Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

10 O viedo | C ampoamor T heatre | his triumphs and, above all, for the perseverance and strength he has shown. Thank you maestro, and not just for being a golfing maestro. The Spanish Organization for the Blind, once, has received the Award for Concord. This recognition has thrilled the people of Spain, as once not only has a long track record of efficacy and work well done in our country, but also the respect and affection of our society. They like to sum up all their efforts in a single word: hope. Hope which has led this unique, ground-breaking organization to serve as a model of social inclusion for dozens of countries, giving rise to initiatives and formulas for the integration of people with disabilities in over 25 states in America, Africa and the European Union. To name just one of the many possible examples, let us recall that many thousands of children with severe visual impairment can now receive an education thanks to once’s educational projects in Latin America. This is but a mere fraction of the work once and its foundations carry out and the goals they continue to achieve. Exceptional work, solidly built up over 75 years with great effort, love and always… hope. Ladies and Gentlemen, At the end of July last, a district of Santiago de Compostela, Angrois, gave all the people of Spain a lesson in courage and solidarity; one of great humanity. No sooner had that terrible train accident occurred, its residents immediately went down to the railway lines to save lives; to help the injured and assist the emergency services; to comfort the relatives of the casualties. Some days later, the Princess and I were deeply moved upon hearing their story: with a heavy heart, they described their ordeal in detail and humbly acknowledged to us that they had only done their duty as human beings and as citizens. I am convinced that any village or town in Spain would have acted in the same way as Angrois in equally tragic circumstances… examples abound. However, this in no way diminishes the great merit of their attitude and the exemplary value of their actions. I have commenced this final part of my speech with the example of this small Galician village as a reference, as a stimulus to address the pessimism, frustration and mistrust that affect many Spaniards today. It is not hard —and I say this with humility— to understand and respect the feelings and reasoning that motivate this frame of mind in each individual. However, we cannot remain indifferent or do nothing; we must react. Today is a day that I would therefore like to encourage us all —and I know it is not easy— to overcome that mindset. We need the efforts and collaboration of all… but what we really need is to restore the hope and confidence that underlies any successful endeavour, whether individual or collective, as in the many successes we have achieved in the recent decades of our history. At the end of my speech last year, I stated that we needed to promote a collective consciousness that valued all that is positive in us, that recognizes our capabilities and strengths and enhances our self-esteem. Without doubt, Spain boasts great material assets with which to face our difficulties. However, we often forget that the most solid asset —the asset of greatest value we possess— is precisely our people, Spanish society as a whole, a society which is demonstrating that this is so through its behaviour during these truly difficult years. The men and women of Spain have faced adversity with great courage and have shown a capacity for sacrifice beyond question. Many Spaniards, millions in fact, struggle every day to get by with honesty, effort, courage and humility; they are the ones that truly make Spain a great nation, one that is worth living in and loving, and one worth fighting for. Spanish society is thus once again providing an example of maturity, responsibility and civic awareness that it is only right and proper to recognize in the highest degree. We are not, however, in the Spain that saddened Unamuno; in the country which, as he said, “each lives alone amidst others”. Solidarity is very present. So many Spaniards are devoting a “Many Spaniards, millions in fact, struggle every day to get by with honesty, effort, courage and humility.” 25 th O ctober 2013