Speak Up, Speak Out
January 27, 2012 11:52 AM
In North Devon Journal
In North Devon Journal
People around the country are being asked to Speak Up, Speak Out to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow. This national event is held every year on the same day, and has been running since 2001. The date was chosen to coincide with the date on which Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated in 1945.
The day is dedicated to the memories not just of those who were killed by the Nazis but also victims of genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
The massacre in Srebrenica in July 1995 was the single largest mass murder in Europe since the Holocaust and Nazi persecution when over 7,500 Muslim men and boys were murdered in fields, warehouses and even playgrounds and buried in mass graves. Many victims have never been identified.
These terrors are not something just confined to the past. Within recent memory we have seen genocide taking place in Darfur, Sudan and rape used as a weapon of war. It is thought that as many as 400,000 men, women and children were murdered, but there was new hope in the creation of a new country last year - Southern Sudan - which as part of the peace agreement came into being in July of last year.
A US marine was key in bringing the atrocities in Darfur to the world's attention. He saw first hand what was taking place and spoke out about it in Washington - letting the world's press and television know about what was taking place.
But how does this affect us in North Devon? Each year a theme for the Memorial Day is chosen, and as well as the national event, which takes place in London this year, there are smaller events held around the country. I am so pleased to have received at least two invitations to events that are going to be held in North Devon.
The theme this year is Speak Up, Speak Out and the campaign encourages people to take inspiration from those in the past who risked their lives or reputations to help others.
Young and old; male and female; religious or not, everyone is being asked to use their voice to speak out for what they believe in, and speak against the hatred and discrimination that can occur in our communities.
I would encourage everyone to take some time out of their day to think about the victims of genocide and how we can work for a common good.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats