On St. Patrick's day in 1938, a baby was born on a Trans-Siberian train near Irkutsk. The baby's mother was travelling to the Russian port of Vladivostock where her husband was stationed as a political commissar in the Red Army. Raised as the only son of a Tatar family in the village of Ufa in the Bashkir region, the boy was taken to a performance of a new Bashkir ballet entitled "Crane Song". The ballet itself is not well known today but it had a dramatic impact on the little boy taken to see it.
From that first exposure to live ballet, the young Rudolf Nureyev knew what he would be doing with the rest of his life. With perhaps the exception of Nijinsky, it would be difficult to cite a more important or influential figure in twentieth century dance. He displayed a precocious style which in due course took him first to the Bolshoi and then to the Kirov. His subsequent achievements were many and British fans still savour his legendary partnership with the late Dame Margot Fonteyn at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. But it is interesting to consider how he came to be working at the Royal Ballet in the first place.
As a Soviet citizen at the height of the Communist era, Nureyev was a key part of Soviet efforts to showcase their artistic supremacy in the West. As such, Nureyev was chosen for the Kirov Ballet tour of Europe against the better judgement of the KGB who were concerned about his rebellious attitude and non-conformist attitude. Sensing a potential defection, the KGB tried twice to persuade him to return to the Soviet Union; the first on the pretext that he was requested to perform a special performance at the Kremlin and the second on the claim that his mother was ill. He was convinced by neither and on this day in 1961, their worst fears were confirmed when he made a dash for asylum in Paris famously shouting, "I want to be free!".
It is an age old refrain uttered by refugees, prisoners and the oppressed throughout history. It is a simple statement of human need. The defection of Nureyev occasioned great embarrassment on the Soviet regime and they responded with regrettable spite. They refused several requests to return home and visit his mother until she was dying in 1989. That his how power works. When your authority is questioned or ignored, revenge must be sought in retribution.
This week will stand as a low water mark for humanity as a series of events have served to remind us of just how desensitised parts of society have become to basic humanity. As I write this piece, Britain finds itself in a maelstrom of emotion as people wake to the news of the alleged murder of the MP Jo Cox. Although the finer details of what happened yesterday will be verified in due course, we can't ignore the gravity of what happened. In the absence of more information, we are given to believe that an elected public representative has had her life taken away from her by somebody who disagrees with her views. That is chilling. If everyone who disagreed with my views felt empowered to take my life, I would have been long since deceased. The converse applies. What is so badly missing here is tolerance. We don't have to agree with the views, faith or opinions of another but at the very least, we must still be respectful no matter how hard that can sometimes be. When I first heard the news of Jo Cox, it made me feel ashamed of the society we have created. If I am to feel proud of it in the future, I have a role to play in that with all of my fellow citizens. Nobody is exempt from basic responsibility for their words and deeds.
While the news yesterday was understandably dominated by the atrocious killing of Jo Cox, other stories also appeared which made me feel very uncomfortable. It was widely reported in the media that England football fans had been mocking migrant children. While the "fans" drank their beer in Lille, they found a new past-time by casually chucking coins on the floor and witness migrant children fighting over them. If my brother or my son or my friend was in any of those photos, you may rest assured that I would have plenty to say to them. When I first saw this story, it made me wonder why anybody in Europe would even want us to be part of the European Union. With such public displays of appalling behaviour, I was once more made to feel ashamed of a society of which I am a part. If that is what supporting a football team entails, count me out.
The Americans are soon to be faced with choosing between their first woman President or Donald Trump. Although Hilary Clinton is far from perfect, she is positively angelic when compared to the monstrous extremism of Trump. A ban on all Muslims from entering the country is frankly childish as is his vow to have a wall built between Mexico and the US. My generation lived through the days of Berlin Wall and I always thought that we had since seen the light. Berlin moved on, Belfast moved on, Beirut moved on and then came Trump. History is festooned with people like him and their legacies are predictably grotesque. As a reminder of what happens when the extremists attain power, a 94 year old man has today been given a five year prison sentence for his part in the murder of 170,000 people at the Auschwitz concentration camp between 1942 and 1944. Let us never forget where that path leads us.
Jo Cox famously campaigned for the rights of children just like the ones in Lille. Children! These poor kids are on the streets of places like Lille for no other reason than their lives were in danger back home. I wonder if it would have been more acceptable to those beer swilling idiots if they just stayed at home in places like Syria to be bombed, shot, murdered or raped? Words fail me. I was listening to refugees being interviewed this week and the vast majority would prefer to go back home were it not for the obvious threat to their lives. Would any of us object to such frank honesty? Like Rudolph Nureyev in 1961 these children just want to enjoy the freedom which we have all too often become guilty of taking for granted. Jo Cox for her part will be rightly remembered for the admirable part she played in seeking to address these issues. Credit to her for standing up for the oppressed and having the courage of her convictions. Although we can sadly never bring her back, let's all play our part in carrying the torch of humanity which shone so brightly in her hands. Britain first? No! Humanity first, second and last wherever you may be.
From that first exposure to live ballet, the young Rudolf Nureyev knew what he would be doing with the rest of his life. With perhaps the exception of Nijinsky, it would be difficult to cite a more important or influential figure in twentieth century dance. He displayed a precocious style which in due course took him first to the Bolshoi and then to the Kirov. His subsequent achievements were many and British fans still savour his legendary partnership with the late Dame Margot Fonteyn at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. But it is interesting to consider how he came to be working at the Royal Ballet in the first place.
As a Soviet citizen at the height of the Communist era, Nureyev was a key part of Soviet efforts to showcase their artistic supremacy in the West. As such, Nureyev was chosen for the Kirov Ballet tour of Europe against the better judgement of the KGB who were concerned about his rebellious attitude and non-conformist attitude. Sensing a potential defection, the KGB tried twice to persuade him to return to the Soviet Union; the first on the pretext that he was requested to perform a special performance at the Kremlin and the second on the claim that his mother was ill. He was convinced by neither and on this day in 1961, their worst fears were confirmed when he made a dash for asylum in Paris famously shouting, "I want to be free!".
It is an age old refrain uttered by refugees, prisoners and the oppressed throughout history. It is a simple statement of human need. The defection of Nureyev occasioned great embarrassment on the Soviet regime and they responded with regrettable spite. They refused several requests to return home and visit his mother until she was dying in 1989. That his how power works. When your authority is questioned or ignored, revenge must be sought in retribution.
This week will stand as a low water mark for humanity as a series of events have served to remind us of just how desensitised parts of society have become to basic humanity. As I write this piece, Britain finds itself in a maelstrom of emotion as people wake to the news of the alleged murder of the MP Jo Cox. Although the finer details of what happened yesterday will be verified in due course, we can't ignore the gravity of what happened. In the absence of more information, we are given to believe that an elected public representative has had her life taken away from her by somebody who disagrees with her views. That is chilling. If everyone who disagreed with my views felt empowered to take my life, I would have been long since deceased. The converse applies. What is so badly missing here is tolerance. We don't have to agree with the views, faith or opinions of another but at the very least, we must still be respectful no matter how hard that can sometimes be. When I first heard the news of Jo Cox, it made me feel ashamed of the society we have created. If I am to feel proud of it in the future, I have a role to play in that with all of my fellow citizens. Nobody is exempt from basic responsibility for their words and deeds.
While the news yesterday was understandably dominated by the atrocious killing of Jo Cox, other stories also appeared which made me feel very uncomfortable. It was widely reported in the media that England football fans had been mocking migrant children. While the "fans" drank their beer in Lille, they found a new past-time by casually chucking coins on the floor and witness migrant children fighting over them. If my brother or my son or my friend was in any of those photos, you may rest assured that I would have plenty to say to them. When I first saw this story, it made me wonder why anybody in Europe would even want us to be part of the European Union. With such public displays of appalling behaviour, I was once more made to feel ashamed of a society of which I am a part. If that is what supporting a football team entails, count me out.
The Americans are soon to be faced with choosing between their first woman President or Donald Trump. Although Hilary Clinton is far from perfect, she is positively angelic when compared to the monstrous extremism of Trump. A ban on all Muslims from entering the country is frankly childish as is his vow to have a wall built between Mexico and the US. My generation lived through the days of Berlin Wall and I always thought that we had since seen the light. Berlin moved on, Belfast moved on, Beirut moved on and then came Trump. History is festooned with people like him and their legacies are predictably grotesque. As a reminder of what happens when the extremists attain power, a 94 year old man has today been given a five year prison sentence for his part in the murder of 170,000 people at the Auschwitz concentration camp between 1942 and 1944. Let us never forget where that path leads us.
Jo Cox famously campaigned for the rights of children just like the ones in Lille. Children! These poor kids are on the streets of places like Lille for no other reason than their lives were in danger back home. I wonder if it would have been more acceptable to those beer swilling idiots if they just stayed at home in places like Syria to be bombed, shot, murdered or raped? Words fail me. I was listening to refugees being interviewed this week and the vast majority would prefer to go back home were it not for the obvious threat to their lives. Would any of us object to such frank honesty? Like Rudolph Nureyev in 1961 these children just want to enjoy the freedom which we have all too often become guilty of taking for granted. Jo Cox for her part will be rightly remembered for the admirable part she played in seeking to address these issues. Credit to her for standing up for the oppressed and having the courage of her convictions. Although we can sadly never bring her back, let's all play our part in carrying the torch of humanity which shone so brightly in her hands. Britain first? No! Humanity first, second and last wherever you may be.
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