Thomas Buergenthal Quotes

#1. It seemed that we were condemned to be who we were, which was not a particularly good prospect.

Thomas Buergenthal

#2. But what else could we do but hope? that, after all, is human nature.

Thomas Buergenthal

#3. That hope never left us, and it sustained us in the years to come, despite the fact that we had no good reason to expect our situation to improve.

Thomas Buergenthal

#4. .. . one cannot hope to protect mankind from crimes such as those that were visited upon us unless one struggles to brek the cycle of hatred and voilence that invariable leads to ever more suffering by innocent human beings.

Thomas Buergenthal

#5. Which is better: to dare to look directly into the blinding present, no matter how painful, or to await the detachment of hindsight -- which, being less painful, is more objective?

Thomas Buergenthal

#6. If we humans can so easily wash the blood of our fellow humans off our hands, then what hope is there for sparing our future generations from a repeat of the genocides and mass killings of the past?

Thomas Buergenthal