Beacon for Botton: concluding address
26 September 2014
At the Beacon for Botton, villagers, friends and co-workers read 12 statements describing the values and beliefs underlying the Camphill community in Botton, whilst 12 large torches and the Danby Beacon were lit. The event concluded with the following address by one of Botton's co-workers, Jonathan Reid:
"Thank you all for coming. Once again the strength and depth of support for Botton from the locality and from families and friends has made itself evident, and it is quite clear that this beacon, these flames we have kindled, these verses we have spoken mean something to those of us who are in sight of them and within earshot. Today is the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of the CVT. Those of us who know this document believe that it is a precious thing, both in spirit and letter, and it is worth stating that the stand we are taking is not in opposition to this memorandum, but to the way it is being abused, compromised and flouted by the current management and trustees.
This beacon is not merely about defending something, but about proclaiming something, something that we hope those who are out of sight and out of earshot begin to see and hear.
We ask North Yorkshire social services to see and hear that Botton Village is well able to fulfil its legal obligations in the field of social care, and would in fact have greater capacity to do so were it not for the draconian, punitive and, frankly, inefficient policies currently being pursued by CVT. A self-managing Botton Village Community can provide a service that is not only compliant and financially viable, but is a credit to the county.
We ask the social care policy-makers to see and hear what they should already know if they would pay attention to current research: that what people want is community – they want relationships that are not based on the subtle apartheid of carer and client, provider and consumer, but on the mutual support and friendship that one human being offers to another. All human beings have a right to these relationships and the person with a disability should be no exception.
We ask the management and trustees of the CVT to see and hear that our resolve is firm and our support is growing; that we are not intimidated by their threats against the co-workers, nor fooled by their attempts to deceive the villagers. Once again, we ask them to pause, and to engage in meaningful dialogue with us.
We ask the world to see and hear that at the back of a remote dale in North Yorkshire there is a social experiment taking place, one that is looking to re-invent and renew itself for the future. It is not meant to be a universal panacea, it is not promising to cure all the world’s ills, but it is offering its own unique Camphill perspective on questions that is vital to all of us:
Who do we human beings think we are, really?
Who am I, really?
Who are you, really?
And how are we going to live together in a way that allows this exploration of the mystery of the human being to really flourish?"