Below, Uzma Jamil is reflecting back on the circle of conversations ‘Through the eyes of Resisters and Rescuers: Embracing the Will to Act’ organized in April 2009 by Human Above All as part of our Genocide Prevention Campaign.
We thank her for taking the time to share her reaction with all of us.
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I was a member of the audience at the panel discussion about resisters and rescuers in the face of genocide, as part of the series of discussions to mark the Day of reflection on the prevention of Genocide adopted in Canada. I was particularly struck by the words of one of the panelist, Berthe, the fact that she described her story about the nun who gave up her own life to save those of others, including Berthe’s, in the Rwandan genocide as a testimony and a testament to that woman’s moral courage, her life and her actions. Her story was moving, and drove home her point. But it caused me to reflect. Berthe, and the other two women who spoke, all have their stories as survivors of genocides and/or crimes against humanity, which they are willing to share as a way of keeping up awareness. What about the rest of us who do not have personal links to histories of civil conflicts or political violence? What can we do to prevent genocide in the future?
We can bear witness. In doing so, however passive our role as listeners may be, we are also taking a moral position in the world and the horrific events that have happened and are happening around us. We are not just audience members. We create a moral relationship with the person sharing their experience. By bearing witness, I say that I am here to hear your story. I give it its space, its due, its place. I acknowledge your personal experience as a survivor. I bear witness. With my presence, by my presence, simply by my presence, I acknowledge your presence, your history as an individual and your story of survival and resistance and courage in the face of horrific circumstances. But beyond that, beyond the individual, I bear witness to the evil of genocide. I bear witness to the complexity of human beings, from their capacity to torture and kill and inflict tremendous pain and injustice, to their equal capacity to stand up to evil and to give up their own lives in order to save those of others.
To prevent genocide in the future, at the very least, this is what we can do. As human beings who think morally about our place in the world and our relationships with fellow human beings, we can bear witness.
Uzma Jamil
April 19, 2009
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I was a member of the audience at the panel discussion about resisters and rescuers in the face of genocide, as part of the series of discussions to mark the Day of reflection on the prevention of Genocide adopted in Canada. I was particularly struck by the words of one of the panelist, Berthe, the fact that she described her story about the nun who gave up her own life to save those of others, including Berthe’s, in the Rwandan genocide as a testimony and a testament to that woman’s moral courage, her life and her actions. Her story was moving, and drove home her point. But it caused me to reflect. Berthe, and the other two women who spoke, all have their stories as survivors of genocides and/or crimes against humanity, which they are willing to share as a way of keeping up awareness. What about the rest of us who do not have personal links to histories of civil conflicts or political violence? What can we do to prevent genocide in the future?
We can bear witness. In doing so, however passive our role as listeners may be, we are also taking a moral position in the world and the horrific events that have happened and are happening around us. We are not just audience members. We create a moral relationship with the person sharing their experience. By bearing witness, I say that I am here to hear your story. I give it its space, its due, its place. I acknowledge your personal experience as a survivor. I bear witness. With my presence, by my presence, simply by my presence, I acknowledge your presence, your history as an individual and your story of survival and resistance and courage in the face of horrific circumstances. But beyond that, beyond the individual, I bear witness to the evil of genocide. I bear witness to the complexity of human beings, from their capacity to torture and kill and inflict tremendous pain and injustice, to their equal capacity to stand up to evil and to give up their own lives in order to save those of others.
To prevent genocide in the future, at the very least, this is what we can do. As human beings who think morally about our place in the world and our relationships with fellow human beings, we can bear witness.
Uzma Jamil
April 19, 2009
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