Community unites to voice support for Mumbai victims
December 3Teachers, students and administrators gathered on the Tisch Library patio yesterday to remember the nearly 200 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, last week. The South Asian Political Action Committee (SAPAC) organized the noontime gathering, which attracted about 100 people at its height. "By now, I'm sure that you have all heard of all of the stories of sadness and hope that these attacks have brought," said SAPAC Co-Chair Faris Islam, a sophomore, in opening the hour-long rally. Islam encouraged those in attendance to write messages of support in a solidarity scrapbook that will be sent to the Indian Embassy in New York. In her remarks, History Professor Ayesha Jalal discouraged students from succumbing to the widespread fear such violence can trigger. "The events in Mumbai have left a staggering effect on our psyches, on the region and on the world at large," said Jalal, the director of Tufts' Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies. "We are all caught in this wave of terror, and the people of Mumbai have been the most recent victims." In this spirit, Jalal said that people and governments must remain open to dialogue with one another. "Terror seeks to close debate, and we need to open debate," she said. "If we lose sight of that, then we help the terrorists succeed." Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, the executive director of Tufts Hillel, agreed with Jalal. He urged attendees to remain unified in condemning the assailants. "The effect of the violence in Mumbai against citizens, foreigners and the Chabad Center are devastating in their randomness and specificness," Summit said. "The sooner that we learn that coming together is the force that will keep terrorism from succeeding — that's when we can begin to set aside this senseless, senseless violence." Summit closed his remarks by reading a prayer about bombings by an Israeli author. Institute for Global Leadership Director Sherman Teichman called on students to be vigilant and open-minded in formulating the proper response to the attacks. "The response that is necessary today is a common humanity, an incessant militancy to not yield to this kind of attack," Teichman said. "It is now time to heal, but we have to be provocative in our thinking — how to find causality, how to find a measure of response, how to deny this on every level. "We need to prevent the instinctual recourse to vengeance and violence," he continued. "We need to link our hearts and heads into a common humanity, and recognize that this is a common problem. Terror aims too close; it is the most claustrophobic thing I know." A moment of shared silence followed Teichman's speech. Assistant History Professor Kris Manjapra then urged students to think about their obligations in light of the attacks. "Right now we have to mourn, and I really feel that when we are finished mourning, we also have to think about what our calling is in this time," he said. "We are called to do something in this time." The Chabad House's Chanie Tzvi talked about the terrorist attack on a Chabad House in Mumbai, which killed Rabbi Gavriel Holzberg and his wife Rivka. "The Chabad House in Mumbai is a place where one is welcome with unconditional love and respect, but was made into a direct target," Tzvi said. "The tears flow, the emotions are raw and the pain is deep, but we must not let the pain consume us." Sophomore Radhika Saraf spoke about her experience as a resident of Mumbai with direct connections to the victims. "It hit our families, it hit our friends and it hit every person in the city," Saraf said. "These terrorists came into our cities and just opened fire." Sophomore and SAPAC member Ashish Malhotra was heartened by the high turnout and what it demonstrates about sympathy on campus for the victims of the attacks. "I thought that it went really well," he told the Daily. "It was nice to see that a lot of people showed up to show their solidarity, which is exactly what SAPAC was hoping for."
