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Remembering the victims of Holocaust
ON Sunday, 27
January 2008, across the UK and all over the world, people paid
their respects to the victims of the Holocaust. On Merseyside,
Liverpool held a massive service and in Southport also, a service
was held. Sadly, as one of the many victims of the Holocaust who
lives in Liverpool said:- "It saddens me that you just have to
open a national newspaper or watch the TV to see that these events
are still happening all over the world. If I can say this,
thankfully they are not on the same scale as in WW2, but they are
still happening. No matter what race or religion people are, we need
to remember what happened over the dark days of the Nazi rise to
power and the fall. Many forget that it was not just the Jewish
community who were affected by the events of WW2. Sadly, it also
affected the disabled and also the gay and lesbian community,
gypsies and lots of other communities. All of them, like ours,
singled out as being different and made into a threat to the nation.
Whenever intolerance raises its head in a society, national or
international, tensions build. All it takes is a small problem to
affect a large section of the majority of a community and the
tensions build and revenge takes root leading to innocent people,
often the minority, getting caught in the cross fire. Just look at
Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and as of late Darfur and now Kenya. We, as
a society, must remember just how easy it is to create situations
like this and be on the look out in order to stop it. Even in the
UK, events could easily, if unchecked, result in another holocaust.
So we must remember and respect the dead, not only for our lost
loved ones, but also to help us remember how it took place and to
warn future generations of what can happen so easily."
In Southport, the weather was overcast
and cold, but that did not put off a large crowd who gathered near
the Southport Garden of Remembrance on Lord Street. Representatives
of the Sefton Jewish community joined the Mayor of Sefton Cllr.
Richard Hands and members of the Southport Churches, as well as
representatives from Sefton Council, Merseyside Police,
representatives of the Air Force, Army and Navy, as well as the
Chairman of the Southport branch of AJEX. Also representatives of
the Royal British Legion, as well as the gay community, the disabled
community and many others, all of them standing for a service and a
one minute silence to mark the many who lost their lives in that
tragic and horrific period of European history. This was a moving
event that was followed by a reception in the Southport Arts Centre
and signing a Book of Remembrance.
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