REMEMBERING HAVEL

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out” ~ Václav Havel

Havel passed away on December 18, 2011. The Czech Republic held three official days of mourning and a funeral, which was attended by no less than forty-two heads of state and dignitaries. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State and friend to Havel, said, “I think his legacy will be that here was a person who felt so deeply about freedom and democracy and respect for human beings,” in an interview with PBS Newshour following his death. U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement published in the New York Times after Havel’s passing stating, “(Václav Havel’s) peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon.” At a memorial tribute to honor Havel in Washington, the Dalai Lama said, “President Havel himself impressed me as being utterly free of pretense and on the many occasions that we met over the years, he remained a true champion of human rights and freedom everywhere.”    
Photo © Tomki Němec
Portugal, December 14, 1990 - Cabo da Roca.