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HI there,
I just spent the evening at the Museum of Tolerance, attending an event memorializing the 19th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. I just wanted to share some reflections and strike up a conversation.
I was both profoundly moved and disheartened that the Holocaust which killed some of my family members more than 60 years ago, can be linked so easily to the Rwandan genocide...a seemingly recent horrific event, that is memorialized using the same language the Holocaust survivors use..."let us never forget, lest it happen again." And indeed, genocide and large and small scale terror attacks continue to happen all over the world despite global efforts to thwart hate. I was astonished to hear the last panelist, a PhD from Temple University, who specializes in survivorship, say she is going to Macedonia next week to try to PREVENT a genocide. Incredible, huh? So, why is it that in this increasingly globalized modern world, that genocide continues to happen? Any thoughts?
And, in this globalized world, how enraging is it that the global community would NOT send forces to stop something so egregious? Will we let something like that happen again? What do you think?
I was interested to hear about the push towards education as a tool for the second generation of survivors to heal from genocide. Education was a central theme in tonight's panel discussion. Rwanda's school system is wrought with problems: language barriers, a limited number of inexperienced teachers, overcrowding, poverty, the list goes on and on. How would you change or improve the current education system currently in place for both the second generation of survivors and offenders?
Medical professionals heal people from physical wounds, or in the case of obstetrics, try in different ways to improve maternal morbidity and mortality, but how do you think medical professionals can contribute to the human rights struggle? Improving health, nutrition, preventative care, immunization, health education, and family planning are just a few things that come to mind. What are your ideas?
I'm fascinated and amazed that the genocide offenders live amongst their victims. Even more-so, the survivors continue to live their lives and function in the community. According to the esteemed Moderator, Dr. Yael Danieli, Bosnians, Cambodians, Chechnyans, German and Polish Jews, etc, were also forced to do the same, I cannot imagine what that must be like for people. I met a laboring patient yesterday who occasionally sees her former boyfriend, who shot her through the lung and nearly killed her, in her neighborhood sometimes. She says she feels stronger every time she sees him. People in Kibogora, Rwanda live intermingled as Banyarwanda- one Rwanda. What do you think about having to live side by side with someone who decimated your family or destroyed your life?
These are just a few thoughts I pondered in the wake of this event.
I'd love to strike up a dialogue. So, feel free to ramble.
Dr. Peskin
I just spent the evening at the Museum of Tolerance, attending an event memorializing the 19th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. I just wanted to share some reflections and strike up a conversation.
I was both profoundly moved and disheartened that the Holocaust which killed some of my family members more than 60 years ago, can be linked so easily to the Rwandan genocide...a seemingly recent horrific event, that is memorialized using the same language the Holocaust survivors use..."let us never forget, lest it happen again." And indeed, genocide and large and small scale terror attacks continue to happen all over the world despite global efforts to thwart hate. I was astonished to hear the last panelist, a PhD from Temple University, who specializes in survivorship, say she is going to Macedonia next week to try to PREVENT a genocide. Incredible, huh? So, why is it that in this increasingly globalized modern world, that genocide continues to happen? Any thoughts?
And, in this globalized world, how enraging is it that the global community would NOT send forces to stop something so egregious? Will we let something like that happen again? What do you think?
I was interested to hear about the push towards education as a tool for the second generation of survivors to heal from genocide. Education was a central theme in tonight's panel discussion. Rwanda's school system is wrought with problems: language barriers, a limited number of inexperienced teachers, overcrowding, poverty, the list goes on and on. How would you change or improve the current education system currently in place for both the second generation of survivors and offenders?
Medical professionals heal people from physical wounds, or in the case of obstetrics, try in different ways to improve maternal morbidity and mortality, but how do you think medical professionals can contribute to the human rights struggle? Improving health, nutrition, preventative care, immunization, health education, and family planning are just a few things that come to mind. What are your ideas?
I'm fascinated and amazed that the genocide offenders live amongst their victims. Even more-so, the survivors continue to live their lives and function in the community. According to the esteemed Moderator, Dr. Yael Danieli, Bosnians, Cambodians, Chechnyans, German and Polish Jews, etc, were also forced to do the same, I cannot imagine what that must be like for people. I met a laboring patient yesterday who occasionally sees her former boyfriend, who shot her through the lung and nearly killed her, in her neighborhood sometimes. She says she feels stronger every time she sees him. People in Kibogora, Rwanda live intermingled as Banyarwanda- one Rwanda. What do you think about having to live side by side with someone who decimated your family or destroyed your life?
These are just a few thoughts I pondered in the wake of this event.
I'd love to strike up a dialogue. So, feel free to ramble.
Dr. Peskin
