Dear Robi et al.
I returned from Shfeya full of thoughts and emotions. I was stricken by theamount of humiliation, loss, sadness, grief, shame and all those very difficult emotions that one wishes to avoid, yet were courageously confronted and shared in the workshop.
To me, courage was one of the commonly shared attitudes which allowed for this confrontation. I very much appreciated the willingness and gradual openness of some difficult sharing moments.
In our small group Hanni Biran was wonderful in containing and gently pushing for more exploration. I agree that we all were mostly cautious, that anger and aggression were behind the door and that felt good to me in this case. Especially for a first encounter around such a sensitive subject, it was rational and good enough this time. The issue is already very aggressive per se and we all are struggling to sort out intense ambivalent emotions. Usually this struggle transforms quickly into anger and aggression but this time it didn't and I personally appreciated very much this cautiousness and self-control. It helps for gaining confidence, for further exploration and for feelings to unfold. I believe that in general terms the Holocaust and its victimization have been sufficiently explored, however persecution and its personal outcomes and feelings have not yet been addressed. The transgenerational heritage of feelings was very loaded to carry on.
I feel as if this era has been like a metastasis of cancer. Racist tumors exist everywhere. How was it that it turned into such a metastasis? What were the personal factors that contributed to such a delirium? These are some of the questions in my mind. How can we build an auto-immune system in societies? Consciousness raising, education, awareness, remembering.. are those enough to prevent such an aggravation? What are other stifled forms of racism? Many questions and few answers... To me this was an opening to a very large exploration. And I appreciate all those who willingly dared to come and share.
My many thanks again to all the organizers. It has been a strenuous task.
And hello to everybody from Istanbul.
leyla
I returned from Shfeya full of thoughts and emotions. I was stricken by theamount of humiliation, loss, sadness, grief, shame and all those very difficult emotions that one wishes to avoid, yet were courageously confronted and shared in the workshop.
To me, courage was one of the commonly shared attitudes which allowed for this confrontation. I very much appreciated the willingness and gradual openness of some difficult sharing moments.
In our small group Hanni Biran was wonderful in containing and gently pushing for more exploration. I agree that we all were mostly cautious, that anger and aggression were behind the door and that felt good to me in this case. Especially for a first encounter around such a sensitive subject, it was rational and good enough this time. The issue is already very aggressive per se and we all are struggling to sort out intense ambivalent emotions. Usually this struggle transforms quickly into anger and aggression but this time it didn't and I personally appreciated very much this cautiousness and self-control. It helps for gaining confidence, for further exploration and for feelings to unfold. I believe that in general terms the Holocaust and its victimization have been sufficiently explored, however persecution and its personal outcomes and feelings have not yet been addressed. The transgenerational heritage of feelings was very loaded to carry on.
I feel as if this era has been like a metastasis of cancer. Racist tumors exist everywhere. How was it that it turned into such a metastasis? What were the personal factors that contributed to such a delirium? These are some of the questions in my mind. How can we build an auto-immune system in societies? Consciousness raising, education, awareness, remembering.. are those enough to prevent such an aggravation? What are other stifled forms of racism? Many questions and few answers... To me this was an opening to a very large exploration. And I appreciate all those who willingly dared to come and share.
My many thanks again to all the organizers. It has been a strenuous task.
And hello to everybody from Istanbul.
leyla