One teenager amongst a few millions faced challenging times in 1944-1945. Unprepared for, he was. He had to endure challenging period of his life living in crowded place, with inadequate food and water, surrounded with winter with inadequate clothing and shelter, and often live in darkness. He survived this all in the internment camps during the world war 2.
His tale is terrifying. His losses are insurmountable. His pain is heart wrenching. His survival is a gift. His writing is informative and insightful. Elie Wiesel endured the hardships and survived to tell it all in a simple book “Night”. To quote him,
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night …
We all face challenges from time to time. And sometimes on a daily basis too. But none of the challenges are as bad as the situation that Elie and million other such companions faced.
Just this Thursday one of our friends was asking how am I doing. I and our family had a fair share of challenges in the recent months. One of the children had a concussion and the treatments are lengthening out. Fortunately my wife is able to drive the child around for 4-5 appointments a week. Another child had several activities that added pressure for our schedules. Our company had faced usual startup challenges including growth and funding demands. My father needed urgent medical treatments during his travel to India. I can enumerate several of these. But all of these are extremely small compared to the problems that Elie and million others faced.
It is good fortune that we live in the 21st century with relatively better peace surrounded by family, support, and friendships. I certainly don’t and mostly all of us don’t face the challenges of the teenager Elie. Reading his book – Night – is in a way inspiring because it creates hope for us to recognize our fortunate situation and face the challenges head on. The book indirectly gives hope that life is worth living. And challenges will vanish like molehills as we move forward with hope and conviction.
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