Commemorations and Anniversaries

September 11 brought with it a series of commemorations. In the same week, Beirut hosted a few activities in remembrance of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. A few days after that, it was time to commemorate the assassination of a president, and on and on … It suddenly felt that we only gathered to support each other in solemn occasions, to share grief or pain, to keep a sad slice of history alive in honour of those who perished.

I’ve decided that what we should be doing is recognizing and celebrating anniversaries of positive life effects, of events that saved lives and promoted humanity. Events that changed our world and our lives for the better, forever. Here are some real and imaginary events that come to mind, and for each, I call for a global day of tribute and celebration (if some of these already exist, they’re clearly not global enough, so let’s push them forward, people!):

- Discovering penicillin
- Eradicating polio
- Conquering childhood malnutrition
- Finding a sustainable solution to homelessness
- Giving women and youth the right to vote
- Shutting down the last manufacturer of weapons, arms and mines
- Celebrating the treatment of the last polluted water source
- Eliminating the word ‘discrimination’ from the dictionaries, because it no longer means anything
- Returning to the point where we see “number of people dead” as a crime and a tragedy, regardless of who, how, where, how many and why.
- …

Every time I come back to the list, I add something else on. I’ll leave it here for now, but feel free to add a few of your own…