An essay by Brock University President Gervan Fearon:

More than a week after the Easter bombings killed more than 250 people in churches and hotels, it remains deemed too dangerous to hold Christian services in Sri Lanka, and an entire society has been fractured.

At Brock University we have students from around the world, including many from Sri Lanka, as well as individuals with relationships to the country and the region. This senseless loss of life and propagation of violence left me personally frozen, and jolted individuals across Canada and the world.

Hate crimes in Sri Lankan churches followed mass murder in New Zealand mosques. And after Sri Lanka, a gunman in southern California began deadly shooting in a synagogue.  It all speaks to the challenges of our times, and while these actions may be done in different names, they are all rooted in hatred and intolerance.

Brock University President Gervan Fearon penned an essay to the University community following the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka and a recent shooting in southern California.

We are witnesses to relentless acts of violence — New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Quebec City, Sri Lanka, California — that emotionally cleave our society, and widen the abyss we must cross for humanity to work together to address the causes of social conflict.

Humanity is victim to what are misguided and erroneous solutions to complex challenges.  These repeated aggressions and violations do not get us any closer to a world that respects the nature of our interconnected religions, ethnicities and cultures.

Even a modest knowledge of history, anthropology and genetics tells us that we are all related, that our differences are overwhelmed by our similarities. Yet, it is clear that the message of our commonality and shared interests is not reaching those who propagate hate and infer violence.

We all have a responsibility to ensure we are forging a foundation of tolerance and mutual respect for future generations who will have to put their minds and efforts to solving epic global challenges. We are already seeing the effects of global warming (e.g., floods, forest fires, droughts) and understand the devastation that a pandemic (SARS, Ebola, etc.) or other afflictions can assail upon humanity if left unaddressed.

Global warming or pandemics are indifferent to notions of ethnicity, religion or gender, they do not recognize borders, so dealing with them requires all of humanity, all nations, to work together to find solutions.  Hence, actions that widen the cavern between peoples only weaken our shared capacity to attain security and prosperity for ourselves and future generations.

We can choose to fight about the past, or we can choose to work together for our future. We will be judged on this choice by generations to come.

Universities and other educational institutions have an obligation to ensure that we provide all of society with knowledge and understanding that reflects the tremendous interconnectedness between all peoples and our shared need to build inclusive societies. We cannot talk of Judaism, Christianity and Islam without acknowledging their shared Abrahamic roots. We cannot talk of Greece, Rome and Europe without understanding their connection to North Africa, Southeast Asia, China and beyond — any more than we can talk of Canada without acknowledging the contributions of Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.  We delude ourselves when we do not see the bonds between all people.

Elected, religious and community leaders likewise have an obligation to promote a motivating vision of humanity built upon a non-violent, harmonious, constructive pursuit of communal interest. And finally, we as individuals each have a personal obligation to actively reject simplistic ideas that purport to avenge wrongs of yesterday with atrocities of today, leading to tears and bewilderment tomorrow.

Retaliation is its own folly. The cycle of violence is not broken by another act of vengeance, but rather by a quest for peace and understanding in the wake of misunderstanding and sorrow.

At a vigil following the New Zealand tragedy, I expressed that, in despair, I try to find hope; in the wake of violence, I try to find peace; and in the presence of hate, I try to know love. These thoughts hold true in the wake of the violence in Sri Lanka and southern California.  I struggled to write, to communicate my thoughts because I could not find the words to express the scope of my dismay.

Each surviving victim — families who have been touched, each person who has been saddened — warrant our grace, respect and condolence. They warrant individual and collective action in support of social inclusion in recognition of our interconnectedness as we forge tomorrow today.