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Editor's Note: David Bittan Obadia is a lawyer. Analyst of political and international issues. Columnist for the newspaper El Universal de Venezuela. He has participated in the World Jewish Congress. He is a member of the American Jewish Committee and of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain
(CNN Spanish) - This week, the world remembers a crucial date: the uprising of the Warsaw ghetto that, by its nature, was without a doubt the most heroic act of resistance known in contemporary history.
These days, we often remember the victims of humanity's worst event: the Holocaust. In my case, there are recurring thoughts about the 1.5 million children killed and the confinement that Anne Frank had to go through, a girl who, through her diary and despite not having survived the war, left a mark on the history.
Anne Frank spent more than two years of her life hidden in a small bookshelf along with seven other people, of whom only her father survived. From that confinement there is much to learn, especially from his way of appreciating the environment and how he went through each day, despite the fact that death was the greatest possibility. It was not about protecting yourself from disease: the fight was against the Nazi machinery. It all happened around hunger, unhealthiness, darkness, and no connection to the outside world.
Despite the adversities, Anne Frank wrote: "As long as there is this sun and this cloudless sky, and as long as you can enjoy them, how could you be sad?" A sun and a sky that were only imaginary.
Anne Frank never stopped dreaming, like millions of people locked up in death camps. There, the violins, pianos and the studio were not abandoned. The concern of many focused on knowing if someone would find out about their deaths and, despite that, they were still optimistic.
Now, we are in the midst of a quarantine, but most with full comforts, with access to technology, food, basic services and great distractions. However, many seem desperate: they can no longer bear that the world has stood still for a few moments despite the fact that at some point this will pass.
Without wanting to trivialize the transcendence of the Holocaust, the opportunity is propitious to appreciate our quarantine from a true perspective, and think of those who, with little chance of survival, endured their days in the halls of death with hope.
Today, we are all valuing our families and friends like never before. We miss the touch, the hugs and the face-to-face contact. However, I hope that, at the end of this nightmare, we do not continue in a world where we are conditioned by the passport, by our economic situation or origin. Rather, we live in one where we respect our differences and consider nature, assuming that, in my opinion, we have betrayed our own humanity.
Each episode in the story leaves a message, a teaching. I hope we make what history books write about us worthwhile.
"I do not think about the misery but about the beauty that still remains," said Anne Frank.