Didillon makes pilgrimage against female genital mutilation - contributions for ai

Christophe Didillon (35) plans to make a 500-mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The painter pickes out a very serious theme as motive for his pilgrimage; a theme, which concerns everybody in society. The main object of his pilgrimage is the collection of altogether 1 Million US-$ in charities for amnesty international (ai) and its fight for the rights of cultural und religious suppressed women in the Third World and elsewhere. This “donation pilgrimage” is the way for the idealistic artist to protest against all forms of suppressing, torturing, mutilating and murdering of

courageous women and girls, which fight for their human right of equality and freedom, because all these cruelties against women still happen in our today-world, frequently in Third World countries, where men and society in the names of religion, tradition and wrong senses of honour discriminate against women.

Didillon uses clear words for the motives of his idealism: “I am deeply worried! When I bear in my mind all the brutality against women and realize the hypocritical “justification” of their violators, is my sense of justice so deeply pained and hurt that I am on the verge of tears. I can’t really stand out it, and there is no other way for me than to say it in very plain-spoken words: ALL men which suppress by force women in the exercise of their human right of equality are a shame for the human race. Moreover, these men offend and disgrace with their philosophy of life and their way of acting their own mothers, which once bore them and gifted them life. Whatever may be the backgrounds of their degrading behaviour, not even social, religious or cultural reasons can be able to deliver an ethical justification for this. To free the suppressed women and to oppose and defeat their violators is one of the duties of our civilisation, and so it’s the duty of all of us, to do our contributions, because we hardly can live in a world which is worthy of being called “civilized”, as long as there aren’t equal rights for women in the whole world.”

Doubtless it will have a long way full of stones, before there will be equal rights for the women in the whole world in reality. Fortunately there is ai fighting for the rights of women. Didillon asks all people, which receive information about his pilgrimage, to spend a contribution directly to amnesty international (amnesty-in-bewegung.de), at least a small one. What do you think now? Maybe “These efforts are to no purpose, because there will be changed nothing!”, or “The world can’t be changed!”? Stopp, please don’t forget. These “excuses” don’t count. We have to do our duty. Everybody can do something, even if there is not much he or she can do. No matter how small it is, every contribution counts and will enlarge the power of amnesty international to do its job in the world. Last but not least I ask you to tell your friends about my “donation pilgrimage”. Thank you…