects... The Aces project
makes us realize we're all equal and to learn the real meaning of the word. We
speak different languages, we come from different countries, we are different
age...
But we're equal.
Not the same, but equal.
I would like to
share something from the Aces Kick-off meeting which happened during one of the
workshops.
There was a boy...
I don't remember his name but I'll always remember his words...
He was asked if he
liked meeting new friends.
He answered that
he did. He said that he had met lots of students there in Lashko, and had made
friends with them.
And he told us a
really interesting characteristic of his, which is quite rare nowadays. He said
that he didn't like at all being friends with somebody similar to him, that he
loved hanging out with people who had opposite interests and hobbies than his.
This boy... his
way of thinking... I liked it.
I realized that he
has already learned to respect the differences and even better-he loved
differences.
I must admit that
Aces Kick-off meeting was a big experience for me. For the first time I was
abroad, for the first time I was in Slovenia... For the first time I was in a
place with so many students from so many countries, and everyone was so nice
and friendly. I didn't see anybody judging anyone about what they looked like,
where they came from...
Even though there
were students who couldn't speak English, students who couldn't hear well, we
were all accepted by everyone wholeheartedly. The results of this project may
not be visible the next year or the year after, but they will be one day! When
that day comes, most of us will be all grown up and mature people. When we
become proper citizens in our democracy communities, we'll have the power to
make a difference, to make things better...
I have a dream for
everyone everywhere to be equal. I want to share my dream because as Hannah
Arendt once said-
„Equality is the
result of human organization. We are not born equal.“
And that's why we
have to achieve it together.
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