„PAŽNJA JE NAJREĐI I NAJČISTIJI OBLIK VELIKODUŠNOSTI“ – SIMONE VEIL

Malo Srba zna za ime Simon Veil. Gotovo svaki Francuz će vam sa velikim poštovanjem govoriti o njoj kao simbolu hrabrosti i beskompromisnom humanisti. Sve ono što danas predstavlja moderna francuska žena je na neki način njena zasluga kao i to što svaki Evropljanin ljubomorno čuva i diči se zajedništvom i postignućima Unije.

„Bili smo uvereni da se, ako pobednici iz 1945. ne uspeju da postignu brzo i potpuno pomirenje sa Nemačkom, rane Evrope koja je već bila razapeta između Istoka i Zapada nikada neće zaceliti, a svet će tada biti na putu za još jedan sukob koji bi još razorniji od prethodnih.“ Bile su reči Simone Veil , žene koja je preživela Aušvic, bila francuska ministarka zdravlja, borila se za prava žena pomažući legalizaciju abortusa, bila pionir u francuskoj vladi, zatvorskoj upravi i pravosudnom sistemu i prva je žena predsednica Evropskog parlamenta.

Posle preživljenog rata i Holokausta, bilo joj je teško da razume kako bi jedna evropska država mogla ponovo da ratuje, zato je bila posvećena cilju za koji će se zalagati do kraja života, ujedinjenju Evrope.

Pored velih uspeha koje je ostvarila, njen život je bio pun borbe i patnje

Simon Veil je rođena u Nici 13. jula 1927. godine u jevrejskoj porodici poreklom iz oblasti Lorene. Živela je i školovala se u Nici gde je završila srednju školu. Samo dva dana nakon toga Nemci su je uhapsili i deportovali je sa jednom od njenih sestara i majkom u Aušvic-Birkenau i Bergen-Belzen. Samo sestre su preživele koncentracione logore i oslobođene su januara 1945. Sestra, Deniz Veil, koja je ušla u francuski Pokret otpora na početku rata, uhapšena je i deportovana u Ravensbruk kao član pokreta, a ne kao Jevrejka.

Posle rata, Simon Veil je bila angažovana u francuskoj vladi, kao ministarka zdravlja tokom predsedavanja Valerija Žiskara d’Estena. Tada je uspešno predstavila i argumentovala zakon koji dekriminalizuje abortus u Francuskoj.

Danas, 48 godina nakon njenog obraćanja Parlamentu možemo da sagledamo značaj njene borbe i hrabrosti u njenom tada strastvenom obraćanju: “Izvinjavam se što sam to uradila pred ovom skupštinom sastavljenom skoro isključivo od muškaraca. Nijedna žena ne pribegava abortusu bezbrižno.“

Bila je to borba koja joj je donela žestoku kritiku ekstremne desnice. Najgnusnije primedbe su čak upoređivale legalizaciju abortusa sa holokaustom. Anonimni napadi uključivali su kukaste krstove naslikane na njenom automobilu i liftu u njenoj zgradi i pisma koja su njenu porodicu uznemiravala. Otprilike u isto vreme, Parlament je takođe glasao za zabranu laboratorijskih eksperimenata na životinjama u komercijalne svrhe. Tokom debate o tom pitanju, pojedini članovi su otvoreno uporedili ono što su nazvali genocidom nad životinjama sa „genocidom“ beba i genocidom u Aušvicu. Najgori komentar koji je zapamtila iz tog vremena bio je onaj koji je dao Žan-Mari Daje, član Parlamenta, koji je pitao da li bi pristala na ideju da se embrioni bacaju u peći krematorijuma. Međutim, u isto vreme, i u godinama posle toga, mnogi drugi su joj odali počast, prilazili joj čak i na ulici da joj zahvale i kažu joj da nikada neće biti zaboravljena za sve što je uradila. Tokom svojih javnih obraćanja posebno je navodila primer muškarca koji joj je prišao u prodavnici blizu njene kuće i rekao da „njen” zakon takođe znači veliki napredak za muškarce.

Brojni su veliki doprinosi Veilove francuskom društvu

Dok je radila u Ministarstvu pravde, pri kojem je bila Nacionalna zatvorska uprava, otkrila je da su, iako zatvorenice nisu pravile značajne disciplinske probleme, uslovi njihovog zatvaranja bili vrlo rigidni. Tako je, tokom svog mandata na toj poziciji, radila na poboljšanju njihovog tretmana i uspela da pregrupiše zatvorenice Alžira i omogući im da nastave obrazovanje. Godine 1964. postala je direktorka civilnih poslova i to je pozicija koja joj je omogućila da ima direktan uticaj na opšta prava i status francuskih žena. Među njenim dostignućima na ovoj funkciji su dvojna roditeljska kontrola porodičnih pravnih stvari, prava samohranih majki i njihove dece u slučajevima kada je otac neidentifikovan, i prava na usvajanje za žene. Takođe se pri Ministarstvu zdravlja borila za okončanje različitih oblika diskriminacije žena. Nastojala je na druge načine da pomogne ženama da brinu o svojim porodicama.Tako je, na primer, uspela da proširi zdravstveno osiguranje, mesečne stipendije za negu dece, porodiljske naknade itd.

Napustila je Ministarstvo zdravlja 1979. da bi se kandidovala na prvim evropskim parlamentarnim izborima sa direktnim pravom glasa i postala prva žena predsednica Evropskog parlamenta. Nakon toga je obavljala brojne odgovorne poslove vrlo uspešno i bila je vrlo ponosna zbog toga što je pionir u toliko stvari, ali posebnu važnost je pridavala tome da je, kao neko ko je preživeo Holokaust, predsedavala Evropskim parlamentom.

U svom prvom govoru pred ovim telom osvrnula se i na prošlost koja je uništila njenu porodicu i skoro uništila Evropu: “ Ovo je prvi put u istoriji, istoriji u kojoj smo tako često bili podeljeni, suprotstavljeni jedni drugima, okrenuti međusobnom uništavanju, da su ljudi Evrope zajedno izabrali svoje delegate na zajedničkoj skupštini koja danas u ovoj Komori predstavlja više od 260 miliona ljudi.“

Danas, više od 40 godina od njenog obraćanja Evropskom parlamentu, kada pogledamo Evropu, možemo da zaključimo da su dojučerašnji neprijatelji sada najjači stubovi Evropske unije, koja je, kako je rekla Simon Veil, velika podrška demokratiji širom sveta.

U novembru 2008. Veil je izabrana u Francusku akademiju i bila je tek šesta žena koja se pridružila „Besmrtnicima“. Godine 2012. odlikovana je Velikim krstom Legije časti. Simon Veil je preminula 30. juna 2017. godine. Odluka da se njeni posmrtni ostaci sahrane u Panteon doneta je u rekordnom roku, ona je peta žena koja je tamo sahranjena, smeštena je u isti deo kripte kao i drugi veliki branioci slobode (Žan Mulen, Andre Malro, Rene Kasin i Žan Mone).

Ana Aleksić

November 27, 2022

„ATTENTION IS THE RAREST AND PUREST FORM OF GENEROSITY“ – SIMONE VEIL

Few Serbs know the name Simone Veil. Almost every French person will speak of her with great respect, as a symbol of courage and an uncompromising humanitarian. Much of what modern French women represent today is, in some way, her contribution, just as every European proudly cherishes the unity and achievements of the Union.

„We were convinced that if the victors of 1945 failed to achieve swift and complete reconciliation with Germany, the wounds of Europe, already torn between East and West, would never heal, and the world would be on the path to another conflict, even more devastating than the previous ones.“ These were the words of Simone Veil, a woman who survived Auschwitz, served as France’s Minister of Health, fought for women’s rights by helping to legalize abortion, was a pioneer in the French government, prison administration, and judicial system, and was the first female president of the European Parliament.

After surviving the war and the Holocaust, it was hard for her to understand how a European country could go to war again, which is why she was dedicated to the goal of uniting Europe, a mission she pursued until the end of her life.

Despite her great successes, her life was full of struggle and suffering.

Simone Veil was born in Nice on July 13, 1927, into a Jewish family originally from the Lorraine region. She lived and was educated in Nice, where she finished high school. Just two days after graduation, the Germans arrested her and deported her, along with one of her sisters and her mother, to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen. Only the sisters survived the concentration camps, and they were liberated in January 1945. Her sister, Denise Veil, who joined the French Resistance at the beginning of the war, was arrested and deported to Ravensbrück as a member of the resistance, not as a Jew.

After the war, Simone Veil was active in the French government as the Minister of Health during the presidency of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. She successfully presented and argued for the law that decriminalized abortion in France.

Today, 48 years after her address to the Parliament, we can see the significance of her struggle and courage in her passionate speech at the time: “I apologize for doing this before an assembly composed almost entirely of men. No woman resorts to abortion carelessly.”

It was a battle that brought her fierce criticism from the far right. The most vile comments even compared the legalization of abortion to the Holocaust. Anonymous attacks included swastikas painted on her car and the elevator in her building, as well as letters that disturbed her family. Around the same time, the Parliament also voted to ban laboratory experiments on animals for commercial purposes. During the debate on this issue, some members openly compared what they called the genocide of animals to the „genocide“ of babies and the genocide at Auschwitz. The worst comment she remembered from that time was made by Jean-Marie Daillet, a member of Parliament, who asked if she would agree to the idea of throwing embryos into the crematorium ovens. However, at the same time, and in the years that followed, many others honored her, approached her even on the street to thank her and tell her that she would never be forgotten for all she had done. During her public addresses, she particularly mentioned the example of a man who approached her in a store near her home and said that „her“ law also meant great progress for men.

Simone Veil’s numerous contributions to French society are significant.

While working in the Ministry of Justice, which included the National Prison Administration, she discovered that, although female prisoners did not cause significant disciplinary problems, their detention conditions were very rigid. Thus, during her tenure in that position, she worked to improve their treatment and managed to regroup Algerian female prisoners and enable them to continue their education. In 1964, she became the Director of Civil Affairs, a position that allowed her to have a direct impact on the general rights and status of French women. Among her achievements in this role were dual parental control over family legal matters, rights for single mothers and their children in cases where the father was unidentified, and adoption rights for women. While in the Ministry of Health, she also fought to end various forms of discrimination against women, striving to help women care for their families in other ways. For example, she managed to expand health insurance, monthly child care allowances, maternity benefits, etc.

She left the Ministry of Health in 1979 to run in the first European parliamentary elections with direct voting rights, becoming the first female president of the European Parliament. After that, she held numerous responsible positions very successfully and was very proud of being a pioneer in so many things, but she placed special importance on the fact that, as a Holocaust survivor, she presided over the European Parliament.

In her first speech before this body, she reflected on the past that had destroyed her family and nearly destroyed Europe: „This is the first time in history, a history in which we have so often been divided, opposed to each other, bent on mutual destruction, that the people of Europe have chosen their delegates together in a common assembly representing more than 260 million people in this Chamber today.“

Today, more than 40 years after her address to the European Parliament, when we look at Europe, we can conclude that former enemies are now the strongest pillars of the European Union, which, as Simone Veil said, is a great support for democracy worldwide.

In November 2008, Veil was elected to the French Academy, becoming only the sixth woman to join the „Immortals.“ In 2012, she was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. Simone Veil passed away on June 30, 2017. The decision to bury her remains in the Pantheon was made in record time; she is the fifth woman to be buried there, placed in the same section of the crypt as other great defenders of freedom (Jean Moulin, André Malraux, René Cassin, and Jean Monnet).