April 14, 2005

Nobel Laureate warns against indifference
Elie Wiesel said people need to show compassion in even the smallest ways

by Kevin Miller
The Roanoke Times

For many people, the sudden and tragic loss of family becomes a cloud that darkens the rest of their lives. Yet for Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel, the trauma he suffered as a teenager spawned a mission to teach others about compassion.

Demonstrating the sense of humanity that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, Wiesel told a packed house at Virginia Tech that humanity's capacity for indifference, not necessarily hatred, allows events such as the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, or even the suffering of a neighbor to happen. While hatred is usually learned as a child, Wiesel said, "Indifference is something that is a choice."

The level of respect that many in the audience showed for Wiesel was evident not only in the standing ovations but also in the attendance. Wiesel's appearance Wednesday was the first time Virginia Tech sold out a speech in the 2,000-seat auditorium in Burruss Hall. Many more were turned away without tickets.

"I'm honored to be in the same room as him. He's amazing," said Jennifer Osborne, a Marion High School teacher who brought 17 students from her English honors and advanced composition class.

Born in what is now a part of Romania in 1928, Wiesel was 15 when the Nazis cleared the Jews from his hometown and sent his family to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. His mother and younger sister died at the camp, while his father died later at the Buchenwald camp.

While working as a journalist in France after the war, Wiesel wrote his first book, titled "Night," about his experiences during the Holocaust. The gripping memoir, which has been translated into more than 30 languages, is now common reading in high school and college courses on the Holocaust throughout the nation.

He has since written more than 40 books, both fiction and nonfiction. He won the Nobel Prize in 1986 for his international pace efforts and has also been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and Medal of Liberty Award. He also served as the founding chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

An American citizen, Wiesel is a distinguished professor at Boston University and lives in New York.

During his hour-long speech, Wiesel quoted often from stories of Job, who was tested by Satan through a series of tragedies but remained faithful to God.

He said that while he and others would describe the 20th century as "the most violent and cruelest in history," the 21st century is off to an ominous start. Between the Sept. 11 attacks, the constant threat of terrorism, and the rise of fanaticism, the 21st century is presenting humankind with real reason for concern, he said.

What is needed, Wiesel said, is for people to fight indifference by showing compassion in even the smallest ways: By loving another person, by writing a book, or by helping feed a hungry child.

"I cannot say I am free because other people are not. I must say I am free when other people are free," Wiesel said. "And may God help all of us if we are indifferent to other people's quest . . . for freedom, solidarity, and hope."

Stephanie Gilmore, a retired Blacksburg resident, said she saw many similarities between Wiesel and South African leader Nelson Mandala, who spent years in prison. Both men went through so much in their lives but emerged "without bitterness and anger and more fully human," she said.

Sarajane Taylor, also a Blacksburg retiree who accompanied Gilmore, agreed. "His compassion and hope is something of a miracle in this lousy world we live in," Taylor said.