{"id":1753,"date":"2018-10-16T17:52:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T16:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:53:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T11:53:04","slug":"charles-aznavour-art-empathy-and-rights-for-all-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/2018\/10\/16\/charles-aznavour-art-empathy-and-rights-for-all-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Aznavour: Art, Empathy and Rights for All Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” fullwidth=”on” next_background_color=”#000000″ global_module=”322″][et_pb_fullwidth_menu global_parent=”322″ _builder_version=”3.17.6″ menu_id=”8″ submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off” background_layout=”dark” module_class=”main-navigation” \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” prev_background_color=”#000000″ next_background_color=”#1d1d1d”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ specialty_columns=”2″][et_pb_row_inner locked=”off”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ featured_placement=”above” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” date_format=”j M Y” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″ background_layout=”light” parent_locked=”off”]<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/p>\n

With the passing of Charles Aznavour, Europe has recently lost one of its cultural icons.\u00a0 President Macron paid tribute to the artistic legacy of the singer songwriter whilst remarking that \u201cIn France, poets never die.\u201d\u00a0 It came as no surprise either to learn that Aznavour\u2019s works were a favourite of Macron at student karaoke nights, as many people across the continent, and across generations, have particular fondness of his music, accompanied by lyrics touching on just about every aspect of human life. In an era when open expressions of homosexual love and sexuality could still lead to criminal prosecution, and issues of gender identity were essentially taboo, he wrote and performed \u2018What makes a man a man?\u2019, a heart-breaking song about a lonely gay man who performs as a drag artist, desperately longing for love and acceptance.<\/p>\n

Of course, he will be remembered for deeply romantic songs as well, often in several language versions.\u00a0 Many people will have cosy of memories of listening to their parents\u2019 records and being enchanted by the lilting accent in English, and even more so, by the sound of French.\u00a0 Yet this quintessentially French export was the child of refugees, who fled to Paris to escape the Armenian genocide.\u00a0 The Ottoman Empire orchestrated the slaughter and forced labour of able bodied men, and the deportation and death of women, children and the infirm, who were marched into the desert to die of exhaustion, dehydration and starvation. Bearing this in mind, it is indescribably tragic that over one hundred years after this immense human loss, Europe and the wider world are still faced with the horrors of racial and religious persecution, as well as the need to accommodate and care for huge numbers of forcibly displaced persons.\u00a0 Since 1915 we have flown to the moon, unravelled our genetic code and created the world wide web, but we still haven\u2019t eradicated intolerance and mass murder: plus \u00e7a change,\u00a0plus\u00a0c’est la m\u00eame chose.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the story of Aznavour\u2019s life shines a hopeful light on concepts of identity, belonging and justice.\u00a0 During the Second World War, he helped to hide both Armenians and Jews from the Nazi regime in occupied France, putting his own survival in jeopardy.\u00a0 The son of immigrants and refugees, he not only became a French cultural institution, but also reaffirmed H G Well\u2019s dogma that our true nationality is (hu)mankind. \u00a0In the current legal and political storms over Brexit and the European refugee crisis, we are challenged to think about the kind of society we wish to inhabit.\u00a0 Experiences like that of Azanvour\u2019s, and countless others, demonstrate how individuals and families arriving into a country with nothing can embrace and enrich their new context.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, his contribution is a testimony to the power of art in shaping our world.\u00a0 Lawyers do not have a monopoly of pursuing freedom and justice, and undoubtedly, imaging and making incarnate the human rights which we enshrine in Constitutions and other instruments is the work of those outside the legal sphere, as much as those within in.\u00a0 For instance, the way in which the Strasbourg Court interprets the European Convention on Human Rights is bounded by the consensus across signatory States, and it won\u2019t force the pace social change.\u00a0 However, songs, poetry, sculpture and other expressions can, and do, move our collective thoughts and attitudes.\u00a0 It is humbling to think that in an indirect, but powerful way, the European understanding of the Article 8 right to private and family life was nudged along by a straight man of Armenian heritage, singing about the pain of an imagined gay performer, and somehow making the all too real anguish of a persecuted minority meaningful and immediate for his audience.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charles Aznavour, French singing star dies at 94<\/a> BBC News <\/em>(2\/10\/18)<\/p>\n

In France, poets never die: Macron pays tribute to Aznavour<\/a> The Guardian<\/em> (5\/10\/18)<\/p>\n

Some Aznavour songs on You Tube<\/em><\/p>\n

What makes a man a man?<\/a><\/p>\n

They fell<\/a> (This song describes the Armenian massacre and the indifference and cruelty which allowed it to happen)\u00a0 Ils sont tomb\u00e9s<\/a> (French version)<\/p>\n

She<\/a><\/p>\n

Il faut savoir<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.0.106″ in_same_term=”off” show_prev=”on” show_next=”on” prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”on” background_layout=”light” header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover=”null” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover=”null” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover=”null” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related posts” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_layout=”light” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off”]<\/p>\n

Related<\/h1>\n

Related posts:<\/h3>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

The Shamima Begum Ruling: the Right to a Fair Hearing<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
<\/div>

Religious Freedom in Life and Death: The limits of Article 9<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
<\/div>

Covid-19 and Religious Freedom<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.0.106″ area=”sidebar-1″ orientation=”left” show_border=”off” background_layout=”light” locked=”on” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Connect Title” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” _builder_version=”3.0.90″ background_color=”#1d1d1d” module_class=”footer-section” prev_background_color=”#ffffff” global_module=”380″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” global_parent=”380″ locked=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” make_equal=”off” module_id=”footer-row” _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Contact Us Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

Contact Us<\/h4>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Contact Us” global_parent=”380″ text_text_color=”#aaaaaa” parent_locked=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_class=”contact-us” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Find Us Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

Find Us<\/h4>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Address” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_id=”address” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9PL
UK<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Connect Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

Connect With Us<\/h4>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Social Media” global_parent=”380″ parent_locked=”off” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n