The written part is the best one
It was a pleasure watching Monica Broti’s lecture. She was invited to present her article Bergen-Belsen: Remember to write to forget to celebrate the Translation Day at São Judas Tadeu University. She talked about the importance of writing for people who have been through catastrophes, wars and other tragedies, and how it has helped them move on with their lives experiencing such difficult times.
We might think they do not want to talk about what happened in their lives, but we should know that not talking is never the best option. However, opening your heart is not an easy decision to make. A bad memory may follow the victim for a long time and, over the years, it gets harder to talk about sad things. That is why writing is an important skill for them to express how they feel, and tell everything that is inside them and must be told.
Monica Borti also told us her experience with Nanette Blitz Konig, a friend of Anne Frank. Nanette decided to share her memories. She published a wonderful book I survived the Holocaust, reporting the period when she had to live in such a horrible a place as a concentration camp during World War II. It is unbelievable that she survived. Her friend, on the other hand, was not that lucky.
Anne Frank was a sweet Jewish girl who got a diary for birthday from her father. This little gift would become a treasure some years later. She wrote her fears, her little joys and her dreams by the time she lived in a hiding place in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, which came under Nazi occupation during the Third Reich. The Franks were betrayed and captured in 1944. The father survived, and he returned to Amsterdam after the war and found his daughter’s diary. If it were not for that, we would not know much about the little girl.
Nanette and other volunteers have done a terrific job offering their time and their lives showing how important it is to be understanding, kind and open-minded to get along with people from other countries, who have other beliefs and cultures. Learning from the past mistakes to never let them happen again.
Writing keeps memories alive and helps people to feel better about themselves. Sometimes is easier to write than talk, especially when we do not know how to say it. There are other kinds of written text: a happy birthday wish, a love letter, a Christmas postcard, an expected message, an apology, a thank you note etc.
I realized that writing is a blessing because it is a part of us that will last forever.
Ramon Olando Vilhora
RA 200909069
