Placing humanity at the heart of politics

On December 11, 2024, I read a newspaper article in the NRC about Mazen al-Hamada, the refugee who had lived in Hillegom and was found dead in a Syrian prison after the fall of Assad. 

I kept looking at his face. 

I wrote a post about it on LinkedIn, just some words that came from my heart. 
I wrote about a dream and asked people for help. 
The post went viral. You can read it here.  
I was overwhelmed by messages from all kinds of people – many of whom I didn’t know – who spontaneously offered their help.  

Apparently, I struck a chord. The time is ripe for something: to place humanity at the heart of politics – beyond the categories of left-right-center, beyond ambitions, judgments, and systems. Because in this world full of change and unrest, human suffering is everywhere, and it doesn't care about left or right. That’s what we need to see again, in the other who sometimes seems so different. This is how we build human solidarity and a resilient society, something we will desperately need in the time ahead.  

In the coming period, I will, together with others, explore how we can make this dream a reality.