But we cannot indefinitely avoid depressing subject matter, particularly if it is true, and in the subsequent quarter century the world has had to hear a story it would have preferred not to hear--the story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured people, remained silent in the face of genocide."
- Robert McAfee Brown in his Preface to Wiesel's "Night"
It is rare to read a book of such depth like Elie Wiesel's "Night" without spending many late nights pondering the implications that each word has had and will have on mankind. For those people who haven't read "Night," this nonfiction account of the Holocaust is a novel written with terrifying detail and power. Speaking in such chilling clarity to discuss such a dark topic about genocide, "Night" serves as a direct source that depicts the effects that attempted and often successful genocide has on those afflicted.
But Elie Wiesel's story is not the reason I was so affected by this book this summer. In fact, I never read past the preface! I picked this book up while sitting in my living room and, having read it before, I was only looking for a quick, light read. But after sitting down and reading it, I was forced to quite literally stop after reading Brown's preface. Why? Brown's words had such a force in them that I was forced to stop and consider them before turning to the first chapter of Wiesel's "Night."
Earlier this summer I wrote about an interesting book I read, "Complicity with Evil." This book is a tale of the United Nations. A most accurate summary of this book and it's topic is present in a quote that is found preceding the Table of Contents; "No failure did more to damage the standing and credibility of United Stations peacekeeping in the 1990s than its reluctance to distinguish victim from aggressor" (Executive summary of the United Nations 2000 report on its peacekeeping operations). Ironically, this book has increased my desire to see myself working at the UN 10 years from the current date.
But how does "Complicity with Evil" tie in with Robert McAfee Brown's preface to "Night?" Let us examine the given quote:
"...Few people wanted to read about the Holocaust. Such depressing subject matter.
But we cannot indefinitely avoid depressing subject matter, particularly if it is true, and in the subsequent quarter century the world has had to hear a story it would have preferred not to hear--the story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured people, remained silent in the face of genocide."
- Robert McAfee Brown in his Preface to Wiesel's "Night
During my reflections, it became quite clear that I was alarmed by the fact that Adam Lebor, the author of "Complicity with Evil," was able to demonstrate proof that the UN was unable to "confront the realities of genocide" due to actions taken by its own members, namely China. And it brought great fear knowing that the genocide that existed during the Holocaust, now only a "story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured people, remained silent in the face of genocide," was clearly able to penetrate into the populations of our planet.
It is curious that in our generation all the endearing truths of past generations still remain true to us. Only a blind man would assume that, as our world progresses, the disregard for events happening not in our direct gaze would diminish. It is a truth that our world is concerned only for those events occurring around us. Take for instance the events currently occurring in Pakistan. Right now Pakistan is seeing it's worst floods in 80 years. And when I arrive home I hear it mentioned on the radio once before the station goes back to it's music. This is a big difference from events like the Haiti Earthquake or Hurricane Katrina, events that occurred on our side of the hemisphere. In New Orleans, people still talk about Hurricane Katrina as if it happened yesterday while there is hardly any mention of the Pakistan disaster that is far worse in magnitude than Hurricane Katrina ever was.
But these are talks of natural disasters, events where aid can be sent but where the event itself cannot be prevented. In terms of large scale man made disasters, Darfur is an event comparable to the Holocaust. In Darfur, Adam LeBor claims that the UN delayed the declaration of Darfur as a genocide because it was not in the interests of the permanent powers of the UN, since the members of the UN would be required to step in with a military presence in the declaration of a genocide. Darfur exists today as the site of guerrilla warfare in Sudan. Although a ceasefire has recently been signed, there is currently no resolution to this civil war. After reflecting on this fact, it became clear to me that the warnings given in Wiesel's "Night" have largely been ignored by our generation.
It is depressing indeed to find that the generation before us has been unable to learn from the lessons given to them by the generation before them and I fear that this might also be the case with my generation as we look back 50 years into the future upon what we have accomplished. Only I hope that our collective conscious has grown so that we never come across such a sad day where regret stains our bodies and souls as I know love will on our days of happiness and joy.
"It is a sad day for all of us, and to none is it sadder than to me. Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have believed in during my public life, has crashed into ruins. There is only one thing left for me to do: That is, to devote what strength and powers I have to forwarding the victory of the cause for which we have to sacrifice so much..."
Neville Chamberlain - 3rd September 1939
