At one and the same time born into a family of Jewish origin, raised Catholic, French, Québécois, author, teacher and much more, Mr. Motulsky writes today: I feel comfortable in my multiple identities.
This passage, taken from his recent book “Tu comprendras un jour : Une famille dans la tourmente de l'histoire” testifies to the plurality of identities and the malleability of being. Mr. Motulsky describes his personal journey as he sets out to retrace his Jewish origins.
In this story, the author takes us on an introspective journey, navigating the often tumultuous waters of identity, ever-changing and fragile. From France to Algeria, his journey brings him face to face with the horrors of the Holocaust, profoundly influencing his reflections on heritage and memory.
Understanding identity is crucial to the protection of human rights. Indeed, the different facets of a person's identity can, at any given moment, be simultaneously targeted by multiple forms of discrimination. For example, anti-Semitism, the recent resurgence of which gives cause for concern, can be combined with forms of sexism or racism.
No one should be forced to conceal part of their identity. A lack of sensitivity to the complexity of human identity increases the risk of violence (re)occurring. It was against this backdrop that, on September 25, 2024, Dr. Bernard Motulsky and Agnès Gruda came to share their experiences at a conference with members of the UN Human Rights Observatory, an initiative of Dr. Pascale Fournier and the University of Ottawa's Civil Law Section.
« L’histoire d’une famille s’inscrit forcément dans celle du monde. » [1]
In its darkest moments, history has forced many families to migrate, creating just as many identity migrations. During the Second World War, Motulsky's father went from Heinz, a German patriot, to Henri, a loyal Frenchman. The Motulsky name became Monroe in the United States. The pain of the 20th century atrocities fragmented and silenced the family's experiences, particularly those of Henri Motulsky.
Later, Bernard Motulsky would reproduce the migrations of his ancestors, leaving post-May '68 France to settle in Quebec. He quickly developed this new Quebec identity, but for a long time remained without answers about his origins and the painful past of his father and other family members. Reconstructing the history of the “Motulsky” name is to trace the thread of 20th-century European history and make sense of the silences.
Journalist Agnès Gruda points out that, upon reading the book, there is no apparent moment of epiphany in Motulsky's identity journey. As a Québécoise of Polish-Jewish origin, she shares this experience of a fluid, ever-developing identity. Ms. Gruda refuses to believe that ethnicity or religion must necessarily be central to human identity. Rather, there is a profound indivisibility in every layer of our being. While ethnicity and religion are often grounds for discrimination against others, identity goes far beyond these labels. To protect fundamental rights, it is crucial to go beyond these categories and grasp the intersection of the multiple layers that make up identity.
The protection of human rights requires enriching exchanges, such as those that took place between Mr. Motulsky and Ms. Gruda, as these dialogues deepen our understanding of identity issues and their role in understanding others and protecting human rights. This dialogue must be extended to governments, international organizations and citizens in order to promote inclusive societies, respectful of plural identities and capable of guaranteeing human rights for all by working within an intersectional approach.
In a context where rejection and division sometimes seem to dominate, it's by remaining open to identity in all its infinite layers that we ensure it becomes a real driver of inclusion and understanding of others.
[1] Bernard Motulsky, Tu comprendras un jour : Une famille dans la tourmente de l’histoire (2023) p. 9.
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