iR2P

Photo: Orbinski in Goma, DRC (c) 2007 Steve Simon

“The [Rwandan] genocide was a collective act. What made it possible, what made that final political crime possible was the absence, the erasure of seeing the other, of knowing, of feeling, of being with the other. And when that’s removed, then politics can become genocidal.”

“We are responsible for our lives and for our world. And if we don’t engage that responsibility, no one else will and we will live or die with a legacy of our failures.”

“There are so many crucial issues that have to be addressed… global warming, the war on terror, the use of torture… and none of these will be addressed unless we take our responsibility as human beings and from a place that respects the dignity of others, including our enemies… This is the lens. This is the way to see the world.”

James Orbinski, former president of MSF, founder of Dignitas, and author of An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century