Holocaust Memorial Day

I'm just back from Edinburgh University Chaplaincy, where EUSA marked Holocaust Memorial Day this evening with a short and informal service, remembering the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides.

The event featured speeches from Rev Di Williams, the University Chaplain; Young Dawkins, the Vice Principal of Development and Alumni at Edinburgh University; Gordon Aikman, the Vice President of EUSA; and music from Stephanie Brickman, Uri Stav, and someone else whose name I missed. The highlight of the event was David Goldberg, a Jewish German who retold his personal story of living during the holocaust. He was lucky enough to be taken to Britain at the beginning of the war, but he lost over 20 of his family members to the Nazi persecution.

It was finished off by a candle lighting ceremony led by Di Williams, whereby seven candles (six of them representing the six million Jews killed in the holocaust - the seventh standing for others who have died in related genocides) were lit. The lighters were Di Williams, Gordon Aikman, David Goldberg, Chantal Ellis (President of the University's Jewish Society), John McQuade (President of BLOGS), and two other people I didn't recognise. After they had lit the big candles, they went to the back where there were tealights, and everyone present was invited to light them and reflect. I was pleased to see Subh and Nurul there (the President and Vice-President of the University's Islamic Society), especially given strained relationships that have existed in the past between societies. But tonight everything was cool :)

Afterwards, there was refreshments and the like, and I spoke to Subhan, Nurul, and the Chaplaincy's receptionist Kate. Some of the speeches had mentioned Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and Kenya. On the subject of systematic human rights abuses leading to genocide or similar circumstances, we talked about the Chechens; the Baha'is in Iran; and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Siberia. We discussed the need for actions, not words - "Let deeds, not words, be your adorning" (Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words From the Persian #5, p23-24). Also mentioned was the Islamic tradition that the only true criterion of a person's piousness is their taqwá'lláh - their consciousness of or fear of God.

One thing that struck me was that there were seven candles lit. Gordon Aikman used his speech to speak about the need for unity in the struggle against racism and prejudice. Which got me thinking - there is a book called Seven Candles of Unity, which details the time Abdu'l-Baha spent in Edinburgh. (Abdu'l-Baha is the son and appointed successor of Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith.) The book is named after seven principles that Abdu'l-Baha outlined as essential in the journey towards world peace.

While this little event in Edinburgh, in global terms, barely causes a blip on the radar, it is little by little that we can light the candles of unity in hearts around the world. We remember, we reflect, and we react. Never again should the world have to witness genocide. Maybe we can learn the value of human life.