"Firmly United"

I was thinking of important events that unite the world. In the past, the only thing that came to my mind was the world cup. You know... “It’s the world cup!” But then you have stories like this, of tragedy and miracles, and you feel really touched to see that all human beings being so distant and close at the same time.

Some weeks ago 30 miners were rescued after having been trapped for 70 days three hundred metres underground. Every channel and TV programme around the world followed the extraordinary rescue, man by man. And when the last miner exited the depths of the mine, everyone was moved as every miner himself was. Since then, they have become a source of inspiration: they have proved the value of faith, the value of commitment, the value of teamwork.

And this has not been the only case when the entire world felt and showed compassion for others. Many other tragic events have helped develop gestures of goodwill throughout history: massive earthquakes that have struck entire cities, or floods that have left thousands of families homeless, heavy storms, tornadoes... and wars. Did you know that the “League of Nations” was created at the end of the First World War to ensure that war would never break again? Then, we can assure that human beings only react after extreme situations. Why never preventing them?


Before having 33 miners trapped underground, people did not care if they were working in bad conditions or even running the risk of getting trapped. There was no source of inspiration in their faith or their commitment or in their teamwork. And there was no world united, but for the World Cup.