September 1, 2012

Rainy night inBudapest. The cloudy and cold morning brings thoughts about the rally and flashmob scheduled for the night in the center of the city. However, for the 12,000 young people, that moment is still far.

10:30 a.m. The program starts at SportAréna. The speeches, songs, choreography, in a variety of sounds, colors and movements, go through the metaphor of building a bridge. “Let’s bridge”, many times used as a greeting, gets a different depth.

Calculating is the first step. There are conflicts, as Bassem from Egypt tells in the experience made after the events at Tahrir Square. There is social exclusion, highlighted by the experience that Plinio, from Brazil, lived. There is context of violence which calls revenge… or possible choices to let it go. It is necessary to think a lot before deciding to face the problematical current situations.

Getting your hands dirty, digging the mud is the next step. The youths from Thailand can say it literally when they tell the experience of helping the flood victim from their own country. There, the message is the commitment in first person, meeting the situations of need, in which frequently the future of other people is involved. Then, Ricardo from Chile, on stage, and the youths from Indonesia and Sweden, through video connection, tell their experiences as well.

Building the columns. At this point it is spoken about foundation. It is the moment to remember Chiara Lubich’s experience, through a theatrical monologue and the synthesis of her speech at ONU. The message is clear: to choose God, who is Love and lead to love. He and the neighbors. The golden rule, in the Christian Scriptures, says: “Do unto others as you would have them to do you”. However, even with different nuance, the holy texts of other big religions say the same. It is confirmed by the experiences told by the young people from India, Christians and Hindu, a young couple from Switzerland, and last, but not least, Nacho’s experience, an Argentine youth who decided to leave a promising career as a soccer player to choose to live full time for the others. Courageous choices, often against the tide, always bring us of fulness of life.

The morning is closed with the Time-out, a minute of silence and pray for the peace. The metaphor of building a bridge continues after lunch.

Updated on 1 September 2012

UF – BF

Information Service Focolare – SIF