HOLOCAUST VICTIMS REMEMBERED AT COUNTY MEMORIALS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Holocaust victims remembered at county memorials

The atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust were remembered during memorial events in the city and county.

A service was held in Queen's Park, Loughborough, yesterday lunchtime to mark Holocaust Memorial Day – held each year to coincide with the day Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.

Councillor Diane Wise, mayor of Charnwood, led the town's 13th Holocaust Memorial Service at the bandstand, commemorating Jewish lives lost during the Second World War.

"As Mayor of Charnwood, I was honoured to be invited to lead this memorial service," she said. "Although Auschwitz camp was liberated nearly 70 years ago, the effects of what occurred are still felt by many.

"I am proud Loughborough continues to host this service, a poignant reminder of the human costs of war."

The day was also marked by an exhibition in Charnwood Museum, which will run until Sunday. Victims were also due to be remembered at an event at the University of Leicester last night. Communities Together: Build a Bridge was due to be held at the Fraser Noble Hall, on University Road, and was to include displays of work by schoolchildren, on tackling hatred.

Organised by Leicester City Council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies, the evening's programme included presentations by young people who spoke about visiting Auschwitz.

Assistant city mayor Councillor Manjula Sood said: "It is inspiring to see the creativity of young people and the importance of tackling all kinds of discrimination."

CITY IN TRIBUTE TO GENOCIDE VICTIMS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

City in tribute to genocide victims

The atrocities of the Holocaust will be remembered at an event in Leicester this weekend.

Holocaust Memorial Day on Sunday will be marked with an event at the University of Leicester, which will pay tribute to victims of genocide and showcase work by schoolchildren on tackling hatred.

Entitled Communities Together: Build a Bridge, it takes place at the Fraser Noble Hall, in University Road, at 7.30pm.

It will include an address by Professor Aubrey Newman, former director of the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and will highlight the Auschwitz Project with a number of young people giving their thoughts on either having visited Auschwitz or preparing to go.

There will be readings from the winners of an essay competition and from an anthology of poems written by pupils from five city schools.

Musicians from English Martyrs Catholic School will perform during the event.

It has been organised by the city council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the Stanley Burton Centre.

POET'S VISIT INSPIRES PUPILS TO SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Poet's visit inspires pupils to speak up and speak out

A group of youngsters were so inspired by a visit by a poet whose grandparents perished in the Holocaust they set about writing their own poems.

The result is a collection of poetry which has been published to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Pupils at Granby Primary School, Stokes Wood Primary School, Queensmead Primary School, Lancaster School and the Phoenix Centre, have produced the "Speak Up Speak Out" anthology, after a visit by Leah Thorn.

Some of the pupils attended the Holocaust Memorial Service at the University of Leicester, where they read out their poems.

Kiana Chapman, of Stokes Wood Primary School, has four poems published in the anthology and read out some of her work at the service.

She said: "I was nervous about having to read out on stage, but once I was saying it I felt better.

"It was very challenging having to write on such a subject, but the poet Leah was brilliant."

Aleisha Baxter, 11, also of Stokes Wood Primary, has seven poems published in the collection.

She said: "The time we had with poet was really exciting. I am proud of what I have managed to write, about such a hard subject."

Oliver Kind, 11, of Stokes Wood, has two poems published in the anthology.

He said: "I was full of nerves about reading out loud, but Aleisha went before me so that made me feel more confident.

"It was great to be able to stand up and read out. It is a good feeling that other people will be able to read our work."

Stokes Wood teacher Elizabeth Stone said: "The visit of the travelling poet coincided with anti-bullying week, so we incorporated both in the work.

"The children have produced some wonderful poems on the subjects. I am very impressed."

Stokes Wood headteacher Jane Gadsby said: "All the children from all the schools involved should be proud of their work. The standard of work the children produced was quite remarkable. They have fantastic writing skills."

Poet Leah, whose mother survived after fleeing Germany to escape the Nazis, said: "The poems these children create are a powerful testimony to their talent and to their sensitivity."

Councillor Manjula Sood, chairman of the Leicester Council of Faiths and assistant mayor of Leicester City Council, said: "The children have used their imagination to create an especially important message in our multi-cultural city."

The project was supported by the Leicester Holocaust Memorial Committee which includes the Leicester Council of Faiths, Leicester University, the city council and the School Development Support Agency.

The project was funded by the National Lottery Awards for All.

HOLOCAUST HORRORS INSPIRE CHILDREN TO POETRY

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Holocaust horrors inspire children to poetry

Children paid tribute to victims of genocide at a memorial event.

Speak Up, Speak Out, took place at the University of Leicester on Saturday to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place on Friday.

Young people spoke about school trips to Auschwitz, before the launch of an anthology of poems about hatred and genocide, written by pupils in Leicester.

Manjula Sood, chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths and assistant mayor of Leicester City Council, said: "It is important to remember the lessons from history from the holocaust and other forms of genocide which have taken place since.

"Pupils from schools across Leicester have been taking part in work looking at tackling all kinds of hatred and discrimination, which is an especially important message in a multicultural city such as Leicester."

The event was run by Leicester City Council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies.

For more information on Holocaust Memorial Day visit: www.hmd.org.uk

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2012: SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT!

The city formally commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day this evening. The event is jointly sponsored by Leicester Council of Faiths, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA), the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council. 

The annual commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day officially falls on 27 January, which was yesterday - a Friday. Since the Jewish community plays such a prominent part in this annual occasion, it would be daft to hold it on a day on which they'd be unable to take part.

Leicester's Holocaust Memorial Day has obtained funding from the Big Lottery's Awards For All scheme this year, which has allowed preparations for the event and the commemoration itself this evening to step up a gear.

There are 140 people attending this evening, in what is a new venue for this event: Embrace Arts at the University of Leicester's Richard Attenborough Centre.

The programme is introduced by Tony Nelson (Chair of Leicester Holocaust Memorial Day Committee and Treasurer of Leicester Council of Faiths - and my line manager). Tony welcomes special guests, including Cllr Robert Wan, Lord Mayor of Leicester; Lady Gretton, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire; and The Right Revd. Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester. Apologies were received from Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester.

Charlie Neale and Joe Flavell from English Martyrs Catholic School, Laura Whitehouse and Craig Heffernan from Beauchamp College speak on their experiences of the Holocaust Educational Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz Project, then answer questions. 

Now, normally when I hear anyone introduced as a "Performance Poet" my eyes dart to the nearest exit (and in my previous incarnation as a Creative Writing tutor, I've had to do that plenty of times). But this evening, I'm glad to say, Leah Thorn is definitely the exception that proves the rule. She makes a wonderful contribution - touching, moving and uplifting, engaging and involving - occasionally bringing us up short with moments of insight or revelation. She's accompanied on a variety of musical instruments by her partner, Arike. Leah has spent time in five Leicester schools working with pupils, coaching them in writing their own poetry about appropriate themes for Holocaust Memorial Day which are relevant to their own experience (later in the week, the Leicester Mercury gives good coverage to this part of the project). The poems have been collected in a booklet, entitled "SPEAKUPSPEAKOUT: Holocaust Memorial Day Poetry Collection 2012", which is distributed free of charge to attendees here this evening. Here's Leah's introduction to the booklet:

I arrived in Leicester on the 4th of December 2011 to lead a week of poetry in workshops in Leicester schools for Holocaust Memorial Day 2012. I was to work in a boys' secondary school, some primary schools and I was excited to meet the young people. I was also curious. How would we get on? In a period of a few hours, would it be possible to create a safety and an atmosphere in which young people could share honestly their thoughts and feelings about genocide?

My mother was a Holocaust survivor and when she learned of my work with non-Jews on the subject of the Holocaust, she tellingly asked, "Do they listen? Do they care?" Thinking of the young people I met during my week in Leicester, my answer is a resounding "YES!"

The young people, aged ten to fifteen, cared a lot. Whether we were looking at bullying as the first step to genocide, or at the role of the bystander, or at metaphors for the Holocaust, they were attentive, thoughtful - and full of poetic ideas. They surprised themselves with their achievements, and I appreciated the warmth with which they welcome me and listened to my poetry and my stories. The poems they created are a powerful testimony to their talent and to their sensitivity.

As well as Leah reading some of the children's poems, she mixes in some of her own, reflecting her family's recollections of the Holocaust. A few of the children are welcomed onstage to read their contributions. The Leicester schools with which Leah worked were:

• Granby Primary School
• The Lancaster School
• Phoenix Centre
• Queensmead Primary School
• Stokes Wood Primary School

The Holocaust is a choking sound,

a shattering sound around the whole world;

the screeching sound of a blackboard being scratched

and a building crashing down.

The Holocaust is dark silver, the colour of upset,

the blue of tears and the sleepy pink of smoke.

It is a journey stuck in freezing snow.

It stings and pinches skin. It is a bruise.

The Holocaust is a draught up your arm,

a spider creeping up your sleeve.

The Holocaust is rough on the tongue, like sharp metal.

The Holocaust is a game of Hide'n'Seek.

It is an explosion of destruction.

The Holocaust lives in an abandoned castle

with boarded up windows.

It is a ripped-up teddy bear

with its stitching dropped.

It is a rocking horse, rocking backwards and forwards.

It is a heart full of ice.

It says to me, "Everywhere I go,

everything nice dies."

The Holocaust lives in a dark, mysterious forest,

in the cold with dust.

(group poem by Year 6 pupils, Queensmead Primary School)

Next in this evening's programme there's a more formal musical interlude (two Chopin Preludes) by Markian Lachmann from English Martyrs at the piano.

Siobhan Begley presents certificates to the young people who have participated in the Speak Up, Speak out! project, in memory of her late husband, Paul Winstone.

Professor Aubrey Newman (Past Director of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester) addresses briefly this year's theme: "Speak Up, Speak Out!"

In the photo above (left to right): Tony Nelson, Juliet Martin (SDSA), Leah Thorn, Arike, Cllr Manjula Sood.

Some thoughts on "monitoring" are appropriate here: at the last few commemorations of Holocaust Memorial Day, I've put out the forms required by Leicester City Council as part of their monitoring regime on the seats before anyone turns up. And whoever's been chairing the meeting has waved the forms from the front and asked attendees to complete them before leaving. Knowing how much store our various monitoring officers at City Council set by these forms, I'm always anxious to ensure as many of these forms as possible are completed and collected. I've had occasional comments - verbal or in writing - from attendees that this may be seen as a bit obtrusive. This evening I wasn't able to leave the monitoring forms on the seats before the meeting began, but lay them out on chairs and tables in the cafe, so that attendees can complete them during the reception after the formal part of the programme.

This time however, I'm slapped in the face by the irony of asking people to declare disability, religion and sexual orientation at an event, commemorating victims of the holocaust and of genocide who were persecuted, tortured victimised and done to death for possessing characteristics in those three areas that deviated from some arbitrary norm. Inside 20 minutes I go from (politely) butting into conversations round the tables, encouraging everyone to fill out the forms and explaining why we need them to do so, to going round collecting the unfilled forms and binning them. I have a conversation later with Rev. David Clarke about this and he offers to write supporting comments on one of the forms and sign it.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2011: UNTOLD STORIES

It's the city's main commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery this evening. This annual event is jointly sponsored by Leicester Council of Faiths, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA), the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council. It's one of the most high-profile and prestigious occasions in the Council of Faiths calendar. There are at least 100 people attending this evening.

Cllr Manjula Sood (Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths) opens the meeting, welcoming distinguished guests. She's followed by Sir Peter Soulsby MP who makes introductory remarks. Next we hear from Anne Webb, Manager of the Lessons from Auschwitz project, run by the Holocaust Educational Trust. Then four students from Beauchamp College (in the photo above with Cllr Sood) who have been to Auschwitz, and two from English Martyrs RC School, who are preparing to go, address the meeting. The girls from Beauchamp change the tone of this event. For the first time, it feels to me like the balance well and truly tips  toward the young people involved, rather than them being here under polite sufferance of the older participants. They owned the stage. (I found out later, from my son Harry, that some of the Beauchamp girls had visited Bushloe High School in Wigston, which he attends, to talk to students there about HMD earlier this week.)

The Paul Winstone Memorial Essay prize is awarded by Paul's widow, Siobhan Begley, to Jake Edward, from English Martyrs RC School (who reads his essay to us).

We're treated to a musical interlude, that includes a performance by Joel Moore of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 6.

Professor Aubrey Nemwman speaks briefly to this year's theme, "Untold Stories". Rev. David Clarke proposes the vote of thanks. During the mixing and mingling that follows, I record some video interviews for the Council of Faiths YouTube channel.

Engaging with faith communities in Leicester (5)

Meeting Jill Carr, RE Adviser to Leicester City Council and Secretary of SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) in Costa Coffee, Waterstone's, Market Street. We're discussing the texts for the series, "Engaging with Leicester's Faith Communities". We began working on these since January. Back then, there were five of us involved. Along the way, for one reason or another, RE Today Services, St Philip's Centre, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA) have dropped out and now it's just the two of us.

A meeting was held recently with representatives of the Muslim community, so that they could respond to the text that we've come up with to date. I wasn't able to attend that meeting. so Jill fills me in on the work we have to do tho bring that text up to date. We should have held a similar meeting focusing on the Christian text, but that was postponed due to lack of support.

Jill recommends that I send information about the Highcross exhibition in National Inter Faith Week to SACRE so that it can be circulated around membrs.

SHOULD YOUNG SIKHS WEAR THE KIRPAN IN LEICESTER SCHOOLS?

Meeting at the Tigers, early evening, to discuss the Sikh text in the series currently under development, "Engaging with Leicester's Faith Communities". Representatives of all Leicester's gurdwaras have been invited, Head Teachers (or Deputy Heads) of the six primary schools and four secondary schools with the biggest numbers of Sikh pupils in the city and a small number of others identified as stakeholders.

More specifically, the major topic for discussion is the wearing of the kirpan (one type of which is illustrated in the photo above) in Leicester schools and colleges. The steering group (of which I am a member) have gathered advice and information from other local authorities (e.g. Bedford, Birmingham, Redbridge) who have gone through a similar process. We want our text to contain intelligent and definitive guidelines that can be followed in the city. There's an hour-and-a-half of mature, trusting and friendly consultation among around 25 of us and I believe everyone went away happy. One good result was that more people wanted to have a read of the whole text before it is approved for publication. More work for those of us involved in writing and editing it, but it definitely brings a better sense of engagement all round - and that, in itself, is one of the intended results of creating this series of texts.

I'm not going to try and present the content of our discussion here. That would not do justice to the topic or to the quality of contributions that were made round the table. I count myself privileged to be involved in this kind of work with such people.

Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester (3)

At the Schools Development Support Agency this morning, to continue our work on "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester". That's the overall title for a new series of texts for schools, which (hopefully) will also be the basis of a programme of training for school staff. We've just about finished the text on Muslims and are advancing into the second, on Sikhs. This material might end up being published electronically, allowing schools to print off their own hard copy if they want to. Jill Carr (Secretary of Leicester SACRE); Fiona Moss (of RE Today Services), Robert Vincent (of the Schools Development Support Agency) have been at it since 0830, when I arrive, just after 10. We make good progress till we call it quits around midday.

community cohesion @ Newbridge

Late last night, Clare and I loaded the Council of Faiths exhibition material (set of eight banners, a couple of hundred copies of our "generic" leaflet, bookmarks and stickers) into her tiny Peugeot, for her to drive to Newbridge High School in Coalville this morning. The school (along with its neighbour Castle Rock High School) is holding a community cohesion event this week and improving the pupils' and staff's awareness of the faith communities around them is an integral part of the activity. Our neighbour, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA) is providing a day of lessons and activities on issues related to faith or belief today at Newbridge and Wednesday at Castle Rock. We're backing that up with our display materials, which are going to be on show in the school library today and tomorrow before moving on to Castle Rock on Wednesday morning.

This is the first of two occasions when I would have needed to be in two places at once this week. Thanks Clare for support above and beyond, in taking the stuff out to Coalville.

Find out more about Newbridge High School:
http://www.newbridgehs.leics.sch.uk/

Find out more about the Schools Development Support Agency:
http://sdsa.net/section/0_welcome_to_the_sdsa/

Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester (2)

At the Schools Development Support Agency this afternoon, for a third meeting on a new series of texts for schools, with the overall title, "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester". First in the series is a text on the Muslim community; we're hoping to agree a final version of the content today. There are four of us meeting today: Jill Carr (Secretary of Leicester SACRE); Fiona Moss (of RE Today Services), Robert Vincent (of the Schools Development Support Agency) and me. Jill has printed out a version of the second booklet in the series, on the Sikh community, ready for us to start work on just as soon as we can sign off on the Muslims text.

Glad to recognise a kindred spirit in Robert, as far as caring about good writing goes!

SACRE @ Friends Meeting House

To the Friends Meeting House, Queens Road this afternoon, for a meeting of Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education).

This is the second SACRE meeting I've attended on behalf of Leicester Council of Faiths. The Inter Faith Network for the UK is encouraging local inter faith groups to become more closely involved with SACRE in their area. But SACREs have very particular functions and responsibilities and it can be difficult to see just how local inter faith groups fit in with that. But there's a good spirit of cooperation between the Council of Faiths and SACRE in Leicester and we're considering the best fit between us. SACRE is rewriting its constitution and an appropriate place for the Council of Faiths can be found within the new one.

This meeting is a good example of the kind of role we can play alongside or within SACRE. Leicester City Council has become concerned about the effect on school attendance of time taken off for religious observances. Such time taken off was not visible before because of the use of an "R" code in school registers. This marked days off for religious reasons and the school had discretion about whether this had to be included in the overall number of absences. In effect, a pupil could be off school for purposes of religious observance, but could be considered as being present on those days. Recent changes in recording absences in school have done away with the "R" code, so schools no longer have that discretion. Now if a pupil is off school for religious reasons, it must be shown as an absence - even if an authorised one, it still contributes to the school's record of total absences. So, all of a sudden, the number of absences has leapt for the city as a whole - from 15,858 sessions missed in 2007-08 to 45,453 session missed in 2008-09 (figures are for all schools, primary and secondary). That's a 300% increase in one year, all due to a new method of recording. The City Council is considering a range of options that would allow schools in Leicester to be more responsive to the pattern of life of the city's faith communities, thus ameliorating the effect on children’s education of missing so many sessions. Several practical (and a few impractical) options are discussed at this meeting today. One step that was agreed on was to engage leaders and representatives of the city's faith communities on this topic. The Council of Faiths recently hosted a focus group with representatives of the City Council on the current review of bereavement services (see blog entry, "staying in focus", below). We may be able to offer the City Council something similar on this issue. It's not my place to commit the Council of Faiths to doing such a thing on this occasion, but I will pass this on to our officers for them to make a decision. I gave my calling card to the two representatives of the City Council who brought their paper on this topic to this meeting and said we'd be in touch.

Noel Singh, Policy Officer with Leicestershire County Council, speaks about relations with Leicestershire SACRE and the Interfaith Forum for Leicestershire. It's gratifying to see that Noel's notes are written on REDP notepaper!

We also get an update from Jill Carr on the booklet series project, "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester", which I'm helping write, along with the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA).

Find out more about Leicester SACRE:
http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/education-lifelong-learning/school-staff/curriculum-subjects/religious-education/sacre/

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY: THE LEGACY OF HOPE

This evening we commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day at the University of Leicester, Fraser Noble Hall. This annual event is sponsored by Leicester Council of Faiths, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA), the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Gencoide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council. It's one of the most high-profile and prestigious occasions in the Council of Faiths calendar. There are between 75 and 80 people attending this evening.

I arrive before 1830 to erect one of our banners and put out a number of our leaflets (the generic ones showcasing the Council of Faiths). I also put a monitoring form on each seat. This is the fourth time we've used these forms at our events; hopefully, we'll all get used to them before long and we won't need to make special announcements to ensure everyone fills them out. Then it's a dash across London Road for dinner at The Loaded Dog. I have the Posh Fish Finger: (relatively) fast food so I can get back over to Fraser Noble Hall just before proceedings get under way at 1930.

Cllr Manjula Sood (Deputy Lord Mayor and Chair of the Council of Faiths) opens the meeting, welcoming distinguished guests: the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Cllr Roger Blackmore; Lady Mayoress, Mrs Hilary Blackmore; the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Mr Maurice Thompson among them.

We watch a DVD projected on the big screen, "Wasted Lives", which covers the major episodes of genocide in the twentieth century: Armenia (1915-17); Nazi-occupied Europe (1939-45) and Rwanda (1994). It also touches on events in the former Yugoslavia and in Cambodia. The sound system is a bit creaky, so some of the soundtrack was lost, but it's powerful and sobering stuff none the less.

Three students from Beauchamp College speak. One of them has been to Auschwitz, two are going next week. Then we hear two students from City of Leicester College, one of whom visited Auschwitz four years ago, the other is soon to go. Most of these young people have exams tomorrow and have given up some of their valuable revision time to be here and speak to us.

The Paul Winstone Memorial Essay competition has become a regular part of this event. This part of the proceedings is introduced by Tony Nelson and the prizes awarded by Paul Winstone's widow, Siobhan Begley. Only one of the prize winners is able to attend this evening, a ten-year old girl named Orla (aged 10) from Thomas Moore Primary School. Siobhan reads from other prize-winning essays submitted from Lancaster School for Boys.

Professor Aubrey Nemwman speaks to this year's theme, "The Legacy of Hope". Rev. David Clarke proposes the vote of thanks. We have the chance to mix and mingle with some light refrshements.

I collect in the monitoring forms, gather up leftover leaflets and pack away our banner. I was the first one in and am the last one out. I like that, as it adds to the reflective dimension for me.

This event featured strongly in a nationwide roundup of HMD commemorations published by the Jewish Chronicle (28 Jan 2010).

Read my blog entries for Holocaust Memorial Day 2009, "Stand Up to Hatred" and Holocaust Memorial Day 2011, "Untold Stories".

Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester (1)

Back to Leicester from Oakham for a meeting at the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA). They're based at 6 Bishop Street, just two doors down from the Welcome Centre. A number of us are working together on a new series of booklets entitled "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester". These will be for use mainly in schools and colleges, offering a clear practical guide for staff on how to understand and appreciate the distinctive qualities of the faiths in their schools and help them deal with the kind of religious and cultural issues that might arise in those settings. The booklet on Islam is well advanced in content, some of it based on the leaflet produced two years ago by the Council of Faiths. Our principle aim today was to agree on the format, which will allow the series to grow. The text on Sikhism is in development and work will start soon on one on Hinduism. It was decided that there will be an introduction written jointly by the Chair of SACRE and the Chair of the Council of Faiths.

2009's TOP 10: No 1

Holocaust Memorial Day, University of Leicester, Fraser Noble Hall, London Road, Leicester, Tuesday 27 January 2009

Like the Faiths Trail coach tour round some of the city's places of worship (see number 5 in this list of my top ten for 2009), Holocaust Memorial Day has become one of the signature events organised each year by Leicester Council of Faiths. This local commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day is arranged in association with the Schools Development Support Agency, the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council).

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day this year was Stand Up to Hatred. There was a three-member panel: Dr Martin Stern, a member of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation who had been taken into a Nazi concentration camp at the age of five (along with his one-year old sister) and whose story had been published in the Leicester Mercury over the previous week; a lady from the British Traveller community, who wished to be known by her first name only (Lil); and Suleman Nagdi, founder member of the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire (MBCOL) and Public Relations Officer for the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) - an infrastructure support body that works with more than 750 Muslim groups in the city and county.

The Muslim Council of Britain had advised Muslims throughout the country to abstain from supporting National Holocaust Memorial day this year as a way of registering their protest at the situation in Gaza. I can't say whether this was universally observed all over Britain. I can say that in light of this national advice, the FMO held an urgent meeting and voted that they should support the events in Leicester and Leicestershire. Abdul Kareem Gheewala, Chair of the FMO, was in attendance at this commemoration of HMD. Suleman Nagdi was asked to speak on the panel at Fraser Noble Hall at just half an hour's notice. I'm not going to try and report or paraphrase what Suleman said when he got the chance to speak. If it's a failure on the writer's part to say, "You had to be there" then on this occasion I'll happily hold my hands up and say, okay, I fail - this time. Usually I take copious notes at such events, but my Moleskine notebook stayed shut on this occasion. Anyone reading this will be aware that Leicester likes to think of itself as somewhere special, somewhere exceptional. It's at moments like this that I believe it.

I asked some of the folk I know from Network for Change to come with me to this event. People whom we'd now describe as having mental health problems were also taken to the camps - and Holocaust Memorial Day commemorates all those who have been (or still are) victims of persecution.

It's a guiding principle of Leicester Council of Faiths that it tends to the religious, spiritual and cultural life of the city. While it expresses sympathy with those who are suffering around the world, for whatever reason and from whatever cause, it doesn't take sides. This evening was a magnificent display of solidarity among the city's faith communities. I'm sure that Suleman would have received a standing ovation at the end of his impromptu speech - were it not for the fact that many of those attending were probably a bit too old and frail to stand.

Read my blog entries for Holocaust Memorial Day 2010, "The Legacy of Hope" and Holocaust Memorial Day 2011, "Untold Stories".