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Khrietuonyü Noudi
In 1999, I saw the war movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ at a cinema theatre called PVR in Saket, South Delhi. After seeing the movie I was left spellbound by the realistic depiction and also horrified by the tragedy of war. In the opening scene of the film, an old man followed by his wife and children is seeing walking across a war memorial cemetery in France. The old man is the lead character of the movie James Francis Ryan in his old age who is returning to pay his respects to those comrades who laid down their lives to save him and return him to his old mother as all his other brothers had been killed in the war. The old man was an American soldier and all those who died saving him were also American soldiers but are now buried in French soil. In other words, though they were American in blood and citizenship, their mortal remains were not returned to their native country but buried in foreign land.
In this case, though the remains of these American soldiers were not returned back to America and were buried and commemorated in a war memorial cemetery in France, it makes complete sense. This is so because the Americans and the French were allies in the 2nd World War and they fought together against the Nazi ideology and army. In fact it was the Americans who came from across the Atlantic to liberate the French from Nazi occupation. Therefore I guess it is a most befitting tribute if today there is such a war memorial in the heart of France to honour and commemorate all those soldiers who died fighting in France to save and liberate the French people. And I am sure no French people ever complained or grumbled against the setting up of this war memorial wherein the mortal remains of foreign American soldiers were also to be buried. This is so because the French people knew that these foreign soldiers died to give the local French people freedom, peace and a better future.
Likewise I guess there are many befitting memorials located in different countries around the world to celebrate, honour and commemorate important events, sacrifices and turning points. Memorials should be a true testimony to what we have been through, what we experienced and how it changed the course of society and history. And to be able to do this, it is fundamentally important that history is not twisted, sentiments are not hurt and the memory of the dead and the sacrifices made are truly respected, honored and revered so that whenever any people visit these memorials they will be able to return home as better, wiser, thoughtful and enriched people and not as misinformed, misguided and confused people. Or else, the very purpose behind the setting up of memorials would be lost.
I guess the location where memorials are set up or are to be set up is also extremely important. This is so because we cannot necessarily set up a memorial in a place to commemorate an event or something about which the local residents there have no emotional and sentimental attachment. Such a memorial will have no meaning and bearing and even people who visit such memorials set up in inappropriate location will not be touched or moved in any way. Therefore memorials can have befitting and meaningful purpose only if they are built in places where the local people can somehow relate to it and feel honored and respected. In such cases, the locals may even come forward and contribute both in manpower and resources because they know that the memorial is going to depict something which is true, which they have experienced and to which they are still emotionally and sentimentally attached. In such cases, the locals themselves will leave no stone unturned to ensure that such a memorial is safeguarded to the utmost because they know that it commemorates something which is true, which they experienced and which they want others and the world to know.
Therefore, I guess the feelings and sentiments of the local people here is of prime importance. If some outsiders are to come out of nowhere and set up a memorial in a place which does not depict the truth and to which the local people have no emotional and sentimental attachment, there will be no local support. Moreover, instead of being a mark of respect and honor to the dead and the locals, it may appear more like a direct insult, reprimand and challenge to the feelings and sentiments of many. So, the bottom-line is that memorials should be established only in places where it is historically, culturally and rationally befitting and where the locals are more than willing to donate their land and support and maintain the memorial even out of their own manpower and resources.
Many in our society today are so accustomed to saying the phrase “forgive and forget”. But I think this phrase is at best an understatement or a hyperbole. And personally I hate this statement because it has no meaning as far as my life and thinking are concerned. Moreover, I feel that intelligent and thoughtful people never use this kind of phrases in their vocabulary.
We are all very familiar with the idea and practice of forgiving. And as believers of Christ we are called and expected to forgive those who have done us wrong. Christ himself said, ‘forgive and you will be forgiven’. As believers of the gospel, we are to forgive others not one time, not two times but umpteen times. It is said that un-forgiveness is like drinking poison yourself while wishing your enemy to die. It is also said that un-forgiveness is like being confined to a prison cell yourself even though you have the keys to your freedom. It is also said that ‘when you forgive someone you are setting free a prisoner….and that prisoner is not the one you are forgiving but the prisoner is yourself’. Sometimes it is not easy to forgive but I am not against the idea and practice of forgiving. God’s mercy is new everyday and we must continue moving forward. And therefore we have to forgive, we should forgive and we must forgive.
But when it comes to forgetting, it is altogether a different issue. We can forgive but we must not forget. It is okay to tell someone to forgive but we have no right to tell anyone to forget. Our reasoning power and our memory are something which sets humans apart from other animals. Animals do not have reasoning power and memory and therefore if we are to forget what we have been through and what was meted to us, we are no longer different from animals. We must not forget because it makes us wiser, cautious, enriched and realistic. We can and we must tell our children to forgive others but how can we tell them to forget our history, our pains and our tears because if we don’t tell them our true story our children will have no foundation upon which to rely and build their future. We must not remain in the past, we must continue to move forward but that certainly does not mean we become like animals by forgetting our journey and ceasing to tell our true story because a truly vibrant and meaningful future can be built only when we remember and cherish our past and continue to tell our true story to whoever would listen…
