--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Helping survivors of residential schools…" description: "\"Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not the same as the UN sending in peacekeepers to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. But both are a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg" --- # Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not… ![“Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not the same as the UN sending in peacekeepers to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. But both are a reflection of our culture and of our priorities. Where there is empathy there is always a solution, where there is apathy there is always an excuse.” quote by Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg) > “Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not the same as the UN sending in peacekeepers to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. But both are a reflection of our culture and of our priorities. Where there is empathy there is always a solution, where there is apathy there is always an excuse.” [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts two responses to historical trauma, highlighting that genuine empathy leads to solutions while apathy yields excuses. **In simple terms:** Empathy creates solutions; apathy creates excuses. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy to drive action. Themes reconciliation empathy policy justice culture Mood reflective determined urgent Type statement call to action When to use this quote - government policy - community healing - educational programs - advocacy campaigns Key Concepts Human rights collective responsibility historical trauma Questions to Reflect On - How can societies turn empathy into effective policies? - What structures sustain apathy despite awareness? A Different Perspective Empathy alone may not overcome systemic barriers without concrete resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Empathy Solution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy-solution-2868469/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide/) [Genocide In Rwanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide-in-rwanda-221353/) [Genocide Rwanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide-rwanda-1528998/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Prevent Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevent-genocide-688164/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Priorities Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities-empathy-2868468/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Rwanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rwanda/) [Rwanda Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rwanda-reflection-2868467/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) ## Related quotes > [The story of U.S. policy during the genocide in Rwanda is not a story of willful complicity with evil. U.S. officials did not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/the-story-of-u-s-policy-during-the-genocide-in-rwanda-is-not-a-story/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I've said consistently that I always reserve the right, in conjunction with a broader international effort, to prevent genocide or any wholesale slaughter than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-ve-said-consistently-that-i-always-reserve-the-right-in-conjunction/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Post-genocide Rwanda has managed to implement a good universal health insurance scheme that covers a large proportion of the population. This came about because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/post-genocide-rwanda-has-managed-to-implement-a-good-universal-health/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) > [Together we can prevent genocide from happening again. Together we can make a better future for our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dith-pran/together-we-can-prevent-genocide-from-happening-again-together-we-can/) [Dith Pran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dith-pran/) > [Only you can prevent the genocide of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/only-you-can-prevent-the-genocide-of-the-imagination/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Given the scale of trauma caused by the genocide, Rwanda has indicated that however thin the hope of a community can be, a hero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/given-the-scale-of-trauma-caused-by-the-genocide-rwanda-has-indicated/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The genocide (in Rwanda) was a collective act. What made it possible, what made that final political crime possible, was the absence, the erasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-orbinski/the-genocide-in-rwanda-was-a-collective-act-what-made-it-possible/) [James Orbinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-orbinski/) > [“There were actual land sites all over the planet that should be very badly contaminated by lipofuscin, because their soil has been seeded with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-were-actual-land-sites-all-over-the-planet-that-should-be-very/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The good performed by some of United Nations institutions, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, has been outweighed by the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-good-performed-by-some-of-united-nations-institutions-such-as-the/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“I once spoke to someone who had survived the genocide in Rwanda, and she said to me that there was now nobody left on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-once-spoke-to-someone-who-had-survived-the-genocide-in-rwanda-and/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and in general, I still would.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automatically-said-that-i-would-opt/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) ## More by Payam Akhavan > [I hate the tribal hatred thesis - in Yugoslavia and Rwanda and places like that they kill each other because that's just what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/i-hate-the-tribal-hatred-thesis-in-yugoslavia-and-rwanda-and-places/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [We must sacrifice something in order to make the world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/we-must-sacrifice-something-in-order-to-make-the-world-better/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [We need to sacrifice something. And this is what I find lacking. We want to construct an image of ourselves as virtuous but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/we-need-to-sacrifice-something-and-this-is-what-i-find-lacking-we/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [Wounds simply won't heal if they are swept under the carpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/wounds-simply-won-t-heal-if-they-are-swept-under-the-carpet/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [The reason why the war ended in Bosnia was not because of amnesty but because a combined Croat-Bosnian offensive defeated the Serbs on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/the-reason-why-the-war-ended-in-bosnia-was-not-because-of-amnesty-but/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [Criminal trials are fundamentally about individual accountability whereas truth commissions are less about the guilt of the perpetrator and more about the suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/criminal-trials-are-fundamentally-about-individual-accountability/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [Storytelling is very important. It is through context and relations that we understand the importance of human dignity. The concept means nothing as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/storytelling-is-very-important-it-is-through-context-and-relations/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [“There can be no meaningful change if we choose to look down at the arena of anguish from thirty thousand feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/there-can-be-no-meaningful-change-if-we-choose-to-look-down-at-the/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [In Yugoslavia we were told we were not only naive idealists in wanting war criminals to be prosecuted but that we were actually standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/in-yugoslavia-we-were-told-we-were-not-only-naive-idealists-in/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [There are realities that one needs to deal with, but very often what we are told is political reality is merely cynicism. One could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/there-are-realities-that-one-needs-to-deal-with-but-very-often-what/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [When we deconstruct how radical evil occurs we realize that it is anything but spontaneous combustion. You need pyromaniacs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/when-we-deconstruct-how-radical-evil-occurs-we-realize-that-it-is/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [When I joined the UN War Crimes Tribunal, it was a realization of the dream of justice, that finally after Nuremberg, the UN is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/when-i-joined-the-un-war-crimes-tribunal-it-was-a-realization-of-the/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [In many instances violence - which obviously inflicts tremendous trauma on victims - also inflicts trauma on the perpetrator. Radical evil takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/in-many-instances-violence-which-obviously-inflicts-tremendous-trauma/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) [Explore all 14 Payam Akhavan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not the same as the UN sending in peacekeepers to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. But both are a reflection of our culture and of our priorities. Where there is empathy there is always a solution, where there is apathy there is always an excuse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Payam Akhavan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/helping-survivors-of-residential-schools-in-canada-is-not-the-same-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apathy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/helping-survivors-of-residential-schools-in-canada-is-not-the-same-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/payam-akhavan-33674_apathy_helping-survivors-of-residential-schools_1097477.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Helping survivors of residential schools in Canada is not the same as the UN sending in peacekeepers to…” — Payam Akhavan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Payam Akhavan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Helping survivors of residential schools in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/helping-survivors-of-residential-schools-in-canada-is-not-the-same-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/helping-survivors-of-residential-schools-in-canada-is-not-the-same-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```