Don’t we have a right to indifference?

Piotr M.A. Cywiński

The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and president of The Auschwitz Pledge Foundation Board

The world nowadays is facing significant problems, however, I believe that the issue underlying the majority of them is indifference to the suffering of others and a lack of compassion. In order to counter and eliminate contemporary crises once and for all, we have to fight them at the source. 

Yes, you do have a right to remain indifferent and not react to the evil that surrounds you. Take a moment to think, however, what this kind of indifference led to in the past? By ignoring evil, you accept its consequences. That’s why it’s crucial to act here and now. Auschwitz-Birkenau is a worldwide symbol of the Holocaust – the horrors caused by, discrimination, antisemitism, hatred, exclusion, and indifference. As people who for years have been active in preserving the memory of that place, we may not sit back and do nothing, seeing what’s currently happening around the world. Discrimination is on the rise and we have seen similar patterns throughout history. Singling one group out, isolating them, twisting their image, dehumanizing them, stirring hate, and identifying them as the enemy. History shows that crossing this line may take no more than a few years. By referencing the past, we want to shake society and ask the question–how many steps away are we today from the next atrocities materializing?

The problem of discrimination is a real and increasingly growing one. With the development of new technologies and increasing social inequalities, exclusion takes on new forms and individuals as well as whole groups are facing the consequences of discrimination. Today’s forms of exclusion adapt to new technologies and modern communication channels and are being reborn in front of our very eyes. Similarly we need to create new mechanisms which will be able to face up to modern forms of discrimination and the indifference of society that accompanies them.

Is there anything I can do to fight discrimination and indifference? 

The issue of discrimination and exclusion concerns everybody, even if indirectly. Consider how many of your friends, acquaintances, collaborators are non-heteronormative, of a different skin colour than yours, different religion or race. How many women are there around you? Statistical research shows clearly that, most likely, every one of these people have experienced the upsetting or outright dangerous consequences of exclusion at least once in their lives. If you don’t feel the need to act for your own sake, act for the sake of those close to you. Everyone, regardless of their resources, can fight indifference. Everybody can effectively change their closest surroundings for the better. Only some have the possibility to act on a global scale. It is precisely with the aim of picking out such people and giving them a chance that we’re organizing our competition. The most important thing is to do away with the conviction that this problem doesn’t concern us or that there’s nothing we can do about it.

By organizing the Erase Indifference Challenge, the Auschwitz Pledge Foundation decided to create a framework and lend support to people who want to fight discrimination. We did this with the belief that a global competition will allow us to find a particular solution to the problem of exclusion. Our competition aims to find innovative ways of preventing discrimination. Whether the goal will be achieved or not will depend on the commitment of all of us. But most of all, on people’s participation in the Erase Indifference Challenge, to which everyone is heartily invited. 

One person can do a lot, but nobody expects that we should face indifference on our own. You can make a stand against discrimination and educate those in your closest circle, but let’s also meet and look for answers together. We’re using today’s possibilities for communication and global media; together with young researchers, we’re looking for ways to use the latest technologies to make all of us live together in a world free from exclusion. Dialogue and readiness to act are essential here. Innovative ideas and the energy of young, talented minds can visibly change the world.