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<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
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style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Human Rights Reader 149<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><STRONG><FONT size=3>MORAL PROGRESS DOES NOT EXIST; WE
ARE NOT MORE MORAL TODAY THAN WHAT WE WERE A HUNDRED OR A THOUSAND YEARS AGO.
</FONT></STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt">(Primo
Levi)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=5> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT face="Times New Roman">[When reading Levi, the
Italian 20<SUP>th</SUP> century writer, I found a series of aphorisms, i.e.,
maxims that apply to the human rights discourse and to these Readers. I wanted
to share them with you. He said that it was just when he put order in
‘the-box-of-the-often-forgotten-ideas’ that he found
these].<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=5> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>1. On reason:</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>To believe in
reason means believing in one’s own reason; it does not mean that reason governs
our world and not even that it governs men. Actually, we are witnessing a
sinking-of-reason the world over. But your own lucid rationality is a protective
shield. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>The
fundamental, decisive act of rational power is for it to have succeeded in
taking away the critical capacity of the oppressed to stand up to oppression.
Our generation cannot ‘take a vacation’ on this. (citing P.
Pasolini)<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>2. On writing (about human
rights):</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>What part of
our roots comes from the books we have read?<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>I consider
that when the ideas are clear, they are automatically written in a language that
is also clear.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>It is a
disservice to the reader to give them injections of pessimism. To be a pessimist
means to give up and to let oneself be carried to disaster. Since the risk of
disaster exists, the only solution is to roll up your sleeves and to start work
to avoid it; to defend ourselves, it is necessary to be optimistic; otherwise
you never struggle --and a struggle we have to enter there is!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is of a distinct advantage to
transmit a message that is not defeatist. (…and to get things done, it is
necessary not to have too much time…).<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>The decisive
element of a narrative must be</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>its careful
balance between what <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>is necessary
and what is superfluous. I prefer writers who are intolerant of
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>the
superfluous.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>I think that
from my writings flows a wisdom that I do not think I possess. What I try is to
convey a consistent message and that comes from consciously belonging to a
tradition and a culture.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>It is almost
impossible to distinguish a true philosopher from a false one;
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>the language
is the same. Every philosopher has the vice of inventing
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>him/herself a
language of his/her own; one has to try hard to penetrate it
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>before
understanding what they want to say. That does not go with
me.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>3. On the struggle (for human
rights):</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>One cannot
think in a life without confrontation and, therefore, without
defeats.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Hate can be
confused with the desire of justice, but these are two different
things.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>It is our
fault if we do not know more about ongoing human rights
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>violations. We
should inform ourselves, read what has been written. It is
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>taken for
granted we know what is happening in the world in our areas of
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>expertise.
Evidently, if today we all ‘know’, we cannot ignore; we have to
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>try to
understand what is behind the forces that explain what is happening
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>and then stop
them. It is our fault not to know more! But we have not
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>informed
ourselves out of intellectual laziness or to avoid adding worries to
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>those we have
personally.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>4. On values:</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>It is true
that in our professional culture there is an element of
elitism.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>How can one
communicate higher ethical (and political) values to a culturally divided world
like the one we have today? It is not easy to think in a common ethics. Many of
the so-called values (especially the political), and many of the ideological
references have disappeared.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Learned
professors in universities have themselves lost some of the values that could
serve them as guides in today’s world.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>We have to
conserve our own political sense faced with emerging false
ideologies.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>What is
essential is to understand and make understand that we need to demystify the
biased interpretation of the world we live in.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>If you do not
have one, you have to invent yourself a moral and an ideology
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>and behave
as-if-they-matter-to-you.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>5. On Human Rights in general:</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>We witness a
loss of many fundamental human rights that even inmates in rich countries’
prisons enjoy…. They have a lawyer, they can (at least) hope that justice will
be done, they can hope to be set free…We are definitely not all equal in front
of justice.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2>Claudio
Schuftan, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Ho Chi Minh
City</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><A href="mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam,vn"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"
size=2>claudio@hcmc.netnam,vn</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">_____<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=FR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Adapted from P. Levi, Entrevistas y Conversaciones,
Ficciones 14, Ediciones Peninsula, Barcelona
1998.</FONT></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>