The Letter to Friends Around the World is not simply a collection of testimonies. It is received as an encounter with voices that too often go unheard. Yet these voices carry within them a remarkable strength, capable of transforming the way we see the world and the commitments we choose to make.
Throughout these pages, the violence of extreme poverty reveals itself in all its harshness. It strikes Madagascar in the wake of cyclones; it weaves its way through the lives of women heading single-parent households in Haiti; it finds expression in the courageous words shared in Caen. Yet each time, at the very heart of these realities, something endures, something holds firm. Children continue to dream despite fear. Women create new paths towards independence. Men and women, despite contempt and countless obstacles, refuse to remain silent.
These voices do not simply ask to be heard; they call on us not to remain trapped in indifference. They compel us to recognise that extreme poverty is not inevitable, but a form of violence produced by our societies. They urge us to understand that fighting poverty also means building peace. Such peace is not merely the absence of war; it is rooted in the dignity of every human being, in inner security, and in the possibility of living free from fear and humiliation. As this edition of The Letter invites us to reflect, daring to choose peace begins by building it wherever it is absent.
These voices also point us towards a way forward. In Bulle, Switzerland, citizens come together to create a space where those most excluded by extreme poverty can speak out and be recognised. In Haiti, practical initiatives are enabling women to strengthen their capacity to act and, step by step, break the cycle of extreme poverty. Everywhere, people are committing themselves – often away from the spotlight – so that others may regain their footing. These commitments matter. They are already changing the world.
This Letter is therefore also an invitation to join this patient and determined movement that refuses to accept that anyone should be condemned to live in extreme poverty. For nothing will be achieved without the chain of solidarity that binds us together.
The world is being shaped today, alongside those whose voices, far from being fragile, are perhaps the most essential of all in guiding us forward.
Chantal Consolini Thiébaud, Joëlle Girard and Daniel Marineau,
International Leadership Team of the International Movement ATD Fourth World