Peace, it begins with the children

Shaping the Future by remembering the Past

Spring brings renewal, hope, and the promise of life.  A sense of contemplative peace fills the air, even when, sadly, today, there is so much war and hate in the world.  Sullivan County is awash with beautiful six-sided yellow Daffodils.

Last fall, 9,000 Daffodils were planted in Sullivan County because of the focused effort of a remarkable woman, Hope Blecher, and the hands of many, many believers.

https://hopescompass.org/daffodil-project

Two beds of three thousand bulbs were sited in Fallsburg’s Morningside Park.  Another three thousand Daffodils were planted at the Sullivan County Government Center.

Each Daffodil site has a large boulder with an interpretive dedication marker and a vertical plaque from the World Wide Daffodil Project.

https://www.daffodilproject.net/

The gardens are funded by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP).

The marker text:

Children are the innocent victims of adult hatred, ignorance, and bigotry. During the Holocaust, 1939-1945, 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered. No child should ever be a victim again.

“How can a person not be moved by compassion…and above all, how can anyone who remembers remain silent?” – Elie Wiesel

Yes, it would appear the gardens and the markers are Holocaust memorials.  But that would be a simplistic, superficial, and very incorrect conclusion.  The gardens, the projects, the efforts are about the future, the tomorrows of all people everywhere.  The keys are the children of today.

JASHP has placed a number of Anne Frank Children’s Human Rights Memorials around the world.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-anne-frank-childrens-human-rights-memorial-buenos-aire/

Former President of Israel Reuven Rivlin wrote to me when we began the effort. He echoed the sentiment –

“Children are indeed often victims of adult hatred, bigotry, and ignorance, and I hope that there will be wide interest in your important effort.

I certainly can agree with you that when all people, everywhere, protect the children of today, peace will be one step closer.”

There is a natural shiddach, a marriage, between the message of the Memorials and the World Wide Daffodil project. Hope brought that shiddach to us.

Hope is working towards another JASHP-funded 3,000 Daffodils for Sullivan County for 2026.  JASHP has proposed funding 10,000 Daffodils for the N.Y. State Holocaust Memorial project in Albany, N.Y.

The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation is always open to possible Daffodil partnerships anywhere.

Children are not born evil.  They can be taught evil.   They can grow up to be evil.  In time, they will sadly feel the same evil revisited back upon them.  It does not have to be that way.

This spring, when you see a Daffodil, enjoy its beauty, enjoy the pleasure it brings.  Next fall, plant a Daffodil for tomorrow.  It is a choice.