June 26, 2008
In Recognition of Our World's Frank and Alice Longbottoms
There are many characters of course in Harry Potter that are tortured. Whether it’s Neville’s parents, Sirius Black and all the prisoners in Azkaban, Ollivander, Grindewald by Voldemort, Voldemort’s countless victims, Kreacher, and so many others torture is a theme that we are very familiar with in Harry Potter. Today happens to be the UN’s International Day in Support of Victims of Terror. The event this year will have a special focus for victims of torture in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
In the mean time, let’s keep working to create spaces where those who are victims of torture can take a journey to become survivors and ultimately as Father Michael Lapsley of the Institute for Healing of Memories puts it, “victors.” Let’s be grateful for people like Michael whose own trauma of losing both hands and one eye by the Apartheid government of South Africa brought him to a place where he works to create spaces where people can heal from personal and collective trauma. And let’s keep working with groups like Amnesty International to end the use of torture worldwide!!!
