In my first 3.5 weeks as Lord Mayor I have attended 4 events, with one more coming up, at which I was able to talk to people who now live in Liverpool about awful events far away which led them to live in our city.
I hosted a meeting with the Ukraine community at which we saw videos about the front line in that Country where Putin has led his illegal invasion. We had a talk from a pop musician who, with the rest of his band signed up on the day that Russia invaded and served as front line Medics for a year before being pulled back for a while to help the government with morale building and public information activities.
I attended the unveiling of the new monument inside the grounds of King David School to remember the holocaust and heard the chances that led to her father surviving.
I commemorated D-Day at St Johns Gardens where so many brave young men died for our freedom and pushed back the Nazis invaders of western Europe.
Then yesterday I took part in another wreath laying at St John’s Gardens where we commemorated the massacre of 1,000,000 people in just 10 weeks.
In all these cases I was able to talk to survivors of these dreadful events or the children of survivors. In the case of Day there were two survivors one of D Day itself and the other went on the beaches a few days later and fought all the way to Berlin. In all these cases the council had worked with the organisers to ensure that young people both from within and outside that community were in attendance to listen and learn. On Thursday there were students from Alsop Academy and yesterday from Belvidere School.
This year’s National Holocaust Memorial Day Trust theme is ‘Fragility of Freedom.’
Freedom means different things to different people. What is clear is that in every genocide that has taken place, those who are targeted for persecution have had their freedom restricted and removed before many of them are murdered. This is often a subtle, slow process.
The ten stages of genocide, as identified by Professor Gregory Stanton, demonstrate that genocide never just happens.
There is always a set of circumstances which occur, or which are created, to build the climate in which genocide can take place and in which perpetrator regimes can remove the freedoms of those they are targeting.
Not only do perpetrator regimes erode the freedom of the people they are targeting, demonstrating how fragile freedom is, they also restrict the freedoms of others around them, to prevent people from challenging the regime.
Despite this, in every genocide there are those who risk their own freedom to help others, to preserve others’ freedom or to stand up to the regime. Freedom is fragile and it cannot be taken for granted.
The Rwandan High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Johnston Busingye, talked us through the long and short-term processes which led to that dreadful day more than 30 years ago. It started in the 30’s when the then Belgium colonialists had started to issue identity cards which had the membership of the three main groupings on them – mostly Hutus and Tutsis. Before that there had only been Rwandans. They tried to prove the difference between the ethnic groups by measuring their skulls. How Nazi was that!!
After the Colony became an Independent Country, the new Government did not take the opportunity to do this. No-one knows why. Perhaps they thought it unimportant or perhaps they were already playing a long game toward the massacre and disruption. Then, a bit like Northern Ireland, that identity was used to move resources and jobs and opportunities to one side or another.
The massacre itself was carefully planned. Not a casual uprising but planned carefully in advance. Thousands of machetes and other weapons were purchased and lists of people to be murdered were prepared. On Day 1 the murders proceeded through the community with their list but not at random. People were only murdered during 9 – 5 and there were lunch breaks.
Whilst all this happened the international community stood by and watched. There was a small group of UN soldiers from Belgium there. Some of them were massacred but they were too small a force to do anything and were not reinforced. How reminiscent of that is the Nazi buildup in Germany or the slowness of some countries in coming forward to help Ukraine.
Then came the punishment of the offenders but crucially the reconciliation of the two communities. Young people now are Rwandans not Hutus or Tutsis.
The UK was one of the first to provide real assistance to the Rwandans which is why they ignored their colonial roots and joined the Commonwealth of Nations, mostly composed of former British colonies rather than the Francophone global body. But our work is not yet done there are at least 6 major planners of the genocide who live in the UK who should be brought to have their day in court to finalise the grieving process of the nation.
Our individual contribution can take many forms, but we must never forget what happened, we must unite in remembering the victims and we must do all we can to fight the ignorance that breeds prejudice, intolerance and hatred which can lead to acts of brutality and evil. For those of us who have never faced such horrors our job is two-fold. We must learn from what happened and we must support those who have had to flee their country and have made this one their home on either a permanent or temporary basis.
I suggested to all those present at the Ukraine and Rwanda events that they should not forget their roots. I hope that will be British Rwandans or British Ukrainians in which their rich knowledge and desire to create a good home for themselves and their children will create a good future for all of us.
Many who survived the genocide in Rwanda have made Liverpool their home. They make a valuable contribution to our city, even though they may still be suffering, as they remember the very sad events in their country. It is therefore vital for us to try to understand what happened in Rwanda 30 years ago, and to offer our support to those who now live here.
But what does Richard Kemp think? 