The people of Derry and throughout the North have been called on to learn the lessons from the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur and apply them to the present day to create a” safer, brighter future for all.”
Foyle MP Mark Durkan on a visit to Auschwitz.
The call comes from Foyle SDLP MP Mr Durkan who is encouraging people to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (today) on the 69th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.
Mr Durkan, , who joined students from Derry on a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2008, said: “As anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice are still present in society – this Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on the evil that was perpetrated during the Holocaust and pledge to create a safer, brighter future for all.
“It is an important opportunity to remember not only the victims of the Holocaust but subsequent genocides. I would therefore encourage as many people as possible to mark the day and to join the fight against prejudice and intolerance.”
Mr Durkan, who has signed the Holocaust Memorial Day Book of Commitment in Westminster, also met up with the Rwandan Minister for Education and High Commissioner who were in London briefing MPs about the Kwibuka Flame which earlier this month set off on a countrywide lap of honour as Rwanda steps up commemoration activities ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide.
The Foyle MP also said the new national Holocaust commission – announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in September last – should explore giving funding to the Holocaust Educational Trust’s “Lessons from Auschwitz” project – not least for students in Northern Ireland.
He added: “This project was originally funded through a grant from the Treasury, which allowed the programme to be extended to Northern Ireland on one occasion in which I took part. However, a subsequent decision was made that the money should come from the Department for Education’s budget.
“That resulted in the Holocaust Educational Trust having to busk around for money in order to continue to do their work in the devolved territories – and the programme has not been available in Northern Ireland since 2008.”
Mr Durkan concluded: “Indeed, if there is one place in the UK that could benefit in a particularly poignant way from learning the lessons from Auschwitz about prejudice and intolerance, it is Northern Ireland.”
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