Screening of Witness in London
Message from Eddie Lama

Hello Everyone 

Thank you for taking time out to come here tonight. I also want to thank Aly for helping carry the message of compassion and for being my friend and an advocate to abused animals, both two and four-legged alike, especially me . I know that many of you lead busy lives and may think that there are more important things to do than to sit here and watch a movie about furry critters.  After all there is a war going on, so do we really need to worry about pigs and foxes and cows and cats? What about the children, the refugees, the starving and the dispossessed - shouldn’t they be the focus of our efforts? Does it really make a difference if we stop hurting animals? Can we end human suffering by giving a damn about critters? The answer is yes.

What you saw here tonight is not necessarily a movie about animals as much as it is about the principles and concepts of compassion and non violence.  Compassion is defined as sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

After all what is compassion if it is applied selectively? It’s a form of an ‘ism no? Can we claim to love children if we only love white children? Can we claim to be peace lovers, but only as it applies to our own country?  

There is also the idea of bearing witness to wrong-doing and speaking out against it. Currently in NYC there is an advertising campaign that urges the public to inform the appropriate authorities if they suspect something potentially harmful is going on. The tag line is: “If you see something say something”. It is a media push by my government to help local authorities prevent terrorist attacks. I have not been in your wonderful city for about three years but I understand there is a similar message being presented to the people here. I think it is an imperative duty of all human beings to say something if they see something is wrong. It is this idea that has compelled me to action, in many ways by personal experience. Back in the seventies I was a victim of wrong-doing. Three people tried to kill me during a robbery related incident. (It was not all disco you know!) No one heard my pleas and no one came to my rescue and no one came forward. The crime went unpunished and the perpetrators went about wreaking their violence upon others seemingly with impunity. Since then I have often though that if someone had said something their reign of terror would have at least been shortened and maybe fewer people would have been hurt.

The ugliness of evil can only exist in the dark. Bearing witness and saying something shines a light on it.  Being a voice brings with it a message that something is unacceptable. Gradually a particular ugly act becomes a source of shame and in turn making it less salable to people of goodwill. It is much like slave ownership.it was once a measure of success but is now seen as a gauge of brutality and insensitivity.

There is a saying that goes, and I will paraphrase, that truth undergoes three phases before it is accepted as such. First it is ridiculed; then it is violently opposed; and finally it becomes self-evident.  In my experience I have found this to be true. I think with the concept of animal rights we are at the second stage, with barely a toe into the third phase. We may not be able to end the atrocities in Darfour; or be rid of the oppressive nature of the Taliban; or end the war in Iraq; or the brutal occupation of the Palestinian people. No single action can do that.  However, we can end the horrors and violence in our own lives by being mindful of the unheard suffering of our fellow-beings with just one act, right now and that is by going vegan. We can help alleviate the suffering of many sentient beings right away. This is something that is not as easily accomplished in the area of human suffering. So for me the areas that of human rights and animal rights are not mutually exclusive but rather, inextricably intertwined within the concepts of compassion and non-violence. It is not necessary to first end all human maladies before we address animal issues.  In fact, a veggie diet will very likely extend ones life allowing the opportunity for one to advocate longer on human issues, how about that?  Well, you have the idea. 

Again I want to thank everyone for caring enough to be here. I will end this already too long soliloquy by quoting my best friend and Oasis sanctuary co-founder the great, late  Eddie Rizzo’s favorite line: “The job of a good citizen is to keep one’s mouth open”.  

Should any of you visit  NYC please let us know. We would love to have you go on a FaunaVision sortie with us as a guest co-pilot.  Until then, good night. 

Yours in the struggle,

Eddie Lama 

P.S.  In case you’re wondering -- all went well with the woman who introduced me to the cat, but the real love story lies with the animals. It’s amazing what being smitten by a kitten can do-maybe change your life.

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