“Is it possible to speak freely in this neighbourhood, this city, this world?Or is this an era of muzzled speech? Too many haters?Can I still say what I think without offending, without incurring wrath and being burned at the stake?I was born in a country that no longer exists, where speaking publicly or even privately about politics was forbidden.From dictatorship to dictatorship, my heart is a quietly ticking clock.This era reminds me of another.Thoughts are free.Between thought and speech, there is a mouth and a space for listening.Where are my words tolerated?What structure allows them? To whom can I entrust my thoughts?I think of a friendship that was broken because of free speech. A bond that was broken without explanation, without reason. A friendship where speech is imprisoned is clearly not viable. And what about society? What can I say and do against War with a capital ‘W’? What can I say that has value in the great buzz of opinions? What gives value to my free speech? And is it truly free?
The important thing is that it is said, because keeping quiet may kills me. How does speech become action? Through song? What is a human being without speech, without a voice? It is easier to speak poetry on a theatre stage. But art is also censored. Right-thinking people are everywhere, afraid to participate in dialogue, and thought is hunted down even in universities. Can free speech exist anywhere other than in private, addressed to a kind and tolerant listener who listens attentively, without judgement? Isn’t free hearing as important as free speech? So let’s open our ears, our mouths and our eyes wide – let’s free them from machines, injunctions and all forms of submission. Long live independence! Long live women!”

 

 

Speech by Susi Vogel the 28th of September 2025 for Inauguration of Speakers Corner Brussels. Invited by “La petite Maison du peuple”