Candle-lit vigil with a difference marks HMD

21 Jan 08 - The UK Holocaust Centre, home of the Aegis Trust for genocide prevention, yesterday staged a unique candle-lit vigil to mark the forthcoming national Holocaust Memorial Day. Over 1500 candles were set out in a 1,000-square-metre space spelling out the words ‘remember, reflect, react’ – this year’s theme for the Day – alongside a giant version of the Holocaust Centre’s ‘flame of memory’.

Australian Jorge Pujol (from the arts group ‘Art for Earth’) designing the work, and was assisted in its execution by around 30 volunteers. “Jorge is the world’s leading artist in this field, and we were thrilled to have him with us,” says Centre Director Dr Stephen Smith.

Among those lighting the candles were individuals who survived or escaped the Holocaust and genocide in Rwanda and Darfur – along with Home Office Minister and local MP Vernon Coaker, Cllr Sylvia Michael, Chair of Newark and Sherwood District Council, and local students, including members of Aegis Societies in Nottingham and Derby. Pupils from West Bridgford School in Nottingham also took part.

Participants reflect

At the age of six, Nottingham resident Bob Norton fled to Britain from his native Czechoslovakia to escape the Nazi occupation. “As Jews, there was no future for us under the Nazis,” he said. “Imagine what it means to be demonised to the point where you and your whole family can be killed simply because of who you are.”

“Genocide isn’t the killing of a million people. It’s the murder of one person, like my mother, and then another, like my uncle, and then another, like my cousin,” says Beatha Uwazaninka. “Genocide was as real in Rwanda, 1994, as it was in Nazi-occupied Europe, 1944. Remember those who have died – and respond when you see hatred in the world today.”

“When we reflect on the Holocaust, it’s shocking that we live in a world where genocide is still allowed to continue,” says Abdul Jabar, President of the Darfur Union. “The villages of my childhood have been destroyed, many of my relatives have been murdered, and my people are being swept away. After five years of this, still nothing has been done.”

“The Holocaust centre stood out to me as a charity I had to support,” says artist Jorge Pujol. “It’s a real privilege to be able to work alongside genocide survivors on a project like this. I think it’s very important that we don’t just listen to their experiences and remember the past, but also react by making the world a better place in whatever way we can and ensure that we ourselves do not remain bystanders. Creating this artwork will hopefully help to inspire such reaction through the fresh visual perspective it offers.”

“Remember, reflect, react: these aren’t just words,” says Vernon Coaker. “Governments have recognised they have a responsibility to protect those at risk of genocide – even if they don’t always fulfil it. But all of us, as individuals, must share that responsibility. How can we recognise the tragedy of the Holocaust and not then react to prevent people today from suffering a similar fate?”