"I'm going to talk to you about how important it is to have the poorest members of our society participate. For us, participation lets us escape our isolation, break the silence and bring an end to fear." That's how Don Julian Quispe began at the 2012 International Colloquium "Extreme poverty is violence. Breaking the silence. Searching for peace".
We visited him on his farm in Cuyo Grande, a village over 40 kilometres from Cusco, in Peru, high up in the Andes. Every day is a struggle for Don Julian Quispe, his family and his community. It's not just about survival, but dignity and participation in society, too.
Over many years, this man has experienced serious hardships in his life until, one day, he lost his fear of speaking out and he discovered that he had rights. Now he works to defend those rights. The ATD Fourth World Movement has supported him in his fight. His words are the words of millions of individuals living in extreme poverty, words that call for recognition and equality for all the world's citizens.