Belong

Giulio Ricciarelli’s film ‘Im Labyrinth des Schweigens’ is set in the times of post-war Germany. An extermination camp commander, now teaching at a school, is identified by Simon - a survivor who has lost his twin-daughters to brutal, ghastly murders. A young, idealistic public prosecutor, Johann takes the case and realises that the acts of commission and omission have almost everyone involved.

Johann staggers into a labyrinth of lies and guilt. He questions Simon, ‘how could you stay back in this wretched land that butchered your family?’ Simon solemnly replies, ‘I met my wife in this land... we got married here... our twins were born here... once at the lake, a duck bit my daughter... where else can I belong?’

It was a heart rendering poser. Somebody who had gone through inconceivable pain, and irrevocable loss, was able to distinguish between the ache and the predicament. He ‘belonged’ despite all attempts to uproot him of his adopted land. He had overcome all attempts to take away his biggest belonging – his humanity.

It is pertinent to note that the brutalised man continued to belong to humanity while very few from the inhuman brutes – both, by choice and by force – were able to belong to the very values that defined them as civilised human beings. In times of severe strain on human values, we must answer, ‘do we still belong to humanity?’

It is said that our character is defined by our behaviour in the dark. It is so easy to let go off our humanness and become blood thirsty animals or passive onlookers. The challenge is to belong to our collective land. Our world has moved on dignity, justice and sensitivity to the values of humanism. Let them be never taken away!

do not succumb to brutality...
choose to belong to humanity!

- Pravin K. Sabnis