BYM on Holocaust Memorial Day
Marigold Bentley and Oliver Robertson reflect on Holocaust Memorial Day
Marigold Bentley, head of peace programmes and faith relations for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), has said that it was especially important that Quakers participated in Holocaust Memorial Day this year ‘because it is not only seventy-five years since the liberation of Auschwitz, but also twenty-five years since the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina’.
She said: ‘Quakers were involved for many years in providing practical help and building peace in both these contexts, so it was important to remember what we are working against in order not to repeat them.’
This year’s theme for the day was ‘Stand Together’. Marigold Bentley, who attended a national event to mark the day with Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for BYM, also said: ‘Standing together to remember the Holocaust is an act of solidarity and friendship. It is important for those of us who have not been directly affected by such atrocities to use our voice and actions to support those who have.
‘Our calling is to ensure that cruelty and inhumanity is prevented, and that suffering is relieved. Remembering the past in a way which acknowledges the danger to humanity when we collectively fail to treat each other equally and without violence is important. It is our shared humanity and compassion which draws us to stand alongside others in solemn remembrance. In doing so, we recommit to prevention of cruelty and violence, and to all the important work which Quakers do today, to make for a better tomorrow.’
