Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My pilgrimage: A privilege

The trip also gave us the opportunity to make life-long
friendships, and an instant connection. This is myself and
Dustin Hulton-Alcorn, and Allison Miceli at Friday's
Shabbat dinner in Warsaw.
I began this trip last Saturday, surrounded by 59 other eager Canadian students of all backgrounds and walks of life. Listening to the facilitators and educators speak of the upcoming week and journey we were about to embark on, and the lessons we had pledged to teach, I thought I knew how amazing the Canadian Centre for Diversity and the specific program the March of Remembrance and Hope are. I did not, and I still do not; will not, until I have had the opportunity to share my story, Pinchas and Faigie's stories, and see where this experience, my new knowledge will take me.

I do, however, know that being accepted to this program is a great honor, a privilege, as I was surrounded by "people who have a vision and will strive for it" (Paul Wittes, MRH 2011 Social Worker).

I struggled with the reasoning of me being on this trip throughout the journey; during the webinar and preparation period as well as while overseas. I listened intently to the stories of Faigie and Pinchas, as well as stories of the second and third generation survivors: Chanie, Rachelle and Sacha, as well as directors Carla and Jeffrey.

Fellow blogger Allison and I at the end of the tracks at
Aushcwitz II - Birkneau. The famous entrance is in the
distance. Visit Allison's page, here.
I don't have a family history that leads me back to this era in history, to these specific sites, but I am starting that now. My children, my friends, my family, and all I encounter will know I took this pilgrimage. They will be aware. Love, not hate. They will survive and persevere, as those before them have done, and as I am so passionate about now. I survived Auschwitz, but few can say that. I walked away. And I have stories to tell, pictures to show, and compassion in my heart.

And over the next week I will be sharing this with you - through my journal entries, my thoughts, my questions, and my overall experiences of the trip.

Keep checking back daily for new posts over the next week and a bit.

"Take heed ... lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and ... teach them to your children and to your children's children." - Deuteronomy 4:9
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 25, 2011 at 3:41 AM

    Welcome home. I look forward to your journal entries. You must come for a visit when you need to find a local connection for your blog. There is a holocost survivor who came to live in Fredericton. She's passed on now and is resting in the local jewish cemetery that is next door to me. There are interresting markings on her gravestone. Gail M.

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  2. Laura HubbardMay 25, 2011 at 4:25 AM

    I'd love to come over sometime and take a walk through the cemetery. We spent a lot of time in Jewish cemeterys and talked about different markings and designs of the stones, and area itself. Very interesting. And thanks for being a faithful follower :) LH

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  3. AnonymousMay 25, 2011 at 4:58 AM

    My father was a Nazi sympathizer and all of my life it was rammed into me to hate Jews. He often said, "Hitler had the right idea, he just went about it the wrong way." In spite of this I chose to follow my own heart and soul, embracing all of humanity as brothers and sisters.

    A stone is symbolic in the Jewish faith. Stones are placed on graves as a sign of respect. With that knowledge I asked you to bring me a stone from Auschwitz. What you don't know is that this stone is my own way of trying to atone for my father's beliefs. If we forget history we are doomed to repeat it.

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