Night

Night
Originally uploaded by Charlene Chua.

I just finished 'Night', an autobiographical account of the author's experience of and survival from the concentration camps of Auschwitz and the like.

It has left me with a feeling I can't quite grasp. Pain, Horror, Emptiness, Uneasiness, Sorrow; these come close but are unfortunately not it. Perhaps it's a pastiche of random emotions which I can never condense into a single word.

Language fails me.
My heart wrenches.
The belief in Man is suspended.

To end off, here's a quote from Elie Wiesel, from his acceptance speech when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986:

"And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant."