Friday , 29 March 2024

Spanish Prime Minister Quotes Persian Poet in Inspirational Speech to His Nation About Coronavirus

kodoom.com – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose own spouse is infected with coronavirus, while announcing the extension of coronavirus-related quarantine in this country, quoted verses of the renowned Iranian poet Saadi in order to inspire unity, solidarity and empathy among people in these difficult circumstances: “The strength of society comes from being able to count on each other. According to Persian poet Saadi, All human beings are part of the same body.”

“This is exactly the situation in the world today, where all people must face the current coronavirus crisis as a single body,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez is referring to the first line of the Bani Adam (meaning “Children of Adam” in Persian) poem by renowned 13th century Iranian philosopher poet Saadi of Shiraz. The humanitarian poem, inscribed on a large hand-made carpet on the wall of a meeting room in the United Nations building in New York, was also quoted by former U.S. President Barack Obama in a videotaped message to Iranians to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on 20 March 2009.

This is part of the poem in English: “All human beings are limbs of the same body. God created them from the same essence. If one part of the body suffers pain, then the whole body is affected. If you are indifferent to this pain, you cannot be called a human being.”

Officially, the total number of people infected with the coronavirus in Spain stands at 136,675, and the death toll at 13,341. The objective of quarantines is to maintain a daily rate of increase in infections to below 6% to avoid crisis in hospitals.

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