Today we Germans remember with joy and gratitude our national unity, which we regained on Oct. 3, 1990.
On that day, our nation’s decades of division came to an end. Our joy is dimmed, however, with the memory of a day 50 years ago, a day which literally cemented the division of Germany for 28 years: on Aug. 13, 1961 work began on the construction of the Berlin Wall. Countless people suffered as a consequence, both directly at the Wall and within the borders of the SED’s totalitarian state.
The Day of German Unity is a fit time to remember this fateful event. We bow our heads before the men and women who lost their lives at the time when inhumane borders divided our country and our continent. And we rejoice in the unity in freedom we Germans attained 21 years ago — with the help of farsighted politicians, particularly Mikhail Gorbachev, George Bush and Helmut Kohl, but above all thanks to the courageous and determined citizens of the GDR and other states in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Berlin Wall was the concrete symbol of a regime’s fear of its own people. In the years preceding 1989, there were many who had simply come to accept this fear, to accept the division of Germany and Europe, to accept the situation in the world. In the end, however, freedom was invincible. The Wall did not fall: It was knocked down. Ultimately the might of the few is no match for the desire of the many for freedom. That was true back then of the countries east of the Iron Curtain, and it is true today in the Arab world and everywhere in the world where the universal desire for freedom, democracy and human rights is taking hold.
Germany and Europe overcame their division. This success imposes on us the obligation to resolutely tackle the challenges of an increasingly multipolar world.
These include ensuring respect for human rights, but also issues relating to international security, development and the environment. The famine in the Horn of Africa is a shocking reminder that climate change and the lack of food security can endanger world peace. And the continuing repercussions of the economic and financial crisis make it clear just how important international cooperation is.
In order to solve these and other global problems we need effective international institutions and universally accepted rules. The United Nations provides the framework for these. Our aim must be to adapt and modernize its agencies and procedures in a flexible manner.
If we Germans want to continue to play a successful part in solving global problems, we will have to act together with our European neighbors and partners. We will only be able to do this, however, if we keep alive the enthusiasm for European integration.
The historic reconciliation that followed the World War II was a tremendous achievement for Europe. The integration of our continent involves large and small countries equally. Solidarity is a key aspect of the European ideal. At the same time, each individual state bears responsibility for the whole.
That is why, when it comes to the debt crisis in individual member states, each country must initially take the necessary measures to ensure stability-oriented policy itself. European solidarity requires that states do everything in their power to tackle indebtedness. It also requires that the necessary structural reforms be implemented. Only in this way can the burdens of the crisis be fairly distributed. Only in this way will the principle of solidarity find lasting support.
At the same time, Europe is and will remain the guarantor of peace, freedom and prosperity. Serious but manageable crises cannot be allowed to endanger the project. For the European Union, with more than 500 million citizens, can achieve a great deal. This is a huge opportunity for us Germans. Europe has to be worth every effort to us. That is why our goal must be to grow along with the major challenges of our age.
Unlike in the days before the fall of the Wall, all Germans now have the freedom to play their part. That is what matters. Our future is in our own hands.
Source : Arab News, Oct 2, 2011 23:58