Night, Elie Wiesel and Why I feel stupid
Bhumika Ghimire
March 24, 2006
Today evening I finished reading the last chapter of Elie Wiesel's book Night; I have not finished reading the book though. I find the incidents running in my head, I find myself thinking about Wiesel's experiences whenever I am alone. I am still reading the book.
It is not the first time I read about Holocaust, not the first time reading about someone's traumatizing experience. But the way Wiesel has described his experiences (while reading, his face would always come up in my mind when would try to picture the incidents and it made the reading even more painful) and the fact that I am dealing with violence as a citizen of a country in civil war, made the reading even more profound and heart tugging experience.
The ongoing Maoist violence in Nepal is killing hundreds of my countrymen everyday. People suffer, they are the opposition for the government and they are the enemy the rebels are fighting against. Without money, without rich connections the people in villages are being tortured everyday by both sides. For the government, the torture is a regular procedure to keep the country safe; they have the legitimacy the world gives for anything "government”. As for the rebels, they behead people, they kill teachers, and they kill children because they are fighting for freedom. And in today's world of political correctness, we have respect that otherwise we will join the ranks of tyrants.
Jews during the war, for long believed that whole world is looking at Europe and whatever Germany is doing, they would never allow Hitler's plan of killing off all the Jews. They believed that the 20th century world has come long way to allow Hitler's plans to succeed. But sadly their beliefs were crushed. The whole world watched in silence as thousands perished in the concentration camps, families lost, traditions, culture, life, all gone just because of madness of a single person. After Nuremburg trial the world, lead by USA promised to the people that this would never happen again. Rwanda happened, Angola happened and the Kurds were killed in Iraq all after the promise was made. After the numbers are tallied and risks of taking leadership are assed, the promises are repeated again, until the history repeats itself.
Now history is repeating in Nepal. The rebel leaders are going in the path Hitler took, the path not directed by reason but solely lead by hate, thirst for the absolute power and the belief that whoever has gun has the authority to do anything.
My mind is still reading Night. I find myself trying to understand the violence happening in my home, learning from the experiences of Holocaust. Among the words of Wiesel I try to find the way to cope with the tragedy when you see your whole community, your life, your neighbors just go away. When I read about hundreds of students kidnapped by the rebels or about abandoned villages my mind goes though the pages of Night again and again. Looking for answers, looking for a reason.
Everyday I have to make sense of people being killed just because they chose to differ from what is expected of them, I have to understand the beheading of a journalist and no one coming forward to protest. I have to understand the reason why people of Nepal are suffering without food water because of a blockade by the rebels, and I am here in the land of free doing nothing. Everyday I have come up with answers to justify all that I have and all that my people don’t have.
So I read Night again. I read the news, I read Night, and I feel stupid and worthless and wait for another day to come when I can start the cycle once again.
Copyright:Bhumika Ghimire,2006
It is not the first time I read about Holocaust, not the first time reading about someone's traumatizing experience. But the way Wiesel has described his experiences (while reading, his face would always come up in my mind when would try to picture the incidents and it made the reading even more painful) and the fact that I am dealing with violence as a citizen of a country in civil war, made the reading even more profound and heart tugging experience.
The ongoing Maoist violence in Nepal is killing hundreds of my countrymen everyday. People suffer, they are the opposition for the government and they are the enemy the rebels are fighting against. Without money, without rich connections the people in villages are being tortured everyday by both sides. For the government, the torture is a regular procedure to keep the country safe; they have the legitimacy the world gives for anything "government”. As for the rebels, they behead people, they kill teachers, and they kill children because they are fighting for freedom. And in today's world of political correctness, we have respect that otherwise we will join the ranks of tyrants.
Jews during the war, for long believed that whole world is looking at Europe and whatever Germany is doing, they would never allow Hitler's plan of killing off all the Jews. They believed that the 20th century world has come long way to allow Hitler's plans to succeed. But sadly their beliefs were crushed. The whole world watched in silence as thousands perished in the concentration camps, families lost, traditions, culture, life, all gone just because of madness of a single person. After Nuremburg trial the world, lead by USA promised to the people that this would never happen again. Rwanda happened, Angola happened and the Kurds were killed in Iraq all after the promise was made. After the numbers are tallied and risks of taking leadership are assed, the promises are repeated again, until the history repeats itself.
Now history is repeating in Nepal. The rebel leaders are going in the path Hitler took, the path not directed by reason but solely lead by hate, thirst for the absolute power and the belief that whoever has gun has the authority to do anything.
My mind is still reading Night. I find myself trying to understand the violence happening in my home, learning from the experiences of Holocaust. Among the words of Wiesel I try to find the way to cope with the tragedy when you see your whole community, your life, your neighbors just go away. When I read about hundreds of students kidnapped by the rebels or about abandoned villages my mind goes though the pages of Night again and again. Looking for answers, looking for a reason.
Everyday I have to make sense of people being killed just because they chose to differ from what is expected of them, I have to understand the beheading of a journalist and no one coming forward to protest. I have to understand the reason why people of Nepal are suffering without food water because of a blockade by the rebels, and I am here in the land of free doing nothing. Everyday I have come up with answers to justify all that I have and all that my people don’t have.
So I read Night again. I read the news, I read Night, and I feel stupid and worthless and wait for another day to come when I can start the cycle once again.
Copyright:Bhumika Ghimire,2006
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