Act with agency, Ctd Jean Jaurès and Charles Péguy

   

The 100-year anniversary of World War One is also a time to remember the 1914 passing of two heroic Frenchmen - Jean Jaurès (above left) and Charles Péguy (above right). Two men remembered for their commitment to truth, justice and free expression in their fight against the virus of anti-Semitism. This they did in their defence of Captain Alfred Dreyfus (the the falsely imprisoned Jew) and in defiance of public opinion, military officials and an anti-semitism that was virulently rampant in France.

At stake were the principles of the French Revolution and the fundamental rights of man, as laid out in the Declaration of the Rights of Man of August 1789. Parallels can be drawn with Northern Ireland. We are torn by sectarianism and at stake in Northern Ireland is progress.

Act with Agency, Ctd Émile Zola

"La verite est en marche et rien ne l’arretera. Qui souffre pour la verite et la justice devient auguste et sacre... Il n’est de justice que dans la verite. Il n’est de bonheur que dans la justice.”

These are the words of Émile Zola. A Frenchman known above all else for his fearless defense of Alfred Dreyus, a Jewish officer wrongly accused of being a German spy. This was known as the Dreyfus Affair. A time of virulent anti-semitism in France. A monumental episode in world history. His sharp, committed and determined epistolary campaign effected huge change - Ultimately his letter, 'J’Accuse', led to the release of Alfred Dreyfus from jail with a full exoneration.

Christopher Hitchens wrote in his book, 'Letters to a Young Contrarian' (p.4):

"The figure of Émile Zola offers encouragement, and his singular campaign for justice is one of the imperishable examples of what may be accomplished be an individual."