Rachel Weisel | Witnessing is not enough to stop genocide

Here at Penn, books are everywhere. For the most part, we treat our books with respect. We keep them in libraries, classrooms or bookstores, protected from harm. Last Thursday, though, I saw books in an entirely different kind of condition.

These books were unnaturally tattered, torn and pierced with wire. Jagged holes and gaps in the pages revealed images: maps of Poland, pictures of concentration camps, innocent faces and the text of a Yiddish folktale. These "altered books," on display last week in Logan Hall, are part of an exhibit called "Holocaust Stories." Viewing them was a wake-up call for me.

New Jersey native Aileen Bassis, the artist of the exhibit, based her work on her travels in Europe, where she visited a concentration camp in Austria, and took photographs in the Jewish Quarter of Antwerp, Belgium.

"The Holocaust is an interrupted - and unfinished - narrative," Bassis said, in her Artist Statement about her work.

As you probably already know, another genocide is taking place right now, as you are reading this column, in Darfur, Sudan. According to savedarfur.org, over 400,000 people have been killed, and over 2 million people have been displaced in the conflict.

Insulated on campus, it's hard to constantly think about things a world away. With deadlines hanging over our heads, and short-term goals monopolizing our time, it's easy to forget about the bigger picture.

I know when I can't sleep at night, it's because I'm worried about figuring out my housing for next year, deciding on my major or thinking of an idea for my next column - not because I'm upset about the genocide in Darfur.

We're all busy, which is something I love about Penn. Whether it's pledging a sorority, rehearsing for a play or taking six classes, most students have their plates more than full. Every day feels like a whirlwind.

Most of us have a false sense of security. We feel invincible and sheltered from the world's problems, simply because we are too preoccupied and self-absorbed to notice them. We never stop to think that maybe something as terrible as genocide could potentially happen to us.

But Bassis' exhibit proves otherwise. It also features a series of monoprints, with an outline of an orthodox Jewish man riding a bicycle stenciled onto each print. This "timeless" and faceless man represents the idea of an innocent victim. And he could easily be one of us.

If we look a little closer, maybe Darfur isn't as far away as we think. There are some students who, though geographically far from the crisis, choose to tune in and join the fight against genocide.

Penn is home to a chapter of Students Take Action Now Darfur, a student-led "anti-genocide coalition." STAND regularly holds events such as lectures, candlelight vigils and silent protests to increase student awareness about the situation in Darfur.

But participation in STAND is not as high as it could or should be, according to College sophomore Samir Sonti, one of STAND's co-chairs.

Maybe this is because the situation is overwhelming. I often wonder how I, a single person out of billions in the universe, can make asignificant difference.

"The hardest part is that no matter what you do, you never really see your progress...You just have to remember that every little thing you do, from handing out flyers to getting signatures for a petition, will ultimately have an effect," Sonti, said.

It's not too late to start now. Students will soon have another opportunity to show their support and humanity, during Penn's second annual Witness Week, dedicated to human-rights awareness, Feb. 18-24. STAND is just one of the many human rights advocacy groups at Penn that will be collaborating in this program.

Through STAND, students will have the unique opportunity to listen to pediatrician Jerry Ehrlich speak about his experiences in Darfur working for M‚decins sans Fronti‚res (Doctors Without Borders).

"Our biggest goal is to give students easy access to a whole week of human-rights events on campus. Witness Week is about raising awareness, " College junior and chair of Witness Week Shira Bender said.

While action begins with awareness, it will take more than education to promote change. Students should use Witness Week to start taking responsibility for the human rights of oppressed people in Darfur and around the world.

As college students, this seems to be the right time in our lives to examine and redefine our causes, concerns and values. We have the freedom to make changing the world a part of our own identities.

It is up to us to open our eyes, read the book and then finish the story.

Rachel Weisel is a College freshman from Chesterfield, Missouri. Her e-mail address is weisel@dailypennsylvanian.com. Writes of Passage appears on Fridays.

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