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'Fathers' who care for their 'children'

The title of Father of the Fatherland has been bestowed on or taken up by many figures in history

Alekk M. Saanders

Friday, 18 March 2022, 15:24

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Since the Middle Ages, Spain has celebrated Father's Day, on 19 March, a holiday for honouring fatherhood and paternal bonds.

But society has created other fathers too since ancient times, albeit non-biological ones. For example Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the Father of the Fatherland, bestowed by the Senate on heroes, and later on emperors.

History also remembers rebels who fought against emperors and empires and they were named "fathers" as well. In the Netherlands, William of Orange is known as Father of the Fatherland because he was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs.

Independence of American colonies from the British empire created a new "father" - George Washington. He is recognised as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States for his role as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

One of the recently recognised "fathers" in the territory of Great Britain is Donald Dewar. He is known for his work and commitment to the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and being the inaugural first minister of Scotland. So, Dewar is often regarded as the Father of the Nation.

Andalucía has its "father" too. Blas Infante was officially recognised as the "Father of the Andalusian Homeland" by the parliament. He contributed to the creation of modern Andalucía and was directly responsible for the region's autonomy in what is today the Estatuto de Autonomía de Andalucía. The father of Andalucía is also the prominent son of Malaga because he was born in Casares, in 1885.

Not only fighters, warriors or politicians have been named "fathers of nations".

For example, Serbia calls Father of Fatherland Saint Sava, Founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In Lithuania, former doctor, Jonas Basanavičius, was named Patriarch of the Nation, for his various cultural activities during the Lithuanian National Revival.

Former school teacher, Robert Mugabe, became the president of Zimbabwe being also celebrated as a hero and liberator, a trailblazer and again... a Father of the nation, but one that quickly morphed into one of the most feared men in Africa.

This is another side of the title of "Father". Like in families with a dominant father, Fathers of Nations can easily transform into dictators. And Zimbabwe's president's story was not a new one.

Before, in the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin had accepted grandiloquent titles such as 'Coryphaeus of Science', 'Great Architect of Communism', 'Brilliant Genius of Humanity', 'Gardener of Human Happiness'... On his seventieth birthday in 1949, he was bestowed with the title 'Father of Nations' for his establishment of "people's democracies" in countries occupied by the USSR after World War II.

It is also believed that the flowery description "the father of nations" was used by the Soviet press and Socialist officials to honour Stalin for his alleged "fatherly care" of many ethnicities under the Soviet rule. However, the consequences of that care was massive deportation of some ethnicities, repressions and terror. Nevertheless, Stalin managed to be beloved as a "father", despite killing thousands of the country's "children".

It appears that history repeats itself and we don't mind creating new "fathers" who suddenly decide to take care of smaller "children" in the neighbourhood, by making them suffer and flee to survive.

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