The first call for the lighting has been made in 83 points of Mallorca with smoke signals and the second, at 18.30 hours, will be made with light signals.

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Heritage sites

83 heritage elements in Mallorca have been lit up for human rights as part of the call made by the Consell de Mallorca, through the Dirección Insular de Patrimoni; Amnesty International; the Fondo Mallorquín de Solidaridad and the IES Marratxí. In addition, this year municipalities from all over the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Murcia, Valencia, Andalusia, Morocco, Lebanon and Tunisia have joined the initiative. The President of the Council, Catalina Cladera, and the First Vice-President and Councillor for Culture, Heritage and Linguistic Policy, Bel Busquets, attended the lighting of Bellver Castle, along with the island’s Director of Heritage, Kika Coll; Carlos Martín, President of Amnesty International in the Balearic Islands; Catalina Socies, Manager of the Mallorcan Solidarity Fund and Marcos Augusto, Director General of Cultural Promotion and Diffusion of Palma City Council.

The event took place in sa Dragonera, which passed the testimony to the different points of Mallorca, passing through Cala Figuera in Calvià and towards Derrocado until reaching Bellver Castle, the last point of the route of the lighting of towers, watchtowers and talayots of the Mediterranean for human rights.

Before the lighting of the smoke signals, the manifesto was read out, this year by Amnesty International, with 83 organisations taking part. The text begins with the desire to “give voice and light to all those who risk their lives fleeing despair, violence and injustice”.

The manifesto also recalls the stories of the people who 2022 have been forced to cross the Mediterranean in precarious and dangerous conditions, often ending in death. However, the text calls for hope, because “despite all the obstacles that stand in the way, however dark the path, the light of the flame must remain bright, burning as a symbol of hope for all humanity”.

Amnesty International quotes its founder, Peter Benenson, as saying that “this flame that symbolises hope, we must always keep it burning, for all those who were and are tortured, extrajudicially executed or disappeared. For those who suffer anonymously and die taking their pain with them. For those who have become silent and nameless witnesses of injustice and pain. That flame that keeps us standing with the strength to fight to bring these human rights violations to an end all over the world”. The manifesto concludes that “it is up to all of us to keep it burning, so let us fight to keep it burning forever”.