NEW YORK—Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, novelist, professor, and human rights activist, was awarded the second annual Lantos Human Rights Prize at Tishmann Auditorium at the New School in Manhattan on Wednesday.
The prize, presented by the Lantos Foundation, serves to commemorate late Congressman Tom Lantos (1928–2008), who is the only Holocaust survivor to have served in U.S. Congress. Last year, the first prize was awarded to Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
In his speech at the award ceremony, Wiesel recalled the alienation aspect of his experience during the Shoah, or the Nazi Holocaust. “The victims suffered—of course—because of the cruelty of the enemy, but also because of the feeling of abandonment, solitude. We were so alone. So alone. With the feeling that nobody cared,” he said. Weisel believes that, more than hate, indifference is perhaps the most insidious human trait:
“The peril threatening humankind today is indifference, even more than hatred ... Hate is an action. Hate takes time. Hate takes energy. Indifference is nothing, but indifference to hatred is encouraging hatred, and is justifying hatred. So what we must do, is fight indifference,” he said in the video developed as a tribute to his life’s work on human rights, shown prior to his acceptance of the Lantos Prize.
Wiesel went on to reflect on the work he and Congressman Lantos engaged in, advocating respect for human rights and encouraging all individuals to stand up for justice and speak out for the oppressed, with a will to create, at the very least, as sense of hope among victims of oppression wherever they found them.
“We don’t talk about our suffering. We talk about other people’s suffering. We don’t talk about what hurts us. We talk about what hurts the other ... that makes that ‘other’ a human goal that needs protection and ... friendship,” Wiesel said.
Born to a Jewish family in Romania, Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz with his parents and siblings at the age of 15. After the war came to an end, only he and his elder sisters Beatrice and Hilda survived.
Wiesel’s memoir on the concentration camp experience, titled “Night,” has been translated into 30 languages and is regarded one of the finest pieces of Holocaust literature. After “Night,” he published dozens of books and essays and served as a visiting scholar in a number of renowned institutions.
The renowned novelist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
Wiesel has continued to be an active public speaker for groups suffering from oppression throughout the decades. He personally met with then-President Bill Clinton to discuss the genocide in Kosovo in 1993 and founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, aiming to “combat indifference, intolerance” through youth programs.
“Elie Wiesel embodies the spirit of the Lantos Human Rights Prize, and I am honored to help recognize him and his contributions to the cause of human rights around the world,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who presented the award to Wiesel at the ceremony.
“He is living proof that the powerful, eloquent voice of one man can help make the world a more tolerant and just place,” Richardson said.
Click below to listen to The Epoch Times special edition podcast titled, “Arranged in Captivity: Music From the Persecuted,” with extensive audio from the second annual Lantos Human Rights Prize ceremony at Tishmann Auditorium, including music from the Terezin Chamber Music Foundation, and a vocal performance by Charity Sunshine, granddaughter of Tom Lantos: [mp3remote]http://epoch-utils.com/web/podcast/download.php?filename=2010-11-23_etpodcastspecialeditionarranged_in_captivityrichcrankshaw.mp3[/mp3remote]
