Michael Commane
In the days surrounding the commemoration of the liberation of the German concentration camp at Auschwitz a number of articles appeared carrying the stories of some of the last survivors of the death camp.
One woman, who is now in her late 80s said: “I’ve never lost the feeling of how unreliable human beings are and neither am I fooled by superficial civilisation. But I realise that loss of faith in people is more devastating than loss of faith in God."
It is a powerful statement.
Every news bulletin every day carries incredible stories of pain, savagery and unimaginable cruelty.
Last week when the death by burning of the Jordanian pilot Muadh al Kasabeh was announced I was thinking of the words of the Holocaust survivor.
Then the following day Jordan announced it had hanged a jailed Iraqi militant whose release had been demanded by the Islamic State group.
February 1 was the 72nd anniversary of the Red Army victory at Stalingrad. Between August 1942 and February 1943 approximately two million people lost their lives or were badly maimed.
Between April and July 1994 approximately one million people were killed in Rwanda.
It’s easy to understand what the Holocaust victim means when she says “I’ve never lost the feeling of how unreliable human beings are and neither am I fooled by superficial civilisation”. Every time I read that sentence it catches in my throat. It’s scary because it’s true.
How foolish it is to relax in any sort of security. And right now the world seems in terrible turmoil.
But there are always shoots of hope. There are always those little signs that tell us that there is also a lovely side to human beings.
On Thursday, January 29 I was at a concert given by Princeton University Orchestra in aid of Concern at DCU. It was a cold evening. I’m not familiar with the geography of the campus.
Leaving the Helix I had no idea how to get to a bus stop. A young man, a student at DCU was passing on his bicycle. I asked him how I’d get to a bus stop to catch a bus into town. He got off his bike, parked it at a bike stand and walked with me for four or five minutes and then directed me to a bus stop, which was within sight.
Leaving the Helix I had no idea how to get to a bus stop. A young man, a student at DCU was passing on his bicycle. I asked him how I’d get to a bus stop to catch a bus into town. He got off his bike, parked it at a bike stand and walked with me for four or five minutes and then directed me to a bus stop, which was within sight.
During our walk I learned he was from China. It was his first year in Ireland and he was enjoying the new experience. Yes, there were times when he missed home but he was living with an uncle, who had come to Ireland some years ago.
All the time I presumed that he was heading in my direction. Not at all. Once he showed me where the bus stop was he turned around and walked back in the direction in which he had come. He went to trouble for me. No fanfare, nothing. Just a young man from China going out of his way to help someone.
Impressive. Okay it’s a small enough gesture. Still, it made life much easier for me and it was so kind of him.
That sort of goodness is a potential that is in all of us.
And then I’m back thinking of what the Holocaust woman said. Yes, she’s correct nevertheless, we also have potential to do great things.
It’s up to us to see to it that we help create an environment that brings out the best in people, always insisting that there is never any place for dictatorial behaviour or the slightest signs of xenophobia.
Thank you to that young man from Chengdu, who is studying at DCU.
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