From 2 to 4 September, Emergency will remind us that peace is a genuinely pursuable choice, beginning with knowledge and the practice of human rights.
Still, in 2022, we choose war — that is, we accept the suffering of civilian victims, we deny human rights, we invest in weapons rather than education, healthcare, and work. That is why Emergency wants to reaffirm its firm no to armed conflict during the second edition of the Festival di Emergency, scheduled from 2 to 4 September 2022 in Reggio Emilia. Three days devoted to meetings and debates on the theme of "La scelta" — the worst choice one can make, that of war. Or the best: not making it. Because another way is possible, as the NGO's founder, Gino Strada, who since 1994 has provided the best possible care for civilian victims of conflict, maintained: "It is not a question of missing resources, but of choices that are not made. The moment has come to decide what priorities we set for ourselves as a society: people's lives or war? Health, free education, dignified work and protection, or hunger and suffering for many? It is not too late to move in a more just direction."
Writers, scientists, philosophers, journalists and voices from the contemporary world commit, together with Emergency's representatives, to reflecting — and prompting festival participants and society as a whole to reflect — on the reasons that lead us even today to take up arms. All events are free and can be booked here.
The first event we highlight at the festival is a photography exhibition. The communicative power of images is, in fact, enormous — especially when it comes to war. Imagine the power of photographs taken by a photographer who was himself an innocent victim of conflict. In 2011, while working in Afghanistan, Giles Duley was seriously injured by an explosive device and suffered a triple amputation. "That day I lost a great deal, but that experience also allowed me to gain an understanding of war's wounded that few storytellers possess. I was literally in the shoes of those I wanted to tell the world about. From the moment I regained consciousness in the intensive care unit in April 2011, I had a single thought: back to Afghanistan to photograph civilian casualties like myself."
Simply No more war is the title chosen for the photography exhibition organised by Emergency as part of its festival, which opens on 2 September and will then be open to visitors until 25 September. The exhibition begins with photographs taken by the photographer in Kabul at Emergency's surgical centre for war victims, shortly before the Taliban took the city, and then continues with works by other artists. Duley will also be the protagonist of a talk on Sunday 4 September at the festival, during which he will bear witness to the failure of twenty years of Western intervention in Afghanistan and of every foreign policy founded on violence.
Three days to discuss how to avoid war. For our picks from the extensive programme in Reggio Emilia, we begin on Friday at 6:00 pm with a dialogue between Marco Tarquinio, editor of Avvenire; Donatella Di Cesare, philosopher and writer; Mauro Biani, satirical cartoonist; and Edith Bruck, writer and poet (joining remotely): are there conflicts with no alternatives? Are there truly inevitable wars? War appears inevitable to those who have never done anything to prevent it, to those who have never chosen to take the courageous path of protecting human rights.
Also of particular interest is another dialogue on Friday at 7:30 pm, which aims to explore the costs of war for the planet and for humanity. Speaking on the subject will be Malaika Vaz, National Geographic explorer and filmmaker; Natalie Bennett, member of the House of Lords and former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales; Giovanni Mori, Fridays For Future activist and energy engineer; with a video contribution from Omar-Dario Cardona, professor and winner of the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction.
On Saturday at 5:00 pm, Giuliano Battiston, journalist; Laura Silvia Battaglia, reporter; and Francesca Mannocchi, journalist and writer, moderated by Riccardo Iacona, reporter, author and presenter of Presa Diretta on Rai 3, will recount contemporary wars and the difficult task of giving voice to the victims. A video contribution by photographer Farshad Usyan will also be screened. On Saturday evening at 9:30 pm, the show at Teatro Valli with Daniele Silvestri and Stefano Fresi to remember Gino Strada.
Sunday morning, from 7:30 to 10:00 am, an urban traverse of Reggio Emilia to begin the final day of the Emergency Festival in a spirit of calm and reflection.