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fellow citizens, simply for being women, to a veritable prison of degrading ancestral customs. In spite
of these misfortunes, these women have shown us that it is possible to live with dignity, amid the worst
circumstances, and that it is possible to “breech the walls of deprivation, persecution, and hatred”.
Yet these women are also fighting against our indifference; the indifference of educated and
prosperous countries that are momentarily moved by images of cruelty, which they hardly find
time to discuss in their daily conversations. Let this Award also be an incentive and a stimulus that
leads us away from this indifference.
The Prince of Asturias Award for Concord has been bestowed this year on four champions of
the eradication of poverty: the missionary bishop Monsignor Nicolás Castellanos; the voluntary
aid worker Vicente Ferrer; Dr Joaquín Sanz-Gadea; and the economist Muhammad Yunus.
They all share a single, unmistakable vocation, which they develop on several fronts: the fields
of religion, health, education, social work, agriculture, urban planning and assistance. Through
their kindness and good example, these men try to create a new world out of virtually nothing.
A world that revolves around a single concept: that of individual human dignity, which must
daily and irrevocably accompany each person, their families, their work, and their small group or
community. This is the field that our Laureates have sown with their life’s work, and where they
have obtained excellent fruits that contradict many of our world’s deep-seated prejudices.
Our Laureates invite us to continue believing in the noblest values of humanity, because, as one
of them has pointed out, without unity among persons, without shared passion —that is to say,
without compassion— humanity would have no reason to exist.
The dispossessed of father Castellanos’ urban areas, Vicente Ferrer’s peasants, Sanz-Gadea’s
African lepers and the members of Yunus’ “Bank of the Poor” now know that they are not alone.
The life of Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, our athlete honoured this year, is at present a story of
dreams come true, as she has achieved one of the highest levels in her profession, tennis. She
is the youngest female champion Spain has had in her speciality since she won the National
Championship in 1985. Soon after that, she was to embark upon a path that has been marked by
brilliant appearances in almost one hundred major competitions. She is also the Spanish athlete
with the most Olympic medals and has won four Grand Slam tournaments.
Sport is a human activity that is defined to a great extent by the desire to win. Athletes compete
in the hope of winning, reaching farther and higher, and being the best. This legitimate desire
is coupled with other virtues that define sportsmanship and characterize the behaviour of the
greatest athletes of all time: women and men who, through self-restraint, self-sacrifice, tenacity and
discipline, are always ready and willing to show generosity and to honour their fellow competitors.
These are the virtues that the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports wishes to highlight and are,
without a doubt, the virtues displayed by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Her struggle to the point of
exhaustion and the joys of her victories have provided us with unforgettable moments of emotion.
She shows us that we must not falter in the task we have set ourselves, that there is nothing like the
satisfaction of having done one’s duty.
These virtues also serve, first and foremost, as a prominent example for our youth. Young
people must see her as a source of encouragement that helps them to achieve greater goals in life.
In addition, her initiative of creating a foundation for the promotion of up-and-coming tennis
players underscores her humanity and highlights the brilliance of her sporting career, for it is
certainly true that glory would not be deserved if the successes achieved at ground level were not
uplifted by the virtues of intelligence and a generosity that comes straight from the heart.
And on the subject of generosity, I would like to take this opportunity to recall a great athlete
and a great Spaniard, who for many years represented us in an outstanding way on the International
Olympic Committee and who, as President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, sat on our Juries on
many occasions. I am referring to Carlos Ferrer Salat, whose recent demise has filled us with sadness.
Up to this point, we have been highlighting each individual Award, but if it were possible to reduce
such distinct personalities as this year’s Laureates down to a common denominator, I would say that
what stands out in all of them is their ambition to make lasting things render a service to others.
23
rd
O
ctober
1998
