Sunday, July 3, 2016

Never Forget


I learn a lot from my children. A lot of times I wish that I could share the things I learn from them with my friends including my blogger friends. The following post is written by my daughter who is very sensitive about people who have suffered whether in the present or in the past. Needless to say my knowledge and outlook about the Holocaust has changed with time. Today I learned that the words "Never Forget" have a special place and a special meaning.

2016 has been a rough year when it comes to losing well-known (and well-liked) celebrities, and while I was a fan of many people we lost this year, it wasn't until the passing of Elie Wiesel yesterday that I felt compelled to ask my mom, "can I write a guest post on your blog?"

I remember reading Wiesel's Night in high school and looking back, I don't think I fully appreciated the significance of such a work. I would also have to describe my trip to the Holocaust museum in DC in the same manner. I understood what it was all about, and I felt for the victims, but I didn't truly get it. Teenagers aren't known for being the most compassionate beings, so I suppose I shouldn't kick myself for not having some heightened sense of empathy at fifteen.

As an adult I do have a greater sense of understanding of what it was all about, but I don't know if we can ever really get it. Because even for the most empathetic of people, the pain we feel is secondhand. And that's a good thing. No one should ever have to experience that magnitude of suffering again.

But there is a side effect in that we begin to forget. I remember going to see Twelve Years a Slave with my older brother. My immediate reaction upon exiting the theater was "I feel privileged." I wasn't talking about any sort of racial or social privilege, but rather a privilege of growing up in an era where the atrocity of slavery no longer existed, at least not in the US. It was merely the subject of history books now.

But while slavery may just be a subject people read about in their school texts today, it doesn't change the fact that it was a real thing that happened to real people. And those people may not be alive today, but their stories were real and those stories matter.

And the same is true of the Holocaust. When I was in high school, the student chapter of Amnesty International would read the names of Holocaust victims over the loudspeaker on Holocaust Remembrance Day in April. At that age I took it to be a tribute, a remembrance of such an unfathomable atrocity. As I got older I also realized the whole "don't let history repeat itself" aspect of it.

But more importantly, we need to remember the people. The eleven million people who were killed during the Holocaust were not a collective unit. They were eleven million distinct individuals, all with their own loves and dreams and fears and senses of humors and idiosyncrasies. And while we know the stories of some of them, such as Elie Wiesel or Anne Frank, there are so many more stories that go untold.

It still happens in today's day and age. When we hear of attacks happening around the world, or even sometimes in our own neighborhood. We mourn for our countries, our civil and religious liberties.

But please remember to mourn for the individuals, too.


12 comments:

Launna said...

I know what you mean... I will never know the atrocities these people dealt with... I am so saddened.. I taught both my girls to never ever forget what happened and to teach their children. We can never let that happen again... I can see how it could happen again too and I pray often that no one ever allows it to happen ... the best way to stop it would be to never ever forget... such a thoughtful post ...

Anonymous said...

Food for thought & beautifully written!!

Granny Annie said...

Wonderful message:-)

Celestina Marie said...

Beautiful written and a powerful message. Thank you for sharing. Blessings to you and have a great week.

Susie Swanson said...

Wonderful and inspiring post.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Thank you for sharing your wonderful insight.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

You have written an amazing post! It's so true...as we Must Never Forget, we must remember the individual losses not just the big picture. Parents, children, sisters, brothers, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors...Such a great post!

Susie said...

Munir, Your daughter did extremely well writing this post. To know one's "own" story makes it very personal. Touches our hearts makes us think. While we can we need to tell our loved ones how much we love them. Hold tight to family. Blessings to all, xoxo, Susie

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

A beautifully expressed and very true post. We must always think in terms of the individuals involved, and their personal stories, whether considering the atrocities of the past or the horrendous things suffered by people around the world today. Thinking of them collectively as "victims," or the "poor", or "homeless" strips them of their humanity, does them a great disservice, and makes it far too easy to dismiss or forget them.

B. WHITTINGTON said...

To Munir's daughter, this piece is well written, thoughtful, and eye opening.
We need to never let history repeat itself in regards to slavery or the Holocaust. Horrendous things humans do to other humans. God bless you young lady.

DMS said...

A very powerful post! I read Night in high school and remember being very moved by it. I have not visited the Holocaust Museum, but I hope to make it there one day to pay respect to those who went through things that are beyond terrible. It is very true that we cannot let history repeat itself.

Thanks to your daughter for the guest post. :)
~Jess

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Munir,
Wow, I was going through an old post and found you in the comments.
I'd lost my entire Blog List on the sideline and bit by bit I've been able to recreate it.
Glad to be back here and I want to compliment your daughter on this excellent post.
Yes, too often people rush past all these historical things that have happened and have shaped the world in which we are living now.
Never Forget should have a really deep meaning to all of us!
Sending you hugs,
Mariette