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Eksciante kion diri 1
 Getting to know you Getting to know all about you Getting to like you Getting to hope you like me Getting to know you Putting it my way But nicely You are precisely My cup of tea Getting to know you Getting to feel free and easy When I am with you Getting to know what to say. (Dubbed by Marni Nixon) 3 Remember this? "The King and I"? Came out in 1956. If you do remember then chances are you, too, are an old fogey. Likely not as old as I am, 92, but well on your way. Maybe you, too, ramble a lot. 4 We are now deep into the Covid-19 pandemic, pushed climate change onto some backburner of the mind. Just like that. No integrated thinking that spans climate change, pandemics, livelihood. Nor education, nuclear threats, social Darwinism, governance. How about a thought about understanding our fellow man—really getting to know him? 5 Social Darwinism? That is, Wkipedia tells us, "the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage intervention and reform." 6 Not many years ago, a Canadian senator proudly proclaimed the superiority of his class. It's in the Hansard somewhere. But even today our senators are not known for mingling with the hoi polloi. They should, I believe, but ... ah well. 7 I watched a movie the other day. "Sergio," recently released by Netflix. Sergio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian career diplomat employed by the United Nations and tasked to resolve humanitarian and political issues. I like to report on three interrelated episodes from that film. But first some background, about East Timor. 8 Timor is an island divided in two halves. The western half is part of Indonesia, the other side is the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The eastern part used to be a Portugese colony from the middle of the 17th century until it declared its independence in 1975. Then, within weeks, it was invaded by Indonesian forces and another struggle for independence began which lasted for more than two decades at a cost of 100,000-plus lives; perhaps close to double that. In 1999, following a United Nations resolution, a peacemaking taskforce was deployed to end the violence and Sergio became East-Timor's UN transitional administrator. 9 Quoting Wikipedia: "The languages of East Timor include both Austronesian and Papuan languages .... The lingua franca and national language of East Timor is Tetum, an Austronesian language influenced by Portuguese, with which it has equal status as an official language." 10 Back to the movie now. The first of those three episodes: Sergio is having a conversation with an elderly native lady: Next episode: Sergio wishes to convey a demand by an East-Timorese leader to Indonesian's president, Abdurrahman Wahid, and known as Gus Dur. Having requested a meeting: Episode 3: Carolina Larriera, Sergio's girlfriend: And heard, I presume. Understood. "... stay forever on my soil, on my land." What about mother tongue? Hers was and remained Portuguese or sort of. But for most aboriginal peoples around the globe such is a rare instance. 15 I understand that in Canada many indigenous land claims are still to be worked out, as are issues of industrial pollution, water quality, and natural resources. As for indigenous languages, after a long period of hard-bitten suppression, policy made an 180 degree turn to encourage the florishing of native tongues—about seventy in our country. 16 But still, if the peoples of our First Nations, the Metis, and the Innuits were given, instead of wranglig with politicians, a real chance to tell fellow Canadians what they want, I don't think they would be understood. Come to think of it, how well are French Canadians understood by their compatriots? Or English Canadians, for that matter? Do we really want to know? Can we really make an effort? Will English-French bilingualism really fill the bill? All of the bill? 17 About our senators, here are some words quoting John A Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister after Confederation: "Springing from the people, and one of them, he takes his seat in the council with all the sympathies and feelings of a man of the people, and when he returns home at the end of a session, he mingles with them on equal terms and is influenced by the same feelings and associations, and events, as those which affect the mass around him." He said it. Whether he meant it is something else. Especially when it comes to those whose ancestors inhabited this land before any European had set foot here. He was a bit of a racist, wasn't he? 18 This is 2020, too late to turn history around. But not too late for our leaders to try to embrace all the sympathies and feelings of our peoples; to mingle with them on equal terms and be influenced by the same feelings and associations, and events, as those which affect the mass around him—or her. This is one of the issues I covered in some detail years ago in "On guard in a global environment,," an essay about modernizing our Canadian Senate, 19  The United Nations declared 2019 "The Year of Indigenous Languages" to raise awareness of the everyday lives of those who speak them; and for their contribution to the world's cultural diversity. I am not sure how many grains of salt we should sprinkle on those lofty words, but a good thing is that the issue has been highlighted on postage stamps issued by a number of countries. 20 Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) was a leader who, going against prevailing political winds, kept on striving for conciliation. A Sunni Muslim himself, he expressed the view that "All religions insist on peace. From this we might think that the religious struggle for peace is simple ... but it is not. The deep problem is that people use religion wrongly in pursuit of victory and triumph. This sad fact then leads to conflict with people who have different beliefs." 21 Interviewed on an Australian TV program, he felt that fellow Muslims need to review their stance toward Israel: "Israel believes in God. While we have a diplomatic relationship and recognizing diplomatically China and Russia, which are atheist states, then it's strange that we don't acknowledge Israel. This is the thing that we have to correct within Islam." (Source.) 22 Belostok was a multi-ethnic city in Russia, rife with quarrels and hatred. A common language, it seemed to a teenager, Zamenhof, would be a bridge to mutual understanding and harmony. He grew up with Yiddish and Russian, and spoke Polish as well. He learned German and French from his father, a language teacher, and since then studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramic. In 1887, while an ophtalmology student at the University of Warsaw, he published an international language designed to serve as an ethnical-neutral auxiliary language. We know it as Esperanto. 23  In 1905, Esperantists organized the first World Esperanto Congress during which it was established that the Esperanto movement is exclusively a linguistic movement and that no further meaning can ever be ascribed to it. Shown here is one of numerous postage stamps issued on the occasion of subsequent annual such gatherings. This one was held in Antwerp, in 1982. Two years later, Vancouver became a host city. Montreal was slated to host a congress this year, but because of the Convid-19 pandemic the event has been rescheduled for 2022. Better luck next time! 24 Even though Esperanto has become a living language, it is relatively easy to learn—emphasize relatively—mostly bcause of a simple, consistent grammar. It has been said that budding Espirantists can make their way within three months, but it will take ongoing practice and polishing to become fluent. 25 Zamenhof perceived Esperanto as permitting artistic expression as well as being useful for worldwide commerce. 25
Modern technology facilitates the trend toward employees working from home. Moreover, that home may well be far away from an employer's premises. This opens an opportunity for employers to attract desired talent from around the globe. A common use of Esperanto as an international, socially neutral language may well become widely regarded as a desirable objective. Hence, it is reasonable to expect that Esperanto will receive a place of pride, if not from necessity, in curricula across the globe. Eventually. Eventually. 28 And if nothing else, learning Esperanto may well make a fertile passtime during a next global lockdown. Why not give it a thought? 29 * * *
I began work on this little rhapsody about five weeks ago, work that includes getting some insight in Esperanto. As I mentioned, it has been said that it takes three months to learn it sufficientictly well to make practical use of it. That plus continuing practice to become fluent. Obviously, I am not an Esperantist by a long shot. 30 I am following a course available from the Internet, Lernu. It presents an entertaining story line, about a physics student who together with one of his future selves travels by time machine (tempo-maŝino) two centuries into the future and back again. He then begins the study of Esperanto and three months later participates in the 1982 Esperanto congress in Antwerp. I found some of the grammatical explanations a bit tiresome to follow and for that reason scouted about for some additional study material. David Richardson's "Esperanto"—Kindle edition, $3.99 CAD—filled the bill for me. And as one might expect, there is an abundance of reading material available on the internet. 31 Eksciante vin
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