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Silo
Punta de Vacas
05-4-1999

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Here we are again!

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Here we are together in this celebration,

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some of us the same friends

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present since the very beginning 
of our project,

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along with others who have joined 
us more recently

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in this difficult task of humanizing

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a world which, moving in a direction 
opposite to our aspirations,

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is becoming more dehumanized 
with each passing day.

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First, out of consideration for those present 
who may lack sufficient information

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about our works and ideas,

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we believe it only fair to develop 
some points which,

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though greatly oversimplified, can give
them an overview of the events

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that gave origin to this current 
of thought and action,

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which was expressed publicly for the first time

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in this same desolate spot,

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exactly thirty years ago today.

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It was during the decade of the sixties.

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The barbarism of the second world war
having long since passed,

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in some parts of the world a great process 
of economic reconstruction

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and social reorganization was underway...

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Yet

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military conflicts continued,

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hunger and inequality spread 
across vast latitudes,

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and humanity’s capacity for mass 
destruction grew unchecked.

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The world had become polarized

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between two blocs, with each side preaching

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the doctrine that the arms race was a vital
deterrent to the aggression of its opponent...

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Thus

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the globe was divided between ideologies,

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both of which were in a position to act

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as instruments of domination

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but neither of which was in a condition 
to understand

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the historical moment in which they 
found themselves,

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much less to understand the process 
toward which events were carrying them.

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The crisis of civilization which began 
in those years was not an

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original phenomenon, however,

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it was simply the continuation 
and exacerbation

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of the same factors that had 
contributed to generating

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those previous monstrosities 
and global catastrophes.

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It was in that climate of general malaise

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that the phenomena of the youth 
movement of the sixties erupted.

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And in the midst of this a small group

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arose in these latitudes

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and began to spread to other places 
that were increasingly distant.

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This was a group which could not 
express itself freely

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where it began, because by this time 
dictatorships had already begun to appear.

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When the militant activity of this 
group’s members

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brought them to the need to communicate their 
proposals to more numerous groups of people,

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a conflict was unleashed

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which eventually led to the imprisonment 
and deportation

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of so many young people, whom we would 
like to remember on this occasion

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courageous young people from 
Chile and Argentina

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who carried forward this emerging 
movement in exile.

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We also wish to remember in a special way

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the first members in Spain,

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Italy, and the U.S.

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who welcomed with a spirit of solidarity 
the exiles of those times.

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Many of these old friends, united by so many

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shared experiences, are here with us today...

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to all of them, our warmest greetings.

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But let’s go on with our story.

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By the 70s

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an organization known as

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The Community for Human Development 
had begun to form...

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this was a social and cultural group

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which, with the passing of the years

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would come to be recognized 
by the United Nations.

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During those years, more precise doctrinary 
parameters were defined

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and the characteristics of this new type 
of movement were established

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so that it could no longer be confused with 
the spontaneous kinds of groups

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that had already entered a situation of 
decline and disintegration.

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Starting with The Community for 
Human Development,

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whose logo is a triangle within a circle,

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a wide range of cultural clubs, 
neighborhood associations,

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and base organizations began to appear.

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In this way the Humanist Movement 
gradually took shape,

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until today it continues to spread 
through numerous expressions

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ranging from literacy campaigns

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in the Caribbean and Africa

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to public health initiatives

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in which doctors, paramedics, 
and volunteers work

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under serious limitations but with great spirit

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in various parts of the world.

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This Humanist Movement,

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which is so diversified in its social 
and cultural activities,

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has also given rise to political parties

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which began to form in the 80s.

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By the 90s,

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this movement had attained full 
conceptual maturity,

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defining itself as Universalist Humanism

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or New Humanism,

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and differentiating itself clearly 
from the old humanisms,

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with which it has neither organic 
nor ideological relationships.

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In this year, the movement is 
preparing to carry out

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a complete evaluation of everything 
that has been done

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from its first steps,

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with the intention of defining its strategy 
for the century to come.

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To complete our picture, we can say

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that what ultimately defines this movement

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is not a certain political action,

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or social action, or cultural activity

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it is a set of ideas and a style of behavior.

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In simplest form, we can express the 
most general proposals of this 
movement by saying that

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first, it advocates placing the human being

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as the central value and concern,

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with nothing above the human being

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and no human being above any other.

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Secondly,

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this movement affirms the equality of all people,

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and therefore works to go beyond

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the mere formality of equal rights before the law,

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to advance toward a world in which there 
is true equality of opportunity for all.

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Thirdly, it recognizes personal 
and cultural diversity,

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and therefore affirms the characteristics 
of all peoples

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condemning all discrimination based on

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economic, racial, ethnic, 
and cultural differences.

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Fourth, it encourages any tendency that 
develops knowledge

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beyond the limitations imposed on thought

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by prejudices accepted as absolute 
or immutable truths.

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Fifth: it affirms the freedom of ideas and beliefs.

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And finally, it rejects all forms of violence,

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understanding that physical violence is 
not the only such expression,

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but that in addition, economic violence, 
racial violence,

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religious violence, as well as moral and 
psychological violence,

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are daily practices which have become deeply 
entrenched in every region of the planet.

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These proposals – considering the human 
being as the central value,

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affirming equality of opportunities for all,

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recognizing diversity and opposing 
all discrimination,

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promoting freedom of thought,

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and struggling against violence in all its forms

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characterize our thought and our action 
in their most general aspects.

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At the same time, these proposals come 
to configure a style of life

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and a way of relating to others embodying 
the highest of moral values, which can 
be expressed in this way:

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“Treat others as you want them to treat you!”

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Finally

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we must point out that, in order to carry 
forward the above proposals,

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a hallmark of our behavior is participation
in all fields of human endeavor.

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For our movement, beyond being 
a recommendation,

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the act of participating in cultural, social, 
and political arenas

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with the greatest energy and tenacity 
of which we are capable

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becomes a vital need in these critical 
times we are living through.

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The argument that everything is in the hands

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of an infinitely powerful and violent system,

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that success belongs to the 
corrupt and the incompetent,

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instead of being grounds for acceptance

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of our condition as subjugated 
and humiliated beings,

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must be transformed into a fundamental 
stimulus to change the state of public affairs.

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At the same time, we also place emphasis on 
the dimension of the strictly personal

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and interpersonal

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which, though inscribed within a social context,

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constitute the nucleus of our existence.

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Personal relationships, which today have 
deteriorated to such an extreme degree,

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reveal the growth of a callous violence

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in which the importance of you and the 
solidarity of we are fast disappearing,

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and from which the individual, thrown into 
isolation and dizzying confusion,

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no longer finds any way out.

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We must reaffirm in this field

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that all human beings have the 
right to ask themselves

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about the meaning of life, about love, 
about friendship...

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about all those things that make up the poetry

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and the greatness of human existence,

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and which that stupid and 
small materialist culture

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attempts to denigrate, dragging everything 
toward antivalues and disintegration.

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And in this situation that we are living in,

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we recognize the provisional triumph 
of the culture of antihumanism,

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and we declare the failure of our ideals, 
which have not been realized.

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But the triumphant of today cannot be 
assured of their future,

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because a new spirituality

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is beginning to express itself all over the world.

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This spirituality is not the 
spirituality of superstition,

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it is not the spirituality of intolerance,

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it is not the spirituality of dogma,

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it is not the spirituality of religious violence,

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it is not the ponderous spirituality of 
ancient tablets or worn out values

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it is a spirituality that has awakened 
from its profound sleep

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to once again nourish human beings 
in their best aspirations.

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If today we must declare our failure,

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we must also announce a new 
civilization that is being born:

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the first planetary civilization in human history.

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And therefore, the crises that now beset us

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and are still to come 
in the near future will serve,

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despite their misfortunes,

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to surpass this final stage 
of human prehistory...

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and each person will know whether or 
not they decide to accompany this change;

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and each person will comprehend 
whether or not they seek

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a profound renewal in their own life.

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On the occasion of this 30th anniversary 
we are celebrating,

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I want to send my warmest regards

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to the hundreds of thousands of our 
friends throughout the world,

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and at the same time to convey 
my fraternal greetings

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to all those here with us today.

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For all of you, Peace, Force and Joy!

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Also for you; Peace, Force and Joy