Oxfam- Boston

Dear All, 

             I wanted to thank everyone for a wonderful experience at OxFam International inBoston. After months of preparation, everything turned out greatly. The insights Oxfam shared with us all throughout the tour and presentation were quite salient. I was pleased to see a collaboration of ideas, in observing a convergence of goals and objectives between UNESCOand Oxfam's initiatives. For UNESCO, education is the vessel to elicit change, and for Oxfam, beginning with the individual, the concept of empowerment is imperative to ameliorate issues of poverty, hunger, and other impediments to sustainable development. In allowing an individual to assume control over their lives, empowerment as a tool can enable the millions suffering in the developing world, to shape their destiny.  It is also vital to remember that in a globalized world we (in the developed world) are not immune to issues affecting those at a distance. Whether the concern is drought, terrorism, or warfare, our interconnectedness ultimately transmutes local matters into global concerns. 

                     I was also glad that we were able to walk the Black Heritage Trail, and visit the Museum of African American History, in addition to the Holocaust Memorial. As we reflect on the grave human rights atrocities of slavery and genocide, we must be aware that such violations of human rights still exist. As people, we must attempt to prioritize in any circumstance the options of humanity over inhumanity, compassion over hatred, peace over enmity. Perhaps when we as a society can prioritize and are more so compelled to choose instinctively the former over the latter, will we be able to address the ever-present travesties devastating our society. 

       

The inscription on the Holocaust Memorial plaque which resonated with me reads,

"Those who have perished have been silenced forever. Those who witnessed and survived the horrors carry with them the burden of memory. Through their voices, we seek to comprehend the acts of inhumanity that can stem from the seeds of prejudice.

To remember their suffering is to recognize the danger and evil that are possible whenever one group persecutes another. As you walk this Freedom Trail pause here to reflect on the consequences of a world in which there is no freedom- a world which basic human rights were not protected. And know that wherever prejudice, discrimination and victimization are tolerated, evil like the the Holocaust can happen again".