Sunday / 2011 Project365: Day Thirty
I spent the afternoon in the Tyne Theatre, listening to "Untold Stories" at a Commemorative event for Holocaust Memorial Day 2011. There were musical and theatrical performances, speakers, readings, reflection, and testimonies from genocide survivors. Not only a memorial for past (and current) atrocities, the HMD events seek to acknowledge the past in the hope that we never forget; the ultimate aim being a future free from the dangers of persecution and discrimination with the encouragement of tolerance and the celebration of diversity.
While I whole-heartedly support the message behind it, I confess my reason for attending was a purely educational one. Perhaps morbidly, I was interested in hearing the testimonies of genocide survivors scheduled to appear. Youk Chang gave testimony on his experiences in Cambodia. Some stories are not easy to hear; maybe it is because I know less about the situation, but Youk Chang's story as a survivor of Khmer Rouge's killing fields in Cambodia was like a swift punch to the gut. In saying that, I do not mean to imply that the other testimonies were less shocking. Eva Clarke was the reason I put my name down to attend. Eva was born on a cart in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, following her mother's 3 week journey on an open coal train without food or water; her mother weighed only 35kg, and Eva only 1.5kg! How either of them survived is unfathomable.
Other interesting moments came courtesy of the speakers. Professor Roberta Greene from the University of Texas, gave an informative presentation about her research project on the resilience of survivors. Dr Peter Kurer in particular gave an interesting presentation about the little known success of the Quakers of helping thousands of Jews to safety. I especially liked how he happened to mention the general refusal the world over, with few exceptions, to acknowledge what was happening. That is something you don't often hear said aloud.
I attended with my cousin. I had asked a few people at work if they were interested but general consensus was uncertainty over the emotions involved. Personally, I found it to be quite enlightening. However, there were moments of reflection, and I almost broke when a local girl gave a reading of "Pigtail" by Tadeusz Rozewicz:
When all the women in the transport
had their heads shaved
four workmen with brooms made of birch twigs
swept up
and gathered up the hair
Behind clean glass
the stiff hair lies
of those suffocated in gas chambers
there are pins and side combs
in this hair
The hair is not shot through with light
is not parted by the breeze
is not touched by any hand
or rain or lips
In huge chests
clouds of dry hair
of those suffocated
and a faded plait
a pigtail with a ribbon
pulled at school
by naughty boys.
While I whole-heartedly support the message behind it, I confess my reason for attending was a purely educational one. Perhaps morbidly, I was interested in hearing the testimonies of genocide survivors scheduled to appear. Youk Chang gave testimony on his experiences in Cambodia. Some stories are not easy to hear; maybe it is because I know less about the situation, but Youk Chang's story as a survivor of Khmer Rouge's killing fields in Cambodia was like a swift punch to the gut. In saying that, I do not mean to imply that the other testimonies were less shocking. Eva Clarke was the reason I put my name down to attend. Eva was born on a cart in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, following her mother's 3 week journey on an open coal train without food or water; her mother weighed only 35kg, and Eva only 1.5kg! How either of them survived is unfathomable.
Other interesting moments came courtesy of the speakers. Professor Roberta Greene from the University of Texas, gave an informative presentation about her research project on the resilience of survivors. Dr Peter Kurer in particular gave an interesting presentation about the little known success of the Quakers of helping thousands of Jews to safety. I especially liked how he happened to mention the general refusal the world over, with few exceptions, to acknowledge what was happening. That is something you don't often hear said aloud.
I attended with my cousin. I had asked a few people at work if they were interested but general consensus was uncertainty over the emotions involved. Personally, I found it to be quite enlightening. However, there were moments of reflection, and I almost broke when a local girl gave a reading of "Pigtail" by Tadeusz Rozewicz:
When all the women in the transport
had their heads shaved
four workmen with brooms made of birch twigs
swept up
and gathered up the hair
Behind clean glass
the stiff hair lies
of those suffocated in gas chambers
there are pins and side combs
in this hair
The hair is not shot through with light
is not parted by the breeze
is not touched by any hand
or rain or lips
In huge chests
clouds of dry hair
of those suffocated
and a faded plait
a pigtail with a ribbon
pulled at school
by naughty boys.