Clarion University will host two events in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Week this week.
“We remember the Holocaust not for the sake of the atrocities committed, but for the sake of our own humanity that condemns these atrocities and dignifies the memories of their victims,” said Clarion University philosophy professor Todd Lavin, Ph.D.
“Even today, too often ethnic, political and religious differences divide us from each other, and we then forget about the humanity that binds us together. We remember the Holocaust to remember, despite our differences, our shared humanity, and our shared sympathy for the suffering of others.”
The university will show the film “Life is Beautiful” (“La vita è bella”) April 13 at the Suites on Main North University Theater.
The film stars Roberto Benigni, as a father who uses a mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers of the concentration camp where they are being held.
Benigni also wrote and directed the film, which won seven Academy Awards including Best Actor for Benigni and Best Foreign Language Film.
“While there are many films that give voice to the inhuman atrocities of the Holocaust, ‘Life is Beautiful’ is not one of them,” said Lavin.
“Rarely is a film centered on the Holocaust celebrated as a ‘modern comic masterpiece.’ Yet, the humor of ‘Life is Beautiful’ does not belittle the Holocaust, but gives voices to the love the main character has for his wife and son. Maybe a film such as this could be only written half a century after the Holocaust ended, the distance allowing us to find the humanity beneath the horror.”
The second Holocaust Remembrance Week event features speaker Qutaiba Idlbi from Damascus, Syria, to discuss human rights at 7 p.m. April 14 in Hart Chapel.
Idlbi is a native of Damascus and became actively involved in human rights and democracy activism with the start of the revolution in March 2011. He was detained twice and tortured at the hands of internal security forces in Syria. He was forced to leave the country and continue his efforts from abroad.
He is the co-founder and director of operations with People Demand Change, a small aid and development firm focusing on supporting civil governing structures and developing sustainable aid methods in Syria. He also directs the Info Hub currently focusing on governance and security developments in Syria.
Getting Idlbi to come to Clarion began with mathematics professor Stephen Gendler’s trip to the United States Holocaust Museum last fall. At the museum, there was a display on Syria and the crimes being committed against its people. Idlbi’s name was among those mentioned in the display so Gendler reached out to him.
Gendler said having Idlbi come to campus is a major event for a rural university in western Pennsylvania since speakers of Idlbi’s caliber usually speak in larger cities.
“How many Syrian refugees do you get that were actually arrested and thrown in jail?” Gendler said.
During Idlbi’s time at Clarion, he also plans to spend some time with the university’s finance majors and Muslim Student Association.