Not too long ago, I visited the Dallas Holocaust Museum. This place is a really amazing reminder of the atrocities that humans can commit, and I was really moved by my experiences. While I was there, I saw a small fraction of artifacts from the Warsaw Ghetto, the death camps, and the freedom fighters. The exhibit focused on one day in the history of the Holocaust, and at the end, we were shown a film of real testimony from Dallas-area survivors. I even got to meet a survivor, which was pretty humbling.
This experience really got me thinking of the way that we always say “never again,” although similar circumstances are all around us in other parts of the world. Sure, the global scene is a little different now, and six million Jews are not being systematically murdered. I’ll give you that. But, I ask you to consider the terrible things that happened in Rwanda. Consider the things that are happening even today in Sudan. Consider the newest crisis, the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Kyrgyzstan. Each of these situation is a tragedy, but there is, perhaps, a greater tragedy–these crises are merely the tip of the iceberg. People all over the world are being subjected to terrible things that, as Americans, most of us cannot even fully comprehend.
I do find hope in this world, though. A friend of mine sent out a note asking people to learn more about the situation in Kyrgyzstan. NGO’s around the world are drawing attention to the dilemmas faced by women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. People are volunteering to go abroad in order to serve the defenseless. I love this. I love that even though not everyone can go work in a refugee camp, there are so many who are willing to do what they can. There is a need today, I think, to know what is going on in the world. To be informed. To do something. This is the key–as long as people aren’t silent about the terrors millions of people face, there is hope.
At the Holocaust museum, the overarching theme was the terrible crime of being a bystander, and the incredible importance of being an upstander. I urge all of you to take action. Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. It’s the least you can do, and I am sure that if they could tell you, they would say that it means more than you could ever know.
I know I’m a nerd, but I’m sad that when the fall semester schedule comes out, I won’t be looking at it to pick my classes. I’ll be pretty busy in the fall, though, so I guess it’s a good thing I’m graduating in August! 