Farewell, Giancarlo!

Giancarlo Barbadoro enchanted everyone with the music of his flute, the Nah sinnar learned from the Druids of Brittany, an ancient music coming from the Druidic shamanism, designed specifically for meditation

The Director of Shan Newspaper left us on August 6, Tuesday. Poet, warrior and shaman, theorist of ecospirituality and defender of the weakest. Non-human animals lose a great ally

by Marco Petrillo

Giancarlo Barbadoro is no longer with us. These words are painful to write, when everything still feels unreal and it is hard to convince oneself of the harsh reality.

Giancarlo Barbadoro is no more and he leaves an immense, unbridgeable void in the lives of the many, many people whom, like the writer, have been touched by the magic which he naturally instilled in every situation and every moment. It was just a part of him, that magic, that joie de vivre, that way of looking at things with dreamy eyes full of wonder, in front of the mystery of existence. Those who knew him, even fleetingly, could not fail to notice, to perceive something magical and extraordinary in his relationship with existence.

Giancarlo looked at life with the joy and surprise of an eternal boy, not out of ignorance, but on the contrary because of his profound wisdom, which he always revealed lovingly and humbly.

Knowing Giancarlo has changed my life and who knows how many people's: for all of us who have had the privilege of sharing his friendship and knowing him, for all those who have seized his mystical and humanistic call, for all of us, in our lives there will always be a before Giancarlo and an after Giancarlo. And now, sadly, there will be a before and an after this terrible 6 of August.

Giancarlo has been a lot of things: a poet, a warrior, musician, researcher, journalist, writer, activist and dreamer, but the one definition that I believe can truly describe him, is that of a great shaman. In the sense of a researching philosopher, who opens up to the sense of existence in search of an intimate and direct relationship, constantly wandering in search of its hidden secrets, to quench an indomitable thirst for knowledge. And, even involuntarily, involving in this dance those who share that irresistible and inexplicable calling.

Giancarlo Barbadoro with Nobel Prize Rigoberta Menchù at the Unuted Nations in New York

There has been nothing normal or ordinary in Giancarlo's life: the experiences he lived and the realities he created really fit into the category of extraordinary things. That red thread of a magical presonal relationship with existence always returns: we all feel that as children, but he managed to defend, preserve and enhance it, like no one else.

Since a very young age his life was marked by a random encounter with a traditional native community of  Piedmont, through which he discovered the philosophy of Druidic shamanism, the spirituality of meditation and of the Native Europeans: a study that he pursued throughout his whole life. Through the encounter with native traditions from all over the planet, he came to define the concept of Ecospirituality, the "Ancient Heart" of natural peoples: that identity and harmonic spiritual experience which unites all peoples and free individuals of the Earth.

Listing his deeds would be long and beyond the purpose of this article: from the time when he changed the cultural history of Turin with Spazio 4, to the battles in defense of the Natives at the UN with the Ecospirituality Foundation, up to the struggles against speciesism and for non-human animals rights. He carried out these adventures and deeds with a specific purpose, a plan, a "planetary dream": to change the world. Bring peace and harmony in a world torn by violence, ego-centrism, ignorance and barbarism.

Giancarlo Barbadoro was a journalist and he hosted radio and tv shows. For Rete7 he presented with Rosalba Nattero “SOS GAIA” broadcasted on the italian SKY platform

This was Giancarlo's great dream, a dream in which he involved us and everyone around him, giving birth to a magical and extraordinary adventure that goes on and will have to go on even without him. A dream that, personally, represented a light of great hope in a world that leaves no room for dreams beyond individual and egoistic affirmation at the expense of others.

A dream embodied in the Dreamland Ecovillage and the great Stone Circle, envisioned and designed by Giancarlo as an eternal witness of the ancestral traditions that have marked his life and his works and from which, after all, the ecospiritual experience lived in Dreamland was born.

Traditions which he always guarded without ever keeping them for himself, but gifting them, just like he received them, without ever asking for anything in return.

Like the music of his flute, the Nah-sinnar that will always resonate as a deep and ancestral call to let oneself go free in an intimate relationship with existence. To the joie de vivre expressed by Giancarlo at every moment.

As President of Ecospirituality Foundation he took part in the yearly Forums for the Indigenous Peoples in New York and Geneva

And like Kemò-vad, the art of gesture that has learned from the Breton Druidic communities and that he committed himself to spread in Italy: all part of the project, of the dream, his gift and participatory contribution to the world and to existence.

The idea that every change arises first and foremost from a personal growth and an inner experience, and that meditation, in all its forms and free from religious connotations or intermediations, is a fundamental instrument of individual evolution, led him to found with Rosalba Nattero the New Earth Circle, which was born in Forres (Scotland) on 2 September 1986 with the contribution of many participants of all nationalities, with the aim of spreading meditation on the planet.

Maybe it is a coincidence, but meditation did spread greatly on the planet during these years.

Just as the Natives of the planet have gradually become aware of their historical, mystical and moral identity, taking in their hands their destiny and perhaps that of humanity whole, just as theorized and encouraged in the book "Natural Peoples and Ecospirituality", written by Barbadoro and Nattero at a time when even UN debate did not contemplate the matter of native traditions and identity. A theme that is now at the heart of the debate and of the actions by Natives around the world, thanks to the impulse given by the Ecospirituality Foundation..

Giancarlo Barbadoro started a planetary revolution. In Dreamland, at the UN, with the New Earth Circle, with LabGraal and with the great initiatives carried out in Africa by Ecospirituality Foundation Benin, where even from miles away Giancarlo has succeeded in giving life to truly extraordinary and unthinkable realities, instilling his dream even in people so far away.

Presentation of the book “All Children of Mother Earth”, written with Rosalba Nattero, at the International Book Fair in Turin, with the participation of Enrico Moriconi (Guarantor of Animal Rights of Piedmont Region) and Gianluca Felicetti (LAV National President). Giancarlo Barbadoro wrote numerous books and collections of poems, many of which dedicated to the animals

Also in Africa, he activated a shelter for abandoned animals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he created Ecospirituality Foundation Benin in Benin, where it is spreading the idea that we are all children of Mother Earth, humans and non-humans.

Great animal rights activist, he participated in the founding of the Animal & Environment Table and in many battles against speciesism.

Throughout all this Giancarlo was not alone: every deed and every difficulty was lived, studied and created with Rosalba Nattero, his lifelong partner. Together they really realized the unthinkable against all odds, and it would be neither fair, nor possible to tell about Giancarlo without talking about Rosalba and the great love that united them in life and in the fulfillment of the great dream and infinite projects they shared. I don't think I did justice to what Giancarlo was in his passage in this dimension, on this planet and in our lives. I don't think it's possible because his nature is impossible to grasp with a definition, like the Shan in which he reflected his own existence. And beyond all that Giancarlo has done and has been, for me he will always remain a great friend. A Master. A brother.

Goodbye, Giancarlo!

www.giancarlobarbadoro.net

WE PUBLISH SOME TRIBUTES, AMONG THE MANY, DEDICATED TO GIANCARLO

C’est étrange n’est-ce pas ?
Nos espoirs d’un monde meilleur pour notre humanité, le regard que toi et moi avions porté sur la nature, notre « Madre » Terra et ses mystères, dont le plus grand est ce que nous nommons l’amour…
Une belle aventure de 12 ans, mon tendre ami, malgré l’éloignement ; nous sommes restés attachés par tant de valeurs à conquérir, par une fraternelle admiration.

La Terre ne m’a pas offert meilleur que toi, je l’en remercie….
Et quand Rosalba m’a annoncé que tu as disparu, j’ai compris que le cosmos a donné au pèlerin une nouvelle destination, qu’importent le voile et ton nouveau revêtement. Oui ici, aussi en Afrique Noire, à Ngog Lituba précisément, on disparaît dans l’immense vie, parce que la mort n’existe pas…
Tu es donc devenu plus libre, mon ami.
Libéré de la pesanteur de la terre et des contraintes du temps.
Oui, tu t’en es allé briller dans une civilisation meilleure. Et je sais, que même dans cette dimension autre, ce sera encore pour toi, quelque chose « d’étrange »…
Alors, chantons la Terre, Ecrivons pour elle l’hymne de la paix et de la joie.
Samuel Brice Tjomb, Peuple Bassa, Camerun

Giancarlo Barbadoro with his colleagues from the "Tavolo Animali & Ambiente" on the occasion of the closing of the Turin Zoo reopening project (Italy)

Notre bien aimé, tu as quitté ce monde afin de te reposer dans un pays paisible.
Ce pays où tu résides désormais, mon ami Giancarlo. Un pays au ciel bleu à partir duquel tu veilles sur toutes les personnes aimées que tu as laissées en ce bas-monde: tes amis ici réunis afin de te rendre un dernier hommage.
Giancarlo nous a quittés, ce mardi 6 Aout 2019.
Il va désormais reposer en paix dans cette terre, du cimetière monumentale, son pays natal où vit encore sa famille qu’il aimait tant.
Il m’est difficile de prononcer cette élégie, tant la tristesse et le chagrin m’étreint.
Ton décès fait notre grande peine.
Notre émotion est grande à l’heure de te dire au revoir. Difficile d’accepter la disparition d’un proche avec qui on a tant partagé. Partagé les moments de joie comme les épreuves les plus difficiles.
Mon amie, tu étais un ange pour moi, parce que tu m’as aidé à me relever et tu m’as montré le chemin à suivre, celui d’être présent pour ceux qui ont le plus besoin de notre aide.

Tu étais un homme merveilleux, toujours soucieux de l’intérêt et du bien-être des autres et avec un intérêt particulier envers les animaux dont vous venez de laisser un projet d’aide aux animaux en République Démocratique du Congo.
Tous les 130 enfants qui étudier grâce à vous ses retrouvent aujourd'hui au bord du vide et quand ils ont appris la triste nouvelle, ils se sont exclamé je site « Il était notre avenir et nous avons perdu notre avenir».

Aujourd’hui, tu manques à toute ta famille de l’Afrique en particulier celle de la République Démocratique du Congo. Ils sont tous orphelins de toi et de ton amour pour eux.

Ton amitié fidèle et inconditionnelle va grandement manquer à tes amis. Tu étais un ami toujours disponible et à l’écoute des autres.
Tu savais cultiver l’amitié à merveille. Être ton ami c’était être de ta famille: être ton frère ou ta soeur de coeur.
En nous laissant sur le quai de la vie, tu nous a quittés afin de partir en voyage vers des contrées certainement paradisiaques.
Ton départ nous a plongés dans l’émotion et la tristesse de ne plus te voir en ce bas-monde.
Pourtant, chacun d’entre nous sait que tes bonnes actions et ta grande sagesse ne peuvent que t’amener à une vie après la mort faîte de beauté, de soulagement et repos serein.

Mourir est le destin de tout un chacun.

Personne ne sait à quel âge ces jours toucheront à leur fin.

Ta mort est un dernier enseignement que tu donnes à tes proches. Elle nous donne encore plus à penser à l’importance de vivre pleinement chaque instant.
Tu as pleinement vécu ta vie. Tu as su aimer et profiter de chaque instant pour sauver les animaux en détresse, pour venir en aide aux enfants démunies en RDC qui ses demandent aujourd’hui quel sera leur avenir.

Giancarlo Barbadoro in a recital of his poems dedicated to the animals

Aujourd’hui, il nous faut accepter ta mort et de laisser partir.
Sa possible et lente acceptation va dépendre de chacun de nous, de notre passé, de notre histoire, de ce que nous sommes capables de comprendre de ton départ inattendu.

Il nous faut trouver une consolation en nous disant que ce dernier voyage que tu entreprends est un voyage vers un paradis mérité, dont personne vraiment ne peut parler…

Il nous faut faire notre deuil et te laisser partir en paix. Il nous faut accepter que la mort fait partie du chemin de la vie. Elle le continue et nous devons la concevoir comme une étape de notre destinée personnelle.

Cependant, la mort d’une personne ne peut effacer tous nos beaux souvenirs et nos belles pensées pour elle.
Nous penserons à toi, chaque jour, avec douceur et plein d’amour. Nos pensées affectueuses t’accompagneront sur ton nouveau chemin.
Le pays où tu vis, aujourd’hui, est certainement un pays sans douleur où règnent l’amour et la sérénité permanente.
Repose en paix dans ce monde délicieux où, je sais, tu nous observes et nous écoutes avec affection.
Nos larmes et nos pleurs sont des mots d’amour envoyés aux cieux afin de couvrir ton coeur de bonheur dans ta dernière demeure.
Paterne Bushunju, SOS Gaia Afrique, République Démocratique du Congo

Je n’ai pas trouver de mots pour exprimer la douleur que je ressens suite à la disparition du frère Giancarlo.
La seule situation que je vis en ce moment, ce sont les larmes qui inondent mon visage parce que je n’ai pas compris pourquoi il a fallu que ce soit le frère Giancarlo ?
Je n’ai pas grande chose à dire si ce n’est de pleurer depuis le jour où la soeur Rosalba m’a appris que notre frère nous a quitté.
Nous, membres de la Ecospirituality Foundation avons perdu un père, un frère, un ami et un guide exceptionnel, un homme au grand coeur.
Le frère Giancarlo Barbadoro était et sera toujours pour nous un exemple à suivre.
Il a été de tous les combats en particulier de celui de l’écospiritualité.

Et c’est de notre devoir de lui exprimer notre gratitude pour tout ce qu’il a fait pour la mission de l’écospiritualité et pour nous tous les enfants de la Terre Mère.En tant qu’Aumônier Ouest Africain de l’écospiritualité, Président de la Ecospirituality Foundation Benin et frère de Giancarlo Barbadoro, je prend l’engagement de tout mettre en oeuvre afin que son nom soit immortalisé. Je ferai en sorte que le nom Giancarlo Barbadoro reste gravé dans la mémoire des hommes et ne s’efface jamais. Parce que le frère Giancarlo le mérite très bien.

Giancarlo with a friend. Anti-speciesism was his mission

Je sais que le frère Giancarlo nous a laissé un grand héritage : la mission de l’écospiritualité que nous allons continuer avec la soeur Rosalba et tous les autres.
Je sais que le frère Giancarlo où qu’il soit est et restera à jamais dans nos coeurs.
Nous ferons en sorte que son oeuvre continue et évolue à travers les âges.
Au frère Giancarlo, où qu’il soit je voudrais dire que nous l’aimons tous et que nous ne l’oublierons jamais.
Ange Yvon Hounkonnou, Président de la Ecospirituality Foundation Benin

I am very sorry to hear this sad news. I send my heartfelt comments condolences. He was a kind and good person and will be missed.

Julian Burger, Copenhagen

My sincerest Condolences for Giancarlo's passing and much love to the Family and you all.

Gary Murray River Clans, Australia

This morning I woke up to some sad news. In 2008, I met the most amazing people from Italy in Second Life who changed my outlook about live music from around the world. Today, I found out that Giancarlo Barbadoro from LabGraal has moved on to his third life. The most gentle soul, shaman, teacher, writer, musician will be missed by all.
My heart is so sad to hear this news. Love, strength, and condolences from us in New Mexico, USA
Rest well my friend!
Raven Anderson, New Mexico

Please accept our condolences to the family and friends of our dear friend Giancarlo Barbadoro. I wish I could be there for you all, one day soon we'll all meet again. Blessings and Much Respect. Your Brother
Jida Wayinlarr Marndarr Murray Gulpilil, Australia

Giancarlo Barbadoro, membre de LabGraal, a soutenu notre combat et l'a emmené plusieurs fois à l'ONU. Il nous a quitté le 6 août. 2019. Toutes nos condoléances face à cette terrible nouvelle. Une pensée particulière pour ses proches et sa famille.
Céline Mary et les membres de Menhirs Libres. Carnac, Bretagne