Rosian Zerner, Holocaust
They wanted to kill me because I was Jew. I was 6 years old - a child! ! Such can be mankind's inhumanity, as manifested in atrocities of the Holocaust unleashed against the Jews. A Holocaust unique because it sought out Jews for murder no matter who or where they were and across borders. A Holocaust where not all victims were Jews but all Jews were marked as victims.
So I stand before you here today as a symbol of that Holocaust, a Holocaust that should be a lesson and a beacon for humanity. I stand before you to ask that we do not bypass the past but learn from it to change the future. I stand before you so we can move from history to a new starting point, from memory to action, from brutality to consciousness, to understanding, to goodness. I stand before you because as I speak untold atrocities are still being committed, and I stand with you in the Dream for Darfur, a dream for a world that sees our lighted torches, a world that reaches out to accept the sacred tasks we must share for our humanity to survive. A world where there is a return to decency, to justice - to love for one another.
When I hear those who deny the Holocaust and my own experience, I weep in my heart and know I must bear witness to truth, not only for myself and Jews but for all those whose lives and history has been and is being affected. Jews are commanded to seek this even as Jews are again attacked in many parts of the world for just being Jews. As a survivor who is part of the generation that is the last eyewitness to the Holocaust, I am horrified that this is happening in my own lifetime. And I am horrified that in my lifetime I see a Sudan, that has yet to learn from the Holocaust, that countries that can help, like China, shroud themselves in silence and others are stuck in a stale paralysis of spirit.
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, survivor Elie Wiesel said that "the opposite of love is not hatred but indifference, that neutrality always helps the aggressor and never the victim." We are all gathered here today because we do not want to be indifferent, we do not want to be neutral or silent. We cannot be silent, we want our voice heard and we want the hearts and minds of individuals and countries to listen to our message of peace. STOP THE CRUELTY. STOP THE INSANITY. STOP THE SPIRAL OF MORAL DECAY. We are all held accountable for each other and for Darfur.
Mother Theresa said "If we ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop" and that is a reason why the Massachusetts Coalition for Darfur, Jewish Community Relations Council and all the dedicated volunteers and others are making this day possible. We have gathered because we believe in the possible!
The torches around the world, across America, across Massachusetts and here in Boston have united us in a Dream for Darfur. Let the dream become a reality. Let it be! Shalom, PEACE.
