Written by Sabbir Ahmed Khan, Volunteer at Crossing Borders
At the latest edition of Food for Thought gathering, organized by Crossing Borders (CB), the room was graced by a woman who has built her life on standing up to injustice and inspiring others to do the same: Vibe Klarup, Secretary General of Amnesty International Denmark.
As someone who has spent decades defending democracy and human rights, Vibe has been a close observer of the alarming global decline in both. Her participation sparked a lively, heartfelt discussion on how today’s young generation can take the lead in building a more just and humane world, even as authoritarianism spreads across continents.
A Dinner That Feeds Both Mind and Soul
Food for Thought is not your typical dinner event. Under the thoughtful moderation of Garba Diallo, Director of Crossing Borders, this unique platform brings together both Danish and internationals from all walks of life, living in Denmark for storytelling, reflection, and shared stories and meals.
This time, Vibe Klarup’s storytelling session, followed by an open Q&A and a community dinner, reminded everyone that a dinner table can be more than a place to eat; it can be a place where empathy grows, ideas flourish, and courage takes root.
From Silence to Speaking Up
Vibe shared a deeply personal story from her teenage years. When she was just sixteen, a priest declared that AIDS was a divine curse because of homosexuality. She was outraged but too young and shocked to respond.
That painful moment, however, changed her forever. She vowed never again to remain silent in the face of injustice. Over time, her family’s dining table became her first stage, a place where she learned to “speak up” for truth and fairness. Even if her words made some people uncomfortable, there were always others who stood with her, especially her father. That became the foundation of her lifelong activism.
The Global Decline of Democracy and Rights
Today, Vibe watches with deep concern as democracy and human rights erode worldwide.
According to Amnesty International’s 2024 global report, authoritarian practices and crackdowns on dissent have continued to expand, from mass surveillance and restrictions on protest to the criminalization of critics.
Early in 2025, one of the world’s most powerful democracies, the United States, made global headlines for detaining Mahmud Khalili, a student activist and U.S. Green Card holder, for three months simply for speaking out for the rights of Palestinians in Gaza. Deportation proceedings against him were widely condemned as an assault on free speech in America.
Meanwhile, across Europe, peaceful protesters face growing surveillance and facial recognition monitoring, while immigrant and Muslim communities are disproportionately targeted.
As Vibe pointed out, when nations that claim to champion democracy begin undermining their own values, it sends a dangerous signal that “human rights risk becoming human wrongs.”
The New Enemy: Hate Speech
Another modern threat to democracy, Vibe noted, is hate speech: communication that attacks or discriminates against people for who they are.
Hate speech doesn’t just harm individuals; it attacks freedom of expression itself.
Those who are targeted, especially women, LGBTQ+ activists, journalists, and minorities, often self-censor out of fear. The result is a public sphere that grows quieter, narrower, and less diverse; the very opposite of what democracy needs to thrive.
The Power of Speaking Up
Yet Vibe’s message was ultimately one of hope and action.
Her advice was simple but powerful: “Keep speaking up. Keep protesting. Keep showing up.”
She reminded everyone that the culture of fear spreading across societies is designed to make people give up and to stop believing that their voice matters. But courage, she said, is like a seed: it needs to be planted, nurtured, and shared.
True change doesn’t happen overnight, and no lasting progress is possible without persistence.
Whether through public demonstrations, storytelling, social media engagement, or even a simple online petition, every act of protest counts.
Food for Thought and for the Future
As the evening drew to a close, participants left not just with full stomachs, but with new ideas, renewed courage, and inspiration. For some, the event may well have planted the seed to become the next generation of human-rights defenders.
And that, perhaps, is the true essence of Food for Thought: proving that even around a shared table, one can take the first step toward a fairer, freer, and more humane world.
