On the Sagrera promenade in Palma stands a statue with phrases in Catalan, Latin and Arabic. In Latin, it reads: “justitia procured pacem and insulted bellum. Humilia verba sunt nuntii pacis and superba belli” which means that justice brings peace and offenses, war.
It is the statue of Ramon Llull, a lay intellectual born in Palma de Mallorca, whose philosophical, scientific and diplomatic activity in several countries of the Mediterranean and Central Europe was independent not aligned to any ideological current, academic institution or any ecclesiastical organization. He was engaged in a project of cultural, social, religious and political improvement in Mallorca, and taking the Mediterranean as the centre of its activity. He advocated multiculturalism by moving through the Europe of his time, sailing across the Mediterranean to North Africa. From his Saracen slave he learned Arabic, and in addition to the Koran he also knew the Talmud.
Another statue in the square of San Francesco, also by the great Basque-Majorcan sculptor, Horacio de Egua, we can find a statue of the only Spaniard in the national hall of statues located in the capitol in Washington D.C., where the legislative power of the United States resides and the place where the most illustrious figures of the nation are represented. Each state of the country offers the names of two illustrious characters to be immortalized with a monument. The statue of Junípero Serra is located in the main corridor and has been proposed by the State of California. The historical record of the life of Junípero Serra remains incomplete due to the relative absence of testimonies of indigenous peoples, but it is clear that although the missionaries brought agriculture, culture and Spanish to the indigenous population, the natives of the United States suffered in many missions in California.
These two Mallorcans carried the flag of Mallorca in centuries gone by across the whole world, from east to west and from north to south. They are symbols of the cultural richness of this land, of the great contribution of this island to history and humanity. Symbols must be used to correct errors, learn from successes and walk towards harmony. Humilia verba sunt nuntii pacis.
