Message of the President of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS

By Eileen Servidio, Ph.D.
President of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS

The recent terrorist attacks in France attempted, through terror, to cripple fundamental values – tolerance, non-violence, freedom of speech – that are at the base of human rights, and at the heart of what the American Graduate School in Paris has sought to defend through its teaching and research.

We wish to express our regret and support to all the victims and their families in France. We also wish to express our support to all the victims of acts of violence in the world, those who are tortured, raped, killed by groups such as Boko Haram,
Al Qaeda, Al Shabbaab, the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’, or any other that uses terror as a method.

As I marched with demonstrators last week-end, I carried no banner, for it would have been too large:

Je suis Charlie, Je suis Musulmane, Je suis Juive, Je suis Nigériane, Je suis Congolaise, Je suis Syrienne, Je suis Palestinienne, Libanaise, Libyenne, Américaine, Française… Je suis Policier, Je suis un Homme, Je suis une Femme.

Je suis l’Humanité.

The solidarity and determination to fight terrorism that we have seen here in France, and across the world, must continue well after the attacks are no longer news.  This not only includes empowering the organs that lead this fight, but working to eliminate the deep causes of terrorism: the desperation, the exclusion, the ignorance of many who follow the calls of terrorist organizations.

As firm believers that knowledge brings tolerance, we at AGS are committed to participating in this fight through education.