Remembering The Victims Of Genocide Poem by Raymond Farrell

We must
never
Be lulled
Into the complacency
Of remembering
Those exterminated in genocides
As statistics
Each man, woman or child
Murdered
Was an individual
And regardless
Of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation
Or anything else
Must be afforded
The dignity
Of being remembered
As a unique human being
Who laughed and cried
Loved and shared
Their talents with the world
And had their right to life
Taken from them.

Even if they were
The only one
To have suffered thus
It would still be
A tragedy
For all humanity.

Because they are human
And we are human
Then we are all them
And identified with their plight
To think otherwise
Is to become desensitized
And will lead
In time
To the perpetuation
Of more genocides
Again and again
Without pity or remorse.