THE FAIRY PLEA OF VILENICA (Address by the President of the Slovene Writers’ Association at the Closing Ceremony of Vilenica 2025)

I beg you, ladies and gentlemen of war, of armament, of shooting, of killing, I beg you, killers of children, of the elderly, of the sick, of all the innocent and powerless, I beg you, destroyers of schools, hospitals, homes, culture, of historical truth, I implore you, enemies of books and of art, tell us—for what, for whom, in whose name do you inflict upon this planet bloody wounds, terror, devastation, destruction? For whom and why do you bury beneath the rubble humankind, civilization, life itself? I beg you, tell us why you lie and defile democracy, freedom, friendship, why you lie, why you slice into pieces the tender heart of humanity with the sharp knives of violence?

And you, Europe, can you still boast of your millennial creative legacy? Of nobility? Of inclusion? Of diplomacy? You are silent. Sick and powerless. You turn your face away, unashamed of indifference and hollow words, not knowing anymore what you are, and the gaze of the future, cast back on this time, will mark you with shame and guilt.

Modern cynics and peddlers of smoke, fleeting rulers of fleeting power, do you dare to lift your eyes to Vilenica, to the idea and the grounder of true freedom, progress, friendship, to Vilenica as proof of the reality of peaceful encounter, of the convergence of differences, of the word, of justice. Lift your eyes to Vilenica and reflect on your deeds, if you are still capable of thinking, if you still hold a grain of humanity within you. Vilenica is the voice of good people, of language, of closeness, it is beauty, breadth, love, it is the pulse of our consciences. Vilenica—the heart of art, which alone still offers possibility and the human within it. All that you lack in your heart and mind, Vilenica possesses. Let it be your example. And for us, with its powerful force of testimony, the perspective of realizable hope—that the light of a new dawn of humanity will prevail over the night of hatred and violence.

Marij Čuk
President of the Slovene Writers’ Association