My version of the graduation speech-"the greatest problems humanity is facing today and what solutions can you suggest?"

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I won’t pretend I am in the position to judge you, because I like you and like the entire almost western world belong to the rich minority of the planet. We are all responsible for the foggy and uncertain future that awaits. Maybe it is not the generation graduating today that is to blame for the condition of the earth, concerning both the environment and the people, but we definitely have lived a part of our lives in the same way the people before us did, thus perpetuating the problems. If you feel guilt free, on the bases that you don’t manage one of the pollution-producing multi million corporations all over the world, you ought to reconsider. Every action we all took tonight, ladies and gentlemen, before we came here makes us partly responsible for the main problems humanity is facing. Let me follow the course of events: few hours, or many, before you came here you started getting ready. You took a shower probably long, 10-20 minutes. Then, you dried your hair with a hairdryer without using a towel first. You went upstairs, maybe, and got dressed, and with the exception of those of us wearing the black gown, most of the rest wore clothes that although were designed in Italy or France were made in China or Taiwan. To make a long story short, the majority of us came here driving a car whose parts were made in the most unprivileged places in the world and emits gases that are detrimental for the environment.

Each one of these steps was yet another hit on the health of the planet and its people, another alibi for the governments all over the planet not to break the vicious circle of inequality.

What are the charges?

The water you used to have your long shower was more than the amount an average family drinks in Africa in a day maybe even a week. What is more the water you, we so freely use is not going to be available to us for ever. The source of all life is not going to be enough to go around. One day we are going to get seriously thirsty and that day is not very far away, think of Australia where the people have already started to look for ways to make sea water drinkable, think of Greece where this year areas such as Thessalia and the island will face droughts and irrigation anomalies. And above all think of Africa and Asia where girls of 6 years and up don’t go to school so they have the time to go every morning searching for 4 to 8 hours for water to bring home. This is their reality, now, today and ours tomorrow.

Further more, the fact that you didn’t towel dry your hair had as a result the misuse of an amount of energy that may not seem so little if you consider that are energy resources are running out rapidly. Burning coal and petrol to produce electricity is both harmful for the environment and based on a finite source!

But most importantly energy resources along with the lack of water are becoming a current reason for yet another world war.

So far so bad, but, why is it an issue that your clothes or your car even though German, French or Italian are made in Taiwan and China?

The globalization of trade and the abolition of the trade barriers between countries may have resulted in the growth of the global economy but it has also caused so much harm to the people, the individuals, and the local communities. Large multibillion making corporations once employing people all over the developed world now have moved their facilities to parts of the world where labor is humiliatingly cheap and there is no such thing as workers rights. The working conditions are poor and the age group of the employees varies from 5 and 6 years old and up. Child labor is highly popular in those parts of the world, for example in Guatemala children shine shoes, make bricks, cut cane and mop floors, they sew, sort and chop often in conditions that violate even Guatemala’s loose labor laws.

In the way we allow these companies to work they enhance unfair competition between smaller and larger companies thus dominating the world economy and politics and at the same time benefiting from the misfortune of the disenfranchised. Even worse, the workers subject to this exploitation can’t react for they don’t have the education or the ability to demand more because of their great need.

To add to that, this unfair treatment and the huge gap that is still growing between the wealthy and the poor is the first event in a chain reaction that only ends with western world bursting into the flames of racism. I am talking about immigration, more specifically about the multiplying illegal aliens arriving everyday in all the developed countries!

“These people are getting our jobs”, “they rob our homes”, “they are criminals” are the most common accusations, but even if you are not a person to say or to believe all this it doesn’t mean either that you may not somehow be a racist yourself or that the problem is not growing!

It is hypocritical to say the least to suspect people of being criminals just because they are poor while being also responsible for that poverty.

It is unacceptable to judge people in terms of their nationality.

It is inhumane to blame violence on them solely or deal with them using violence.

Ladies and gentlemen, we ALL are guilty of being hypocrites, of thinking unacceptably and of behaving in an inhumane way! If you are thinking that this long list of accusations never ends, I am afraid that this is true. Sadly what is also true is that when we all go home tonight driving our CO2 emitting car we probably will have yet another long shower and this course of events more or less will repeat itself again and again.

The solution is not to walk to work, well if you can do so, or eat less or not take showers at all!

To be honest there is no magical solution otherwise it would have been put into effect.

However, if I may hope that tonight we all changed a bit for the better, we can all try to change a few things in our way of life.

We can recycle paper, plastic and glass; treat Hussein and Ivan with the respect they deserve and turn off the lights in the middle of the day and when we are not home. We can contribute with money, clothes and food to the work of international organizations such as UNICEF and AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL that help the less fortunate. Give a lift to the neighbor or to the colleague in the morning so one instead of two cars emit CO2. Take any given chance to put pressure upon our government and the governments of the world to take measures to prevent the ongoing inequality and to protect the environment. Change slowly the mentality so maybe when this generation graduating today there will be some change after all.

Thank you.