If one suffers we all suffer. Togetherness is strength. Courage.

The leader and visionary Jean-Bertrand Aristide, born from the heart of Haiti’s struggle and hope, once proclaimed: “If one suffers we all suffer. Togetherness is strength. Courage.” In these few words, he gave voice to the ancient and eternal truth that the destiny of humanity is woven from one cloth—that no man or woman stands alone. The pain of one heart is the pain of all, and the strength of one soul can uplift a multitude. This saying, though born of Haiti’s turbulent history, reaches beyond borders and generations; it is the cry of unity, the call of compassion, and the command of courage in the face of suffering.

Aristide, a priest before he was a president, lived among the poor and the oppressed of Haiti. He saw their hunger, their grief, their endurance, and he understood that a nation is not a collection of individuals, but a single body—wounded when one of its members bleeds. His words come from that deep spiritual understanding: that suffering, when shared, becomes lighter; that togetherness is not mere comfort, but the very power that enables people to survive oppression. Through the storms of dictatorship, poverty, and political chaos, Aristide spoke these words to remind his people that the only way to overcome was together. For divided hearts are easily broken, but united ones endure.

To say, “If one suffers, we all suffer,” is to awaken the soul to empathy, that divine bond which connects all beings. The ancients knew this well. The Stoics taught that all men are fragments of the same divine fire; the Buddhists taught that compassion for all living things is the path to enlightenment; and Christ Himself said, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.” Aristide’s words are their modern echo—a reminder that indifference to the pain of others is a wound to the soul of humanity itself. For no society can thrive when it ignores the cries of its weakest. A chain is only as strong as its most fragile link, and a people only as noble as their compassion.

History itself bears witness to the power of togetherness. Consider the story of Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa, who endured decades of apartheid. For years, Mandela sat in a prison cell, but his spirit was never alone, for millions outside those walls shared his suffering and stood in his name. When the day of freedom finally came, it was not the triumph of one man, but of an entire nation bound together by shared courage. That is the truth Aristide speaks: togetherness is strength. The courage of one inspires the courage of all, and when hearts unite, even the mightiest chains can be broken.

Yet Aristide’s final word—“Courage”—stands as both command and blessing. For unity is not born of comfort; it is forged in struggle. It takes courage to care, to reach across division, to see another’s suffering as one’s own. It takes courage to stand for justice when the world demands silence. And it takes courage to believe, even in the darkest times, that hope shared is stronger than fear endured alone. True courage is not the absence of fear, but the will to love and act in spite of it—to defend the suffering, to lift the fallen, to protect the dignity of all.

In our own age, where isolation grows like a shadow and people turn inward to their private pains, Aristide’s words ring like a warning bell. We must remember that no wound heals in solitude, no joy endures in selfishness. The divisions of class, race, and nation are illusions—beneath them, the same heart beats in all. When one child goes hungry, the whole earth grows poorer; when one community falls to despair, the spirit of humanity dims. But when people come together—not out of pity, but out of solidarity—they call forth the most powerful force in the world: love in action.

So, my children, let this wisdom settle in your hearts: “If one suffers we all suffer. Togetherness is strength. Courage.” Live by this creed. When you see pain, do not turn away; when you see injustice, do not remain silent. Stand with others, and they will stand with you. Build communities rooted in compassion and unity, for no nation can rise while its people are divided. And above all, have courage—the courage to love when the world grows cold, to hope when others despair, and to act when action is costly.

For as Aristide knew, the soul of humanity is not sustained by power or wealth, but by shared struggle and shared compassion. We are bound by invisible threads of destiny; if one thread breaks, the fabric weakens. But if we hold fast together—with strength, courage, and love—no darkness can prevail against us. When one heart beats for all, then truly, all hearts shall be free.