- ATD Fourth World

A new step, a new town, new faces,

This is the everyday life of the Caravans !

All this is not ephemeral. Every instant is carefully kept like a precious and unique stone. One of the values of this project is transmission. Every instant swells our luggage, our heart, and our spirit of openness to the Other, in order to be able to transmit it during the next stage.

Of course, by always keeping in mind this famous “17th of October” which has become a common expression in the vocabulary of the “caravaneer” language. Indeed the 17th of October 2007 will mark the 20th Anniversary of The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This is why this symbolical year is a pretext for the ATD Fourth World Movement to give the mobilisation a youthful spirit and it also represents its will to accelerate and to make the mobilization grow. In fact, in order for it to have a real impact and to go beyond the Movement, it should be a citizen call for mobilization. It does not concern only the volunteers, the caravaneers, or the people who live in difficult conditions. This has to concern the entire country, the whole Europe and all of Humanity. It is one thing TO KNOW, it is another to FEEL CONCERNED.

This project called “The European Solidarity Caravans” (or even better, “The Friendship Caravans” as our polish friends call them) is an innovative tool of this campaign. This group which is made up of members coming from different backgrounds and different countries, is also made up of people who carry different questions and approaches in regards of these unbearable facts which are misery, extreme poverty and exclusion in all their shapes. Together we make up ONE in order to try to mobilize, in order to try to question, to listen, to share and to understand and thus to FIGHT better, and at the same time refusing what we literarily call the mollycoddling.

These young people who in their everyday life would never have dared to approach each other for the most part, and who might not have even bumped into each other, are now bound forever. That’s it! And inspite of everything that makes us different, little by little, thanks to the efforts of each one of us, and with a lot of tolerance, we were able to create and to live together like a real family. This is simply the magic of the Caravans… and why not try to apply it on a bigger scale. This project which in the beginning had a formal and fundamental goal which was the mobilization, ended up exceeding all the initial objectives.

We all became, without desiring it and without realizing it, “gold hunters”. The gold being all the encounters which were made and which are yet to be made. Nevertheless we must remain modest. Even if we call ourselves “gold hunters”, it is not in order to become the richest in amount of encounters, but it is rather in order to become the best of ourselves thanks to these encounters. Every human being is a treasure in itself as well as being a “gold hunter” for others.

If we must tone things down a bit in this quest it is always the frustration in regards to time. These stages which are always too short, these encounters which are always too short, this learning about the Other which is always too short, always leave us with a bitter taste and a little frustrated.

Even though the 17th of October is a day during which everyone gathers for an anniversary that we would like to stop celebrating, one should not think that it is a one day struggle. We always have to think about tomorrow… Of course the 17th of October will mark the end of a long journey throughout Europe. Let us make it then a day of the beginning of a new chapter in this fight in which EVERYONE has to take part. The Caravans strengthened and even sometimes created new ties between the different teams of the Movement, whether it is in France or beyond the borders. Now we are sure that together nothing is impossible !

The power of the words exists but we now know that there is the power of actions. These actions can be small gestures as much as they can be huge acts. Every action, whether it is small or big, is equally important. Let us not talk about the « 17th of October » but let us talk about « Tomorrow ». And Joseph would perhaps agree that the struggle keeps going. These four months throughout Europe must only be an insight of what it is possible to do… From today it is ALL OF US that must “hold each other’s hand” like a big farandole and to write the History of the fight against these fake fatalities: even though this might sometimes seem difficult.

All of these are only words, and it is up to us to put them into actions and colours. And in this way let us make our hopes become realities.

A.P.

Don’t forget that the most important for us is to exchange and share what we are experiencing. So don’t hesitate to send us an email with your comments, questions and suggestions at caravanes2@atd-quartmonde.org

Thanks. We hope to hear from you soon !