Panels, exhibits examine genocide and its aftermath
As part of a two-week series of art exhibits and panel discussions, an interfaith panel will discuss how their religious traditions address questions of forgiveness and reconciliation in the aftermath of genocide on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Union.
The panelists for “Genocide: Reconciliation, Forgiveness, and the Search for Meaning in the Face of Evil” are Rev. Christopher Carlisle, the campus’s Episcopal chaplain; Muhammad Ali Hazratji, chief of neurology at Holyoke Medical Center and president of the Hampshire Mosque in Amherst; Rabbi David Seidenberg, Sister Clare Carter of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, and Leonard Fourhawks of the Mohawk and Northern Cheyenne nations.
The event is part of the series “Never Again: Genocide from Cambodia to Darfur and Beyond,” which begins Nov. 2 with the opening of a multi-artist exhibition in the Student Union Art Gallery.
The gallery exhibitions include “Beyond Genocide,” Amy Fagin’s illuminated manuscripts depicting the history of genocides and other mass atrocities, primarily in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Also on display are “Ending the Silence,” an exhibition of drawings and letters by Cambodian children trying to come to terms with the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, and by elderly Cambodians trying to heal from their countrymen’s crimes against humanity; and “The Children of Darfur: Surviving Genocide,” drawings from children at a Darfuri refugee camp.
An opening reception is being held Nov. 3 from 5-6 p.m., followed by artist talks from 6-7 p.m. The exhibits run through Nov. 13.
The series continues Nov. 10 with another panel discussion, “Genocide: From Justice to Prevention,” which will address the political and legal issues related to genocide and particularly Darfur. The program takes place at 7 p.m. in the Commonwealth Room of the Student Union.
This series was initiated by the Office of Jewish Affairs. “As former victims of genocide, the Jewish people feel a moral imperative to ensure that this never happens again—to anyone. Through our sponsorship of these programs,” director Larry Goldbaum said, “we hope to educate the University community and in so doing, to bring the world one step closer to that goal.”
The series is sponsored by the Office of Jewish Affairs, STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Western Mass Darfur Coalition, Student Union Art Gallery, UMass Arts Council, Graduate Student Senate, Student Government Association, and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
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October 25, 2009.
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