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<P><BIG>Hi,</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>I was listening to the radio on Monday when these words hit me really
hard: <STRONG><I>‘Our country is like a really old house. I love old houses. But
old houses need a lot of work. And the work is never done. And that’s what our
country is like. And you may not want to go into that basement, but if you
really don’t go into that basement, it’s at your own peril.’</I></STRONG>
[1]</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>They came from Isabel Wilkerson, an American journalist who was talking
about how understanding history (in this case slavery and the Great Migration)
helps us make sense of the present (racism and police violence). I found myself
thinking: <STRONG>What’s in Europe’s basement? Are we going in
there?</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>There are different kinds of histories and basements - lots of local
ones, national ones, and one big shared European basement. The main rooms within
that are arguably the two big wars that started in Europe and our history of
colonialism. <STRONG>Whereas some European countries have made efforts to
confront the history of the wars, it’s harder to find examples of where our
colonial past has been properly reckoned with.</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>One month ago, the basement doors were blown wide open in the US
and beyond by the murder of George Floyd.</STRONG> For the first time in a long
time, <STRONG>we are forced to confront the ugliest parts of our
histories,</STRONG> of our stories, of our national identities. In the US,
symbols of historical racism are being removed from public spaces, and the same
is happening in Europe - particularly with regard to our colonial
history.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Take Belgium for example: when I came here in 2001, I couldn’t quite
figure out how King Leopold II, the man who organised an industry of murder and
maiming of literally millions of Congolese people, was still being honoured in
statues all over the country. As a direct response to the confrontation we now
face with our histories, the place of these statues is being questioned, in
Belgium, Italy, the UK and beyond. <STRONG>By venturing into the basement and
confronting what exists there, we are healing our societies and being more
honest with ourselves.</STRONG></BIG></P>
<CENTER>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 1em"><IMG
alt="Tweet with text, picture attached of King Leopold statue lying horizontally, covered in red paint in middle of street"
src="https://www.wemove.eu/sites/wemove.eu/files/leopold-statue.png?utm_source=civimail-31046&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200624_EN"
width=500></DIV>
<P><EM>This statue of Leopold II in Antwerp was removed a couple of weeks ago
after it was vandalised and set on fire. Other statues of Leopold II across
Belgium are also being challenged and vandalised.</EM></P></CENTER>
<P><BIG>A lot of bravery is needed to step into that basement in the name of
people, rights and healing. It’s also needed in the name of the planet.<STRONG>
For many, it is really uncomfortable to confront how we’ve messed up our
planet.</STRONG> It's hard to acknowledge the fact that not so long ago we
adopted a system that celebrates consumption and economic growth at the cost of
ever more emissions, climate change and ever greater chances of planetary
collapse.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>Colonialism underpins our capitalist economic model </STRONG>-
so much of our economic system and wealth was built and financed through
colonial brutality. Despite these systems ravaging our planet for decades, they
have been all but dismantled in a period of weeks due to the COVID-19 crisis.
<STRONG>That is why the green recovery is so key, to right those wrongs, and fix
this old house, and come to terms with some of the rooms in the
basement.</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>At the EU level, some politicians are asking brave questions that
challenge our economic model. Our Prime Ministers are in the middle of agreeing
a plan about how we recover economically from COVID-19. <STRONG>Their Green and
Just Recovery Plan for Europe is the biggest chance in generations to build a
whole new economy - one that benefits people</STRONG> by supporting small
business and job creation, accessible public transport, accessible
energy-efficient homes and cuts emissions drastically.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Last week we targeted our Prime Ministers’ meeting on Zoom, while they
were deciding how to finance the recovery plan. But the so-called “frugals” -
Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark - spoke out against solidarity at
the meeting.</BIG></P>
<CENTER>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 1em"><IMG
alt="Tweet from Xavier Bettel with 2 images attached, showing politicians at EU budget talks, EU flags in background"
src="https://www.wemove.eu/sites/wemove.eu/files/bettel-zoom.png?utm_source=civimail-31046&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200624_EN"
width=500></DIV>
<P><EM>Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, posted a tweet about EU
Prime Ministers’ recent Zoom meeting on how to finance the recovery
plan</EM></P></CENTER>
<P><BIG><STRONG>We are going to need to apply some friendly pressure on the
frugals in the months to come.</STRONG> If they continue to oppose solidarity,
then those hit hardest by the COVID crisis - the health workers, the ones who
lost their jobs, those at risk of losing their job - will not have the means to
recover from the most enormous economic shock Europe has seen in
decades.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>We won’t stand for Austerity 2.0 </STRONG>and we must make this
clear just before the next EU Summit on July 17, to make sure all of our
European governments agree to a big recovery fund.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Europe and the world need to open our basement doors. Owning up to the
failures of the past is our best chance of healing and of survival in future.
Isabel Wilkerson also said <STRONG><I>“Whatever you are ignoring is not going to
go away. Whatever you’re ignoring will be there to be reckoned with until you
reckon with it. And I think that that’s what we’re called upon to do where we
are right now.”</I> </STRONG>[2]<STRONG> </STRONG>Wise words. Let’s follow
them.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Laura, Executive Director, WeMove Europe</BIG></P>
<P> </P>
<P><SMALL>References:<BR>[1, 2]
https<SPAN>://onbeing</SPAN>.org/programs/isabel-wilkerson-this-history-is-long-this-history-is-deep/</SMALL></P>
<P> </P>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=info@wemove.eu href="mailto:info@wemove.eu">Laura Sullivan - WeMove
Europe</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 25, 2020 12:47 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Healing Europe</DIV></DIV><IMG
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