The meaning of America to a suvivor of the Holocaust

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

Published July 03, 2009 @ 03:27PM PT

Peter A. Zuckerman, a Holocaust survivor with a wonderful personal website, tells this story of his arrival in America:

After receiving my immigration papers I boarded the Marine Marlin, one of the 900 passengers that had a chance to start a new life in America.

Like millions of other immigrants to America, I experienced the elation of seeing the Statue of Liberty looming up at the entrance of New York Harbor. After the stormy crossing of the Atlantic the skies cleared as if by magic. The ship floated over the smooth surface of a suddenly tranquil sea. It seemed as if the elements themselves became subdued by the torch lifted high, promising freedom to the oppressed masses of humanity.

For me and my fellow survivors the words of Emma Lazarus -- carved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty -- were especially appropriate. Our ship indeed carried the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." I experienced the exultation and emotions of joy as we disembarked in Ellis Island, the gateway for millions of immigrants to America. My sufferings came to an end. The promise of the New World, at one time unattainably distant, now became a reality. I even received a brief recognition, as the New York Herald Tribune reported our arrival (January 25, 1947).

As Americans celebrate our independence this weekend it's interesting to reflect on the many meanings of our country to survivors of genocide - those we have fought for, those we have advocated for, and those we have forgotten.

Daily Darfur: Games of all kinds

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

category: Daily Darfur

Published July 03, 2009 @ 09:47AM PT

Political Games

The Justice and Equality Movement rebel group signed a deal with a Sudanese opposition party to "push for a new transitional government," according to both sides.

The opposition Umma party is an Islamic party led by Sudan's last elected leader, former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi (deposed just over 20 years ago by Sudan's current leader, Omar al-Bashir).  As Reuters notes, this move is sure to "infuriate Khartoum".

It will be interesting to see how they proceed.

Umma and JEM leaders said Sudan's government would become "illegitimate" on July 9, the date that national elections were originally due to start under the CPA.

That will leave a "constitutional vacuum that can only be addressed through a national government," Umma vice-president Fadlalla Burma Nasir told Reuters.

The question is how they plan to set up that national government.  JEM's attempts at taking over in Khartoum sure haven't gone well for them in the past.

Poker Games

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Genocide and the Ohio Second

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

Published July 02, 2009 @ 08:58PM PT

Genocide denial has become a big issue in the race for Ohio's 2nd Congressional seat.

David Krikorian, a "grandson of survivors of the Armenian Genocide" according to his candidate biography, is running against incumbent Jean Schmidt, co-chair of the House Turkish Caucus.

Last November, days before his first contest against Schmidt, Krikorian demanded in an open letter:

"her immediate withdrawal from this race and her apology to the people of the United States of America for the crime she has committed against our American soldiers and humanity by denying the undisputed facts of the Armenian Genocide."

Krikorian claimed that Schmidt, during House debate on US recognition of the Armenian genocide in 2007, said:

"The question comes to the definition of genocide and I don't think we are comfortable making that attribution at this time".

Krikorian told voters:

"The only deniers of this great tragedy which led to the Holocaust of the Jews by Nazi Germany are the Turkish Government and certain members of the United States Congress including Jean Schmidt [...] Jean Schmidt is a self-serving politician and an embarrassment to her district and to the United States of America.  The people of Ohio's second district will, if they elect her on November 4th, condone her denial of the Genocide of 1.5 million Christians.  And, in so doing, be guilty of a crime against humanity as the cover-up is just as bad as the crime."

Schmidt won that race with 45% of the vote.  Her Democratic opponent received 37%, and Krikorian, running as an Independent, received 17%. 

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Daily Darfur: The debate over justice

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

Published July 02, 2009 @ 09:20AM PT

The International Criminal Court and its prosecutor's case against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been the topic of great discussion recently.

The Washington Post's Colum Lynch recently noted that the court is "under unusual fire," in part because of some African leader's push against the court and in favor of Bashir.

Those in favor of the court and its mission for international justice have been vocal in response.  As I noted the other day, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recently had an op-ed in the New York Times in favor of the court and its case against Bashir.

Yesterday, the ICC's chief prosecutor wrote in the same space about his work and the importance of support for the pursuit for international justice .

The drafters of the Rome Statute were not naïve idealists. They were the ultimate realists. In their lifetimes, they had watched the Khmer Rouge kill millions, they had let Srebrenica happen and they had let Rwanda happen. They had failed the “never again” promises of their fathers. [...]

Even critics of the court are talking about ending impunity. Sometimes the process is painful and sometimes it is controversial, but it is changing international relations forever.

A number of Nobel Laureates and African leaders agree.  In a statement released recently, they said:

The people of Darfur deserve more than negotiating warlords forgiving each other for the violence – including brutal sexual violence – they have perpetrated primarily against women, children and other non-combatants.

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Remembrance: A Poem from the Holocaust

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

Published July 01, 2009 @ 07:55PM PT

Tonight I direct you to a beautiful collection of poems from the Holocaust I recently discovered, published at The Hyper Texts.

From a translation of Warsaw Ghetto poetry and poems by survivors of the Ghetto by Yala Korwin:

Remembrance

You saw blood of the homeless and innocent.
You heard the voices mocking them.
You saw a beast jumping out of the crowd,
Heard the laugh, looked into living eyes
When smoke enveloped the silence
Of other voices.

You came back to your homeland,
As one comes back to life. You see a flower
Growing in the fertile, too-fertile earth.
Traces of smoke become sky-blue, like a remorse,
The smell of burning disperses,
Even the shadows pale.

In the air – an aroma, like anticipation
Of new growth, of unknown words.
Chestnuts bloom, grasses are busy repairing the web
In the earth’s red wound.
Buds are sticky, water sinks into the bushes
And roars again.

Like tokens of pleasure and strength,
The nightingale raves in thickets of young trees.
Its song rises and bursts like fountains of light
Beating the sky. The earth’s beauty is unfriendly,
More indifferent, than inhuman mass-graves.
And if you become lost in the beauty of words,
As in an unseen face, their clean sound,
Too clean, will be outweighed by a mixture

Photo from the Berlin Holocaust Memorial from Flickr user plastictaxi.

Daily Darfur: What's another two months between friends?

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

category: Daily Darfur

Published July 01, 2009 @ 10:19AM PT

The Sudanese elections have been pushed back yet again (collective gasp of surprise).

Originally slated for mid 2009, then pushed to February 2010, the elections are now supposed to happen in April 2010.  Why?

"The National Elections Commission has been deliberating and observing the circumstances relating to the national elections and has decided on the modification of the previous timeframe," said a statement signed by Commission chairman Abel Alier.

Oh, that clears things up.  To be fair, AFP obtained a copy of a slightly more coherent explanation:

"The electoral process depends on the results of the census, but those results were not received until mid-May, a month and a half later than expected," the letter said.

Of course, even the census results are still a point of contoversy.

Over at Making Sense of Darfur Alex de Waal has an in-depth assessment of the problems with Darfuri participation in the elections.

Sadiq al Mahdi summed it up: “Elections are vital but not viable without peace.”

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Putting your money where your mouth is

by Martha Heinemann Bixby

Published June 30, 2009 @ 07:38PM PT

When I got home from work today I opened up my mail to find a proxy ballot from Fidelity, where I have some retirement funds invested.

Instead of telling me the usual dismal news about the state of my investments, the Fidelity Board of Trustees had a question for me.  Well, rather, a suggestion.

After encouraging me to vote for all of them, they recommend, IN LARGE BLOCK LETTERS, that I vote AGAINST a shareholder proposal

concerning procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in the judgment of the Board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.

I knew this was coming.  But there's something very different about hearing directly from the people with whom you've entrusted your money that they would rather make some more cash (for themselves; from the look of my recent statements it won't be coming my way) than avoid investing in companies that they themselves would decide are substantially contributing to genocide.

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