A story by Aldo Kempen
"... it brings forth a kind of duality."
Berlin, 27th of April, 2017
A present for my father
I heard about the Flag of Compassion for the first time in a course ‘Art in Public Space’ which I was following at the University of Amsterdam.
What appeals to me in the Flag is that it brings forth a kind of duality. Flags are usually about exclusion, creating a sense of the other. The Flag of Compassion is turning this around; compassion is about eliminating this contradiction. Instead of outlining borders, the Flag is abolishing them.
The Flag is a gift for my father who turned sixty. During special events he often raises the Dutch flag, but now that Europe and the Netherlands are increasingly becoming a fortress, and exclude refugees, I think it would be a nice gesture to raise the Flag of Compassion instead (which is my condition in giving the Flag).
Aldo Kempen
