The trip or program I am referring to is formally known as the “March of Remembrance and Hope (2008)”. It began with intense orientation in Toronto, Canada. Then it was translocated to Germany for a two-day introduction to the events that led up to one of the greatest human tragedies in history- the Holocaust. Our final stop was in Poland, where many of the now silent witnesses of these atrocities remain in spirit, among the buried dust and ashes.
The purpose of this program, which is hosted by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and the National (Canadian) Jewish Campus Life, was to do a lot more than to simply educate a handful (60 males and females) of Canadian students and young adults about the realities of the Holocaust. This program sought to take young leaders like you and me and engage us in the possibility of living in a world (our world) without hate, evil or injustice. Thus, as the title of the program suggests, the students who journeyed on this 10-day long program were encouraged to remember the sins of the past and to reflect on new hope for the future.
Although the program was heavily subsidized, therefore allowing youth from all socio-economic backgrounds to take part in the MRH experience first-hand, this was no free trip. What I mean is that every day each participant journeyed deeper and deeper emotionally, physically and spiritually. For some, this came out in their tears and, for others, in long stances of silent reflection and prayer.
I have experienced injustice first-hand, but I have not experienced genocide. Yet after hearing the narratives of Holocaust survivors, seeing the gas chambers and coming face-to-face with the thousands of possessions (including human hair) of all those who saw the face of evil and possibly lost their very lives as a consequence, I was more committed to being a part of the change that would end injustice for all.
Throughout the trip I held back my tears, not out of shame, but out of hope- my living hope in Jesus Christ and in God who is my justice. You see, preventing injustice takes more than just trying to understand the logic and rationale behind its occurrence (an impossible task if I do say so myself). It takes hope, hope that where there is justice there will also be no injustice, and that where there is love there will also be no hate.
Before the Holocaust, and since then, there have been many genocides and other forms of immense human suffering. But that does mean that genocide and other forms of discrimination are an inevitable part of human existence, because this is simply not true. Gandhi once said that we should be the change we want to see in the world. I implore all of you, my brothers and sisters alike, to be the justice you want to see in the world, and to be the love you want to see in the world. We only have one life to live, and I pray that you and I both choose to live our lives for good.
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Anne Frank, November 9, 1942
Paix and Shalom
For more information about this amazing experience, please visit http://www.remembranceandhope.com/
« return.