I’ve been here

“In the camp, one of the reasons that can drive a prisoner to survive is the idea of becoming a witness”. Giorgio Agamben states in his “Remnants of Auschwitz”. To verify his statement, he took the oath to a former prisoner’s quote: “I firmly decided that, despite everything that might happen to me, I would not take my own life… since I did not want to suppress the witness that I would become”.
Humankind may have many reasons to write his own memories, but maybe the most vital courage and motive can be assumed as what Agamben tells us: an idea of becoming a witness. Therefore it’s not a fortuitous that, as Ahmad Okhovat claims, most of the memoirs and autobiographies have not been done in welfare, but in poverty and hardships. Seems like only sufferings can be conveyed and happiness is so fragile that it can break through the memories as well.
There is a contrast beneath this mainspring. Despite Every suffering seems shallow when transcribing, sometimes it is hard for the reader to understand it. On the other hand, writing down the memories in hazardous moments of your life and when you feel lost, is an effort to save all and escape from being mortal. An effort to leave something tremendous from ourselves in a world we are just quitting. And what is more valuable than the story of the life we have lived? We lived and have done the most in our memories more than any other place. These memories, sweet or bitter, are the true heir of us and will be there only and only by writing them down.
To have a record of what is done is similar to what the early men did, as he put a mark on the wall of the cave and told us: “watch out, I’ve been here”.