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The British writer and lawyer Philip Sands (1960), on Sunday morning, November 19, won the Tolerance in Thought and Action Award at the conclusion of the European Literature Days Festival. It is an annual award awarded by the Austrian Publishers Association since 1990, and has been distributed since 2017 at the conclusion of the Festival. European Literature Days, held every year in the Austrian city of Krems.
Fame and commitment
The jury said in its justifications for its decision that Philip Sands is undoubtedly “one of the world’s most prominent lawyers and intellectuals who renews social discourse and works for a better world.” The Commission considered that Sands, who as an author reached a large audience through many books specialized in international law, as well as through his historical and contemporary works, “proved that commitment to facts and pure thinking is not at odds with commitment to true content, but rather is more beneficial to it.”
The commission added that Sands’ works, which have been translated into several international languages, are directed at exposing crimes against humanity as well as torture and genocide, regardless of whether they occurred in the past or present. The Commission noted that “crimes against humanity in the international legal system, and thus the prosecution of individuals as well as companies or states that can be held responsible for the consequences of serious harm, show how close Philip Sands is to the spirit of the modern era.”
In his acceptance speech, Sands said he felt “embraced” and that the honor meant a lot to him “because of his special relationship with Austria.” He said, “The essence of his actions lies in the conviction that individuals and groups are endowed with rights that must be preserved, respected, and even defended.”
Sands said that he has clear ideas about the current global situation, but he does not always express them because of his work as a lawyer in international courts. He added that he believes that the level of preparedness in the world has reached its maximum limits, but he is optimistic in the long term, “even if it takes generations to achieve progress.” In this context, Sands quoted a line from the song “Anthem” by Canadian singer and writer Leonard Cohen (1934–2016): “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Donate and be brave
The author of the book “A World Without Law, America and Making and Breaking Global Rules” (published in 2005) expressed to Al Jazeera Net his happiness again at receiving the award, even though he is “not a novelist or a poet,” but rather an author of non-fiction books, and said that he will donate the award amount (10 thousand Euro) for institutions “concerned with human rights, music, those fleeing wars, and bringing Israelis and Palestinians together.”
Sands reiterated his discomfort with being seen as a Londoner, a Briton, or a Jew, as he said in a famous interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. Rather, “I am interested in being seen as an individual called Philip Sands, one of those human beings who would like to be equal one day.”
The well-known interviewer, Rosie Goldsmith, asked him about his vision of the current situation in Gaza, alluding to what happened on October 7, and what is happening until now. It is a question that surprised the large audience, especially given the state of silence in the face of criticism of Israel in the German-speaking countries (which are… Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and Belgium), but it was an important question not only for Sands as a Jew, but also as a lawyer considered an expert in international law and who appears before many international courts, such as the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the International Court for the Law of the Sea, and the European Court of Justice. The European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, and with calm and courage, Sands answered this question, which has become a terror throughout Europe, under the threat of “hatred” and “anti-Semitism.”
Sands said that he is among 8 Jewish lawyers in Britain who published their view on this matter, and it can be summarized in 3 points: The first point is the duty to condemn what Hamas did that led to “the killing and kidnapping of civilians and exposing their lives to danger and death.”
The second point is that “Israel’s reaction was brutal and cannot be justified, especially with the killing of thousands of civilians, most of whom were children, women and the sick,” and its demolition and destruction of infrastructure, “and the prevention of the basic needs for living, such as water.” “Electricity, fuel and medicine can reach those besieged in Gaza.” Sands continued, which constitutes the third point, that the Palestinians “must enjoy full rights, just like any other human being on this earth, and these rights must be protected, as we, lawyers and human rights advocates, cannot protect the rights of a party and neglect them.” rights of another party.”
Philip Sands – who has so far published 16 books on international law, biography and articles, and has been president of the British PEN Club since 2018 – is best known for his book “East West Street” (2016), a book in which he talks about genocide and crimes against humanity, and for which he received many awards. It has won awards in Britain and Europe, such as the Baillie Gifford Award (2016), the British Book Award for Non-Fiction (2017), and the Montaigne Prize (2018), and it has been translated into many international languages. Sands’s last book, published last year, was titled “The Last Colony: Crimes against Humanity in the Indian Ocean.”
Animals and humans
The European Literature Days Festival for this year 2023 opened on November 16 with a meeting that brought together the famous Austrian writer Michael Kohlmeyer (1949) and the Austrian philosopher Anne-Sophie Meinke (1979), to discuss the theme that came as the title of the entire festival, which is “Animals and Other Humans.”
Over the next two days, readings and dialogues were held by the German writer of Turkish origin, Hilal Zutskin (1970), the German poet Mara Daria Cojocaru (1980), the Dutch philosopher, singer, and publisher Eva Mayer (1980), the Slovak storyteller and novelist Michal Hortschke (1976), and the German writer, visual artist, and biologist. Sophia Kimig (1988), the French writer Sibylle Grimbert (1967), the Swiss playwright Anton Jakoud (1957), the Austrian writer and visual artist Theresa Priauer (1979), the German poet, translator and critic Jan Wagner (1971) and others.
Some of these participants recited poems and excerpts from stories and novels, some of them read part of the research, and some of them presented personal or scientific experiences, in various topics that came under broad headings such as “On living with animals, what does good mean and what does free mean?” and “The fourth insult to humanity” and “Invisible life – inhabitants of the night” and “Transformations and transmigration of souls” and “Humans, animals and landscapes.”
Regarding the importance of “animals and other humans,” and the topics emanating from it, the director of the festival, the Austrian writer Walter Grund, said that humanity has passed its peak in controlling what is around it, and during its rapid rise in the industrial age, “it forgot how to live in harmony with itself, as well as with nature.” He believes that Changing the outlook on animals could help humanity “discover itself as a brotherly part of the world,” noting that “this axis is new and something we can bet on.”
Grund told Al Jazeera Net that in recent years there has become an important literary movement “such as Anthropocene literature (the era of great human influence on Earth, approximately since the time of World War II) that includes poetry and narrative from an animal and planetary perspective.” He added that against this background, the European Literature Days Festival presented to the public, in its session, books from contemporary world literature in which animals play an important role, in addition to research books that explain how to deal with animals, and pose an important question, which is: “Should humans Is he reconsidering his relationship with her?
Returning to the Honorary Tolerance Award, it is the highest honor that the Austrian book trade can bestow, which it gives to people who have made an outstanding contribution to peaceful coexistence in Europe, through their work and commitment to tolerance towards neighbors who speak different languages and have different cultures. Previous winners of the award include German writer and orientalist Navid Kermani (1967), Bulgarian writer and translator Ilya Trojanov (1965), Bosnian writer Miljenko Jurkovic (1966), Italian writer and screenwriter Francesca Melandri (1964), and Turkish writer Elif Şafak (1971).
