Thursday, December 24, 2020
That is our heartfelt wish for all of our members, partners and readers of our newsletter. It is what we need as 2020 is finally ending. We all look back on a very difficult year in which too many people lost a loved one due to the corona crisis. Moreover, our economies have suffered and far too many people have become jobless and even destitute due to this crisis. And this is the reality in Europe. Outside Europe this crisis has had even more serious consequences, many of which we are only notionally aware of. The joblessness, misery, hunger and desperation have increased the pre-existing crises in several regions in the world. In addition, we have this year become more aware of the malign and outright inhuman acts of authoritarian regimes in this world such as Turkey, Iran, Russia and China. The oppression of freedom in Hong-Kong, the mass-enslavement and genocide against the Uighur people, the ongoing persecution of the Kurds, Syriac-Assyrians and Yazidi's in Turkey, Iraq and Syria are all examples of this reality resulting from authoritarian regimes. Neither should we forget the mass arrests of opposition in Belarus. This all happened of was put in the spotlight this year. One may wonder how we can speak about Merry Christmas under these circumstances. The answer is clearly not in the (mostly cancelled) Christmas festivities. There is however an answer in the essence of Christmas as described in the Gospel of John 1:1-5: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was with God in the beginning. 3. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There has been a lot of darkness this year and there is still more in the time ahead. But Christmas means that this darkness is not the ultimate and only reality and that it cannot triumph over the world. With that in mind we can see that Christmas is also a call to push back against the darkness by reflecting the light of Christmas in all what we (imperfectly) try to do. The 'Lux' in Sallux means 'light'. Our purpose is therefore clear. We aim to continue to reflect that light in our way and together with you by pushing for alternative approaches that put human dignity and relationships first and as basis for our economy and society. To do this better we used this year to start with organizing our work in four policy streams (Christian Politics, Economy & Geopolitics, Future of the EU and Life & Ethics) and we will roll out our new approach and all project leaders will work together in that regard. We thank them for their willingness to make this effort. Moreover, new publications on key topics (such as Al & Policy Making and a Christian inspired approach to Environment & Family) will be out early next year. One way to fulfill this mission is to shine a light on the darkness that is happening and to push for policies that may help to change a situation. The Azeri/Turkish invasion in Nagorno-Karabach has once more clarified the malign intentions and human rights abuses by the current Turkish government. As this was one more destructive move through Turkey's foreign policy we wrote a publication that summarizes the situation and recommends a clear policy that can be implemented by Parliaments. This publication titled 'European Security, Turkish Foreign Policy and Article 5 of the NATO Treaty' is now available as a free download at our website and you can download it here. We were only able to carry on in 2020 thanks to the cooperation with our members and partners and we thank all of them for their efforts and support in this year. They worked often under extraordinary circumstances and it is amazing that they nevertheless were able to adjust and continue our common projects. Last but certainly not least we thank our Board who has been essential for our work and their efforts and involvement have been a tremendous encouragement. At the Sallux Special General Members Assembly of December 18 we thanked Karin Heepen and Silviu Rogobete for their great work over the last years and we welcomed Valentina Rovinalti, Ralf Pikenbrock and Petru Bulica as new Board Members. From us as staff a heartfelt thank for the departing and incoming Sallux Board Members! These efforts of members, partners and Board Members are a mirror of what we have seen everywhere in this dark year. So many people who did not give up in doing the right thing, did reach out to fellow human beings, stood up against oppression and gave help to those in need in whatever way. It is all evidence that the light has not gone out and that the message of Christmas gives hope for the new year as the light of Christ shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. With sincere Christian greetings, Johannes de Jong