Vuonna 2003, kun maa oli nähty taivaalta, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, yhdessä Sybille d’Orgevalin ja Baptiste Rouget-Luchairen kanssa, aloitti projektin nimiltä 6 Billion Others – 6 Miljardia Toista. Tehtiin 5 000 haastattelua 75 eri maassa 6 ohjaajan voimin, jotka lähtivät etsimään Toisia.

Brasilian kalastajasta kiinalaiseen kauppiaaseen, saksalaisesta taiteilijasta afghanistanilaiseen maanviljelijään, kaikki vastaavat samaan kysymykseen peloista, unelmista, ongelmista, toiveista: “Mitä olet oppinut vanhemmiltasi? Mitä haluat välittää eteenpäin lapsillesi? Minkälaisia ongelmia olet kokenut? Mitä rakkaus sinulle tarkoittaa?

Nelisenkymmentä kysymystä jotka kertovat mitkä asiat erottavat ja mitkä yhdistävät meitä. Nämä koko ihmiskunnan henkilökuvat löytyvät projektin kotisivuilta.

In 2003, after The Earth seen from the Sky, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, with Sybille d’Orgeval and Baptiste Rouget-Luchaire, launched the project“6 Billion Others”. 5,000 interviews were filmed in 75 countries by 6 directors who went in search of the Others.

From a Brazilian fisherman to a Chinese shopkeeper, from a German performer to an Afghan farmer, all answered the same questions about their fears, dreams, ordeals, hopes:

“What have you learnt from your parents? What do you want to pass on to your children? What difficult circumstances have you been through? What does love mean to you?”

Forty or so questions that help us to find out what separates and what unites us. These portraits of humanity today are accessible on this website.

Eilen Taprin ja Anna Lindh Foundationin järjestämässä seminaarissa Helsingissä saimme kuulla oheisen Combatants for Peace -järjestön aktiiveja. Kyse on entisistä Israelin armeijan sotilaista ja palestiinalaisista taistelijoista, jotka ovat luopuneet aseista tultuaan vakuuttuneiksi, ettei alueelle voi saavuttaa pysyvää ratkaisua väkivallan avulla. Israelilaisen Liri Mizrahin ja palestiinalaisen Bassam Araminin elämäntarinat olivat koskettaa kuultavaa. Bassam oli vain kolmetoistavuotias lähtiessään ensimmäisen kerran mukaan israelilaissotilaiden ärsyttämiseen. Kivet vaihtuivat raketeiksi, niin että 17-vuotiaana hän joutui israelilaiseen vankilaan. Seitsemän vuoden vankilatuomion jälkeen hän perusti perheen. Henkilökohtaisten tuttavuuksien ja vuosien prosessoinnin jälkeen hän tuli siihen tulokseen, että puhuminen vaatii enemmän rohkeutta kuin kivien heittely. Oltuaan kaksi vuotta Combatants for Peace -järjestssä isaelilaissotilaat ampuivat hänen 10-vuotiaan tyttärensä. Bassam koki vakaumuksensa olevan kovassa koetuksessa, mutta päätti jatkaa aloittamallaan vuoropuhelun tiellä.

From YouTube: “From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York comes THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Their quest leads them to sleep on the streets with the homeless of New York City, comfort the orphaned children of Peru, and seek out the abandoned lepers in the jungles of Ghana, Africa. What they discover changes them forever. They are captivated by the joy and love that they encounter; they are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit. Along with one on one interviews with experts and amateurs from all walks of life, THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE weaves both commentary and drama into a deep reflection on what it means to be human.”

From Wikipedia: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 – 20 January 1988) was a Indian Pashtun political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule in India. A lifelong pacifist, a devout Muslim, and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, he was also known as Badshah Khan (also Bacha Khan, Pashto: lit., “King Khan”), and Sarhaddi Gandhi or “Simant Gandhi”(Urdu, Hindi lit., “Frontier Gandhi”).

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good morning.

Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning.

After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, “Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo’s birthday.”

And then Sasha added, “Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.”

So it’s — it’s good to have kids to keep things in perspective.

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee.

Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize, men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents.

And I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

Now, these challenges can’t be met by any one leader or any one nation. And that’s why my administration’s worked to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek.

We cannot tolerate a world in which nuclear weapons spread to more nations and in which the terror of a nuclear holocaust endangers more people.

And that’s why we’ve begun to take concrete steps to pursue a world without nuclear weapons: because all nations have the right to pursue peaceful nuclear power, but all nations have the responsibility to demonstrate their peaceful intentions.

We cannot accept the growing threat posed by climate change, which could forever damage the world that we pass on to our children, sowing conflict and famine, destroying coastlines and emptying cities.

And that’s why all nations must now accept their share of responsibility for transforming the way that we use energy.

We can’t allow the differences between peoples to define the way that we see one another. And that’s why we must pursue a new beginning among people of different faiths and races and religions, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.

And we must all do our part to resolve those conflicts that have caused so much pain and hardship over so many years. And that effort must include an unwavering commitment to finally realize that — the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security in nations of their own.

We can’t accept a world in which more people are denied opportunity and dignity that all people yearn for: the ability to get an education and make a decent living, the security that you won’t have to live in fear of disease or violence without hope for the future.

And even as we strive to seek a world in which conflicts are resolved peacefully and prosperity is widely shared, we have to confront the world as we know it today.

I am the commander in chief of a country that’s responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies. I’m also aware that we are dealing with the impact of a global economic crisis that has left millions of Americans looking for work.

These are concerns that I confront every day on behalf of the American people.

Some of the work confronting us will not be completed during my presidency. Some, like the elimination of nuclear weapons, may not be completed in my lifetime.

But I know these challenges can be met, so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award is not simply about the efforts of my administration; it’s about the courageous efforts of people around the world.

And that’s why this award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity; for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard, even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace.

That has always been the cause of America. That’s why the world has always looked to America. And that’s why I believe America will continue to lead.

Thank you very much.

Loviisan rauhanfoorumi onnittelee presidentti Obamaa ja toivottaa hänelle viisautta, jaksamista ja rohkeutta tuleviin haasteisiin.