Remembering Havel: Nine years after his passing

"Politicians at international forums may reiterate a thousand times that the basis of the new world order must be universal respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as this imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of Being, the miracle of the universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our own existence." - Vaclav Havel, Independence Hall, July 4, 1994

Nine years ago on December 18, 2011 Václav Havel passed away. Victims of repression the world over were heartbroken because they had lost a steadfast friend.

Nine years later Forum 2000 remains a living legacy that gathers together politicians, victims of repression, human rights defenders, artists and intellectuals to focus on particular problems threatening the world today and seeking solutions. 

There is also a tradition that continues to be observed that celebrates Vaclav Havel's humor and sense of the absurd that is called the "Short Trousers for Vaclav Havel" initiative. 

Havel continues to be held in high esteem by free Cubans who remember his 2004 message to the Cuban people and his unfinished 2003 dialogue with Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas. In December 2016, FIU’s Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy unveiled a documentary that explored this friendship between these two human rights icons.

Nine years later and the example and writings of Vaclav Havel live on and serve as an example to democrats and friends of freedom everywhere.