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S. Shushkevich: Bering Strait, a Bridge of the Future
Written by H.E Stanislau Shushkevich, Former Chairman, Supreme Council, Belarus
Friday, February 1, 2008
Elementary logic would demonstrate that a bridge across the Bering Strait is not a commercial project, not some scheme, however great may be the risks involved, no business venture thought up by some entrepreneur, however far-fetched. Yet in fact, it promises definite commercial prospects. It is my conviction that this project is an all-important initiative on the part of modern mankind. Humanity today has immeasurable experience in elaborating and carrying out complex projects of a global scale – political, economic, cultural, and spiritual.
The main fruit of achieving such an undertaking should certainly be the very much-expanded opportunity for direct contact among human beings. Not merely “virtual,” as it is with the Internet, but direct, concrete, substantial!
Human interaction, like nothing else, facilitates the blossoming of human relationships in all their beauty. Antoine de Saint Exupéry considered that the joys of human relationships constitute the greatest pleasure of all, and, of course, he had every reason to say so.
The decisive expansion of the possibilities for such communication through realizing the Bering Strait Project is one of the gems of a whole host of projects being proposed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
One project of direct communication on a global scale -- the Internet – poses its own special set of challenges through the medium of virtual communication.
In Belarus, although there is not such a high percentage of rough roads, still, the problem of clearing the highways of snow, just as it is in Russia, is no easy matter at all. So, when I find myself negotiating a snow-covered road, I find myself once more contemplating the Bering Strait Project, though, this time, from another angle – from the standpoint of the humongous difficulties involved in carrying out this enormous undertaking, not only in the construction but also the utilization of the road itself. Think about the colossal infrastructure required by countries such as the USA and Europe for the utilization of the system of highway transport, and even there, there are plenty of obstacles to smooth transportation, for example, stemming from the unpredictable vagaries of the weather. Now, if we are speaking about Eastern Siberia or the Far North, then these capricious tricks of the weather become a constant factor. I know very well that it is no mere rumor, having personally participated in a number of expeditions to these regions.
The creation of an infrastructure for the exploitation of such a highway system in these regions today for freight, service and passenger transport presents a fantastically complex challenge.
The project of Dr. Moon involves politics, and therefore it can only be realized with the willful cooperation of the political powers that be, with all the necessary and appropriate orientation and support on the part of government leaders, specifically in regard to those territories which the project will be directly dealing with. Naturally, this involves not only Russia and the USA, although, of course, they must by all means be the first and foremost proponents of it. Then, may we ask, is Russia ready to stand as a serious investor in a project of such a scope? Frankly, I can hardly believe so within the next 20 or 30 years to come.
Most likely, the United States will sooner expand its military budget than consider devoting even the hundredth part thereof to a project like this. For such reasons, for obtaining funding for this undertaking, we can at present only count on private capital, and this only from very rich and romantic idealists.
And, indeed, I do know of only one such inspired visionary, and that is Dr. Sun Myung Moon.
Thus, may we look forward with hope to yet another one of his grandiose achievements: finding like-minded people among the very rich in our world today!
As for myself, I am ready to drive across that bridge of the future!