Hands dirty, by Robin Josserand – Liberation
On the occasion of the Paris Book Festival on April 11, 12 and 13, our journalists give way to authors for this 18th edition of the Libe of the writer. Find all the articles here.
« They set off on the ground, and, joyful, all welcome them with straight hands and sweet words. » (Illiad) What is a handshake? If the use was democratized in the 19th century, it is, at first, to ensure its interlocutor that one comes in peace-that is to say without a weapon, without dagger hidden in the English Channel. Equally. We contract peace. However, an attacker and an attacker do not treat any equal. At the end of March, the Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk eliminated Russian Anna Blinkova from the Miami tournament thanks to an ACE served with a spoon – stinging humiliation – before refusing to shake her hand. Same thing for the Ukrainian saber Olga Kharlanwhich had been disqualified from the Worlds in 2023 for this gesture. Until then, A Decree of the Ministry of Ukrainian Sports prohibited his athletes fromface the Russians in competition (it was before the implementation of neutral banners). And Monday, April 7, Karateka Yevhenii Melnyk – 13! – gave up climbing on the podium next to his Russian opponent during a competition in Spain. « No photos with terrorists. » Recall that in April 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that 591 athletes or coaches had been killed during the conflict and that 22 were still in detention. As we know, war is also made with symbols. But these ordinary heroes not only handle symbols. To shake a hand is also to force peace. Force to lay down their arms. Turn off the original meaning of the gesture to make a bow. And for the Russians, not to protest, it is to accept invasion and war. So have dirty hands. And no one – as I understand these athletes; It is a hypochondriac who writes it – does not wish to shake a dirty hand.
