More dangerous than the sound of boots, is the silence of the slippers

As we begin a new year, please find attached a story written by Iryna Matviyishyn and Joseph Roche that highlights an inspiring act of resistance and courage by devout women. These women, unafraid to stand with the oppressed, offer a powerful testament to justice.

Max Frisch (1911-1991), a Swiss playwright and novelist, wrote? “More dangerous than the sound of boots marching on the pavement, is the silence of the slippers retreating on the landing” after Hitler came to power with the consent of millions of silent people suggesting that the non acting of the majority people is more impacting than a few authoritarians.

Not all inaction will lead to such dramatic consequences, but every instance of inaction in the face of injustice is a form of passive collaboration, a decline in courage as Nobel Laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said in the US in 1978.? Tragically, it also diverts people from their calling to 'repair' the world's suffering. Ignoring this can have serious implications.

These Ukrainian women serving in Jerusalem deliver a message of hope and a call to courage for the upcoming year, within everyone’s reach.

Article published in "La Repubblica"