Dear Mr. Wiesel,
First time I read "Night," your memoir that describes your horrific experiences during the Holocaust, was in 2003. In my opinion, two books everyone in the world should read are "Night" and Nelson Mandela's "Long Walk to Freedom."
I also suffered in my childhood. In 1992, my life was turned upside down when the civil war broke out in Bosnia, my country. At this time, I was thirteen and my sister was eleven.
My family is Serbian and we stayed in our city, Gorazde, which was held under siege by the Serbian forces. Overnight, many of our Muslim neighbors and even some friends began seeing us as the enemy. For two years, my family endured treatment that no human being should ever be subjected to. We were shot at, terrorized, put in a detention camp, starved, and eventually stripped of everything we owned. All this because of our ethnicity.
When I was seventeen, I almost killed a man who had attempted to kill my family during the war. After years of emotional struggle when I considered revenge as the only way to move on with my life, I was blessed to get involved in a youth program designed to help young people in Bosnia to become leaders in their communities. I worked with "former enemies" and this helped me open up my mind.
Over the years, yours and Nelson Mandela's books, experiences, and work for peace made me think about my wartime experience and subsequently led me to a complete personal transformation.
I went from a teenager seeking retribution to a person seeking healing, reconciliation, and peace. I wrote about my wartime experience and search for peace and reconciliation in "Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia," published in March 2008 by AMACOM Books.
I found somewhere a quote where you say: "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
I completely agree with you.
I tried to find an Op-Ed, an interview, a statement made by you, in which you say something about the current conflict in Gaza and condemn the killings of innocent people.
I couldn't find anything.
Like you, I dedicated my life to peace building and conflict transformation and management worldwide and promised to never be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.
I am not influential like you, but I still do everything I can to voice my opinion. I write and publish articles. Over the years, I wrote extensively about Rwanda, Darfur, Zimbabwe, and other places where people suffer.
I'm currently writing about the crisis in Gaza and condemning killing of over 200 innocent Palestinian children who were brutally murdered by the Israeli forces in less than three weeks.
Will you?
Sincerely,
Savo Heleta
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Ma'an News Agency - Bethlehem, West Bank
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Comments: 22
P.S. Payback is always a bitch.
BTW, I don't believe Elie Wiesel is a Gather member.
Have you heard of the blockade of Gaza? Payback *is* always a bitch...
How about instead of jeering, we try focusing on stopping the killing on both sides!
People are needed on both sides of this conflict to speak out against it. Against the destruction and killing of people who are just trying to live a regular life.
I'm with Sarah. Lois, you are being ignorant to think one side alone is guilty of causing this conflict
Class dismissed.
Two wrongs do not add up to a right.
10.
We want to warn. We want to remind. We want to re-focus all eyes on earth. The most convinced are the most blind. The vengeful will reap the back-blast. The lessons unlearned will learn ya', like it or not. Learn it or not.
I agree with you about the struggles in Israel. It is a very messy conflict. As the comments point out, there are those who believe that anything Israel does is acceptable because the Palestinians are guilty of aggression, too. But, somehow, fourteen deaths and several injuries against 900 deaths and over 2,000 injuries doesn't add up to a fair fight. There is something radically wrong with the United States for its unconditional support for Israel. Their actions are not the actions of people who want peace. The only way for peace to be brought about is for justice to prevail.
I think I agree with you, Dorian, about Zionism. Zionism suffers from a philosophy that claims that the land is "God given" which is a preposterous notion. The US pays a heavy price in the world for approving of the Zionist radical thinking.
Thanks for sharing on Endless Points
http://maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34908
and OpEdNews: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Open-Letter-to-Elie-Wiesel-by-Savo-Heleta-090111-565.html
MJ, Good comment! I used to be on the Israeli side in the conflict, then I watched several videos made by Palestinians and Jews who were friends and took it upon themselves to show "the whole story" and was surprised to see how many Palestinians have been raised their whole lives in refugee camps after having their homes taken away. You are right, people need to look at both sides and find solutions on both sides.
Joe, I wonder why folks think that "God given" also means "And don't share it with your neighbors." Strange.
Dorian, thanks for the book recommendation. I'll have to get that one!
Is that the outcome you desired, Israel?