Ernst Bromeis - rüffer&rub visionär / Every Drop Counts

Ernst Bromeis

EVERY DROP COUNTS

Swimming for the right to water

For those who thirst for life

The author and the publisher wish to express their

thanks for the generous support provided by

Elisabeth Jenny-Stiftung

E-Book-Version 1.0

All rights reserved Copyright © 2016 by rüffer & rub Sachbuchverlag GmbH, Zürich

ISBN E-book: 978-3-906304-21-2

Design E-Book: Clara Cendrós

The E-Book is based on the book (Brochure)

First edition Autumn 2016

All rights reserved Copyright © 2016 by rüffer & rub Sachbuchverlag GmbH, Zürich

ISBN Book: 978-3-906304-23-6

info@ruefferundrub.ch | www.ruefferundrub.ch

Preface [by Anne Rüffer]

Prologue

“You are naive” — a passion is born

No blue blood, but a “blue miracle”

“Would I swim in pools, I wouldn’t go on swimming expeditions”

Why does water need our protection?

“Nobody is waiting with bated breath for your project, Ernst”

From fresh to salt water — the expeditions

Il miracul blau — Grischun 2008

Le miracle bleu – Suisse 2010

Das blaue Wunder – Rhein 2012

Het blauwe wonder – Rijn 2014

Il miracolo blu – Milano 2015

The ambassador’s double standard

The dream of a World Water Center

Let’s change the world

Epilogue

Appendix

Annotations

Photographs: credits

Thanks

Biography of the author

Preface

December 2, 2015, Geneva. SRO (standing room only) in the city’s Auditorium Ivan Pictet. Thronging it is a group of distinguished persons. They have come to honor the four winners of this year’s Alternative Nobel Prizes. The auditorium’s building bears the name “Maison de la Paix”—“home of peace”. Rarely has the name of the venue for an event so closely accorded with its thrust. The event is kicked off by two speakers: Barbara Hendricks, who is Germany’s minister of the environment, and Michael Møller, who is Director-General at the UN in Geneva. The event’s title is “On the front lines and in the courtrooms: forging human security”.

The discussion following the two speeches is conducted by the four winners. Suddenly, one of them, Dr. Gino Strada, makes a statement of electrifying import. He states: “The UN was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its purpose was and is to liberate following generations from being hostages of unceasing warfare. Since that day, the world has experienced more than 170 armed conflicts. And you have never broached the subject of how to abolish warfare? Come on guys, this is incredible!” The audience responds with embarrassed laughter and incredulous amazement.

Gino Strada knows all too well what he is talking about. In 1994, he founded “Emergency”. This NGO provides medical treatment—often supplied at clinics built by Emergency itself—in regions roiled by conflict, and, as well, development assistance to victims of warfare. Of them, 10% are soldiers themselves—with the remaining 90% being civilians. Strada ends his statement with “You can call me a Utopian if you like. But remember, everything appears to be a Utopia until someone realizes it.”

“I have a dream.” Made by Dr. Martin Luther King, this statement is probably the one the most often quoted over the last few decades. That’s because Dr. King’s dream of a world in which justice prevails is shared by so many people. Some of them—more than we are probably aware of and yet not enough by far—have devoted themselves to employing their guts, their hearts and their minds to making this dream come true. Along with Dr. King and Gino Strada, other well-known “dreamers” include Mother Teresa and Jody Williams. Calling them “Utopians” is actually anything but an insult. Each great advance recorded by humanity started out as a Utopian idea, a hope, a vision.

This book is the second in our new series of “rüffer&rub visionaries”. We have a very clear objective in launching it. These books are going to fan the sparks emanating from the ideas and hopes propagated by these visionaries into bonfires of dedication and endeavor. The heart of each book is the author’s very personal look at her or his—highly-important— scientific, cultural or societal topic.

Each author will tell—in simple, inspiring words—how she or he got involved with this topic, and how she or he started looking for answers to its questions that made sense, for solutions dealing with its problems. These books will tell you what it means to commit yourself to a cause, to live your commitment every day, to develop and implement a vision for its realization. These visions are highly variegated—political, scientific or spiritual—in nature. All of them share their visionaries’ yearning for a better world—and their willingness to put their hearts and souls into realizing them.

All of these visions and all of the activities undertaken to make them come true share something else in common: the deep-rooted conviction that we can positively shape our future, that we can restore the health of the planet on which we all live. Another strong conviction adhered to by all of us: we are convinced that each and every one of us is capable of undertaking the steps required to make each of us part of the solution, and not of the problem.

Anne Rüffer, publisher

Prologue

It is raining outside the church. Its bells are tolling in mourning. Someone has died and is being buried this afternoon. The mourners are arriving to commemorate the person’s life and times.

The bells then fall silent for a short period of time. Then the organ booms. It launches into the prelude. We have now the space and time of several hours to remember what we shared with the deceased, to reflect on our own lives. There comes a time in everyone’s life in which it becomes clear that our time on earth is limited, and that this time is being shared with a circle of people.

The church’s benches provide an ideal place to sit and consider the question of whether your life is passing you by, like a river does an observer, or whether you yourself are riding on and guiding your river of life.

The deceased’s biography is recounted by the pastor presiding over the funeral service. The most important moments are mentioned—birth, childhood, adolescence, marriage, children and grandchildren. The pastor provides a brief overview of the deceased’s career, relationships and hobbies. This accounting is interspersed with anecdotes. All this gives rise to a flood of memories and images on the part of the people attending the service.

One thing that this recounting could have well included were the deceased’s dreams for his life. The reason for their omission is that the deceased, like most of us, refrained from telling the world what he really needed to achieve in his life, and how he had planned on attaining this. This refraining is not surprising. Most of us have, after all, a hard time admitting even to ourselves what we really yearn for, let alone telling this to others.