We need more Solidarity in Europe!
"The European Solidarity Corps will create opportunities for young people willing to make a meaningful contribution to society and help show solidarity – something the world and our European Union needs more of. It is not the Treaties or industrial or economic interests that bind us together, but our values." Jean-Claude Juncker
The other day some people asked me 'What is your main goal in life? What really drives you?' That is a question that I have been asking myself over the past few years. I guess there are many different types of motivational expectations that guide most people through their daily lives. Some are career-oriented, sports-oriented, family-driven, love-driven, you name it... For me, I guess, it was mainly a feeling of genuine wish of learning, discovering the world and an idealisation of how Europe should be like. Of course, this was a process that was developed over time and most likely due to my adventurous experiences living and working in several countries of the European Union: Portugal, England, Germany, Poland and Belgium.
This process of discovering not only made me realize what my interests are and what type of person I am and want to be, but also that there is so much to learn from people from other cultures, races, religions and minority groups. Something you can only really achieve by listening and opening your mind in an 'understanding setting'.
The fact that I have talked to other people, experienced what they did, tried to identify myself with their issues and comprehend what they are going through everyday made me understand that every person has their daily struggles and that most of their problems are common to one another. Most people complain about others mainly out of fear, since they have never met anyone different than them, being this because of the colour of their skin, their background, their work, their gender, their status in society, their sexual orientation or their place of birth.
I am not saying I have always been fearless, I had moments of fear and perhaps the easier way out is to blame others for the unfortunate situations people have to go through sometimes, but as the japanese proverb says ' Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.'
Based on this life philosophy, when I attended the launching of the 'European Solidarity Corps' in Brussels, my first thought was 'I want to be part of this'. Particularly due to the fact that this tackles two of the most fearing settings of today's Europe: lack of understanding towards people of other cultures and youth unemployment.
As one of the first European Solidarity Corps member (thanks to CEV and Europe for Citizens), I would really like to encourage young people to show their solidarity, their values and comprehension towards other people. Instead of thinking about what makes you different, think about what makes you the same, both towards people from Europe and outside Europe, because at the end of the day, we are all 'United in Diversity'.