One Week Till Poland-Ashley Hubaykah

Ashley Hubaykah
Religious Studies and International Studies Major
Class of 2016

Greetings readers to my first blog ever! My name is Ashley Hubaykah and I am a current junior at Iona College. I am originally from Tampa, Florida. I’ve chosen to double major in religious and international studies with minors in French and Spanish. I am excited to start my first blog ever for my spring break trip to Poland for my religious studies class Memory and Reconciliation.

I have heard that once you start traveling, you cannot seem to stop. In fact, after spending the summer in Valencia, Spain, I diagnosed myself with the travel bug; Valencia, Ibiza, Barcelona, Paris, it all just left me wanting more of Europe. Prague, Athens, and Munich all were and still next on my list. 

I did not picture my next trip to be the ultimate test of faith and humanity. For one week, I will be immersed in Oświęcim, Poland- the site of Auschwitz. Currently I am a Lipper Intern at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. While the extensive two weeks of internship training and weekly visits to the museums have sparked a new area of research for me, it could not prepare me for the horror I am about to feel in a week.

It seemed like a simple decision to go to Poland- I am a religion major, Dr. Procario-Foley is my advisor, I am an intern at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Why not go to Poland? In just a short two months, the trip has evolved into so much more. I’ve listened to lectures on the culturally rich Terezin, cried during survivor’s videos, and learned how Jews and Christians are more related than I could have ever imagined.

I can let you in on a little secret and that is my endless curiosity about the Holocaust. I ask myself everyday how could something like this happen? How could 11 million people possibly be murdered? Did God really not make us all inherently good? Why do I want to study and visit a place that reminds of the cruelty the human race can have towards one another?

I am not sure if I will even receive any answers or closure for my curiosity. If anything, I might come back with more questions. But Elie Wiesel says that we must, “Help one another. It is the only way to survive.” I do know my professors, my classmates, and my faith will help me to survive what is about to be the cruelest dealing I have ever come face to face with.