Anum Qaisar MP has highlighted the importance of this week’s Holocaust memorial day and has written to all of the secondary schools in her Airdrie & Shotts constituency sharing resources on the poignant commemoration.
The annual event falls on January 27, and Ms Qaisar contacted her local schools to pass on materials produced by the Holocaust memorial day trust after recently meeting with representatives of the organisation.
She said: “It is vital we continue to educate our children about atrocities such as the Holocaust and more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.”
Holocaust memorial day is marked each year on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
It “allows us to reflect and take time to learn the lessons of the past, and bring people from all backgrounds together to recognise the harms of genocide”.
The memorial day trust arranges an annual online commemoration and has this year given schools use of a 20-minute film featuring testimonies from Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern and Amouna Adam, who survived the genocide in Darfur.
Ms Qaisar said: “Commemorating this day is incredibly significant, as it remembers the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups, and in more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
“Each year, people come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future.
“I hope that schools across the constituency will take the opportunity to pass on the resources for pupils to use, as we continue to work toward a society free of prejudice and hatred, and a future free of genocide.”
Ms Qaisar also signed the Holocaust Educational Trust book of commitment, pledging to honour those who were murdered and paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today.
The theme for this year’s commemorations is “ordinary people”, and thousands of events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country to remember all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
Ms Qaisar said: “Holocaust memorial day is an important opportunity to reflect on the darkest times of European history. I pledge to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in Holocaust – as well as those who suffered in genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.”
Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock said: “On Holocaust memorial day we remember the six million men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, simply for being Jewish.
“We pay tribute to the incredible survivors, many of whom still share their testimony day in and day out to ensure that future generations never forget the horrors of the past.
“We also remember that antisemitism did not start or end with the Holocaust; we must all be vigilant, and speak out whenever it is found.”
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