On Monday the 27th of January Jews, Hindus, Christians, Muslims and people from different walks of life stood together at the Harrow Arts Centre to remember the tragedies of the Holocaust and other genocides. Featuring speeches from a Holocaust survivor and a survivor of the genocide in Srebrenica; the memorial gave an insight into the consequence of ignorance and the importance of remembering together.
"It’s a miracle that I am alive. In the end, we hid in an underground bunker. It was twelve below zero and we had no food.” a quote from Helen Aronson, BEM, about how she managed to survive the ghettos and escape Nazi persecution with her brother and mother. The account brought the audience close to tears after hearing of how she was parted from her father and never saw him again. Helen Aronson’s emotional account made the audience recognise the privilege they have to be able to be surrounded by family and free from tyranny.
Additionally, a survivor of the genocide in Srebrenica talked about her experience as a 6-year-old child trying to survive and find water in the streets where snipers were perched in buildings and shooting at her as they considered her “fair game” and a “threat” because she was Muslim. Which reiterated the main message of the evening that we must stand shoulder to shoulder regardless of religion, race or gender to remember genocides and learn from them.
Other potent acts of remembrance at the memorial included images of pictures drawn by primary school children in Harrow on the importance of remembering together, a presentation from Nower Hill High School, a song from the interfaith choir about standing together and the lighting of candles by representatives of different religious groups to symbolise unity. The memorial highlighted the importance of tolerance and maintaining hope that society will improve and xenophobic attitudes will change if we stand united and not parted.
