Commission Closing: Kaia Stern

“We have seen the embers of conscience that burn in every human being called to war.  We have heard voices that echo the resilience of the human spirit, that reveal boundless fidelity, that sing, whisper, and shout our urgent call to action.  As witnesses to the trauma of war, we cannot leave this space unchanged.  War changes people.  And testimony about war has altered us.  All of us have listened and heard truth into being.  Now that it is with us, we must not forget it.”  . – Rev. Dr. Kaia Stern, Chair of the Truth Commission and Director of the Prison Studies Project at Harvard University, providing the closing comments at the Commission’s Public Hearing at The Riverside Church on March 21, 2010.