Patrick Herbots

Speaker
Dutch
French
Photo of Patrick Herbots

Who is Patrick Herbots? 

Few end up behind bars, even fewer want to testify about what goes on behind prison walls. As a lawyer for the federal public prosecutor's office, Patrick was locked up in Vorst prison for 104 days on suspicion of human trafficking and violation of privacy. Herbots claims to be completely innocent and is awaiting the legal proceedings. However, he does not give up and from the first day of his incarceration he observes what is happening around him. Perhaps strange, but true, as a starting lawyer he had already made two unsuccessful attempts to voluntarily spend some time in prison. It's a matter of experiencing firsthand what it means to receive a prison sentence in our country. 

He wrote down his experiences in a book that gives a unique view of life in a penal institution. He takes you to a world about which very little information is usually revealed. During his lecture he talks in detail about the hard life behind the walls of a Belgian penal institution.

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    A plea for euthanasia without borders

    The book A plea for euthanasia without borders explains current Belgian euthanasia legislation and occasionally looks beyond the borders to the situation of our northern neighbors. Patrick Herbots formulates some proposals for change. According to him, the individual's right to self-determination must take center stage. The attitude that should be adopted towards the right to self-determination can best be summarized in the words of the Belgian philosopher Gilbert Hottois: “Do not treat others as you want to be treated, but as they want to be treated”.

    People who want to die with dignity do not care about pompous sentences, such as “The life of every human being, regardless of their health condition, disability or suffering, retains its full dignity and must be respected.” Such a position shows complete disrespect for the free choice of every individual and the right to a dignified farewell. Patrick shares the opinion of the Dutch lawyer Huib Drion, who thirty years ago defended the position that people who have finished living should receive the necessary resources from a doctor to end their lives at a time of their own choosing. Someone who chooses euthanasia should not be lectured in a patronizing manner and no conditions should be imposed on him. Everyone is the owner of his own death.

    The legal changes proposed in this book should not only prevent people from suffering needlessly during their last moments on earth; they should also help prevent people from becoming sad witnesses to the failed attempt after a failed suicide attempt; they must help prevent helpless people from being forced to rely on caregivers for all their needs and, finally, prevent those left behind from not having the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones.

    Life in prison

    What are things really like in our Belgian prisons? Do the detainees live on a diet of bread and water or do they stay in a luxury hotel? How are they treated by guards: like trash or respectful? What do they get to eat? Are friendships developing? 

    Lawyer Patrick Herbots was locked up in Vorst prison for 104 days. During his lecture he talks about the difficult dealings with new cellmates, about settlements during the walk, dilapidated showers, the lack of privacy, the religions that live side by side, the strong presence of immigrants and many other fascinating and unexpected facts.

    Chinese & Siberian Shamanism in a nutshell

    This lecture provides the theoretical knowledge that you must master to predict the future based on the Yìjīng (I Ching) and the Bāzì. The following introductory themes are first explained: the basic principle of the synchronicity of the universe and the three basic principles of Chinese & Siberian Shamanism (constant change, inaction and the world of energies). After a brief explanation of the history of the origins of the Yìjīng (I Ching), we move on to the concrete contents of the oracle book. 

    In very concrete terms, the explanation is given about the meaning of the trigrams, the composition of the hexagrams, the Chinese symbols that are located to the left and right of the hexagram, the personal line, the qualification line, the cosmological system of correspondences, the black hole in which a future prediction can be made. can end up, the importance of the changing lines in the hexagram, two very specific hexagrams and the other hexagrams are discussed.

Patrick Herbots presented his experiences as a 'prisoner' in a comprehensible way. This lecture was certainly enriching for the approximately 75 attendees!

Hugo Spooren

Davidfonds/OKRA by Herk De Stad

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Patrick Herbots' lecture went very well. Afterwards we only received positive comments and congratulations for his lecture.

Jan Schurgers

Center responsible VOM - Vita Humana Maaseik