Nation urged to protect most vulnerable as the world remembers the 6 million victims of Holocaust

Children from Green Garden School reciting a poem about Children and the Holocaust

(January 31, 2012; UNIC Nairobi ) -The United Nations Information Centre  (UNIC) Nairobi observed the 6th International Day for the Commemoration in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust at the Green Garden School in Kikuyu, a town at the outskirts of Nairobi. This year the theme was “Children and the Holocaust” in memory of the  1.5 million children who perished and suffered at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators.

With 500 guests in attendance, the day started with UNIC and officials from the Embassy of the State of Israel conducting a briefing on the meaning of the Holocaust.  An animated documentary entitled, “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz” was also screened.

In a message presented on his behalf by the Director General of UNON, Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all nations to protect the most vulnerable, including children, regardless of race, colour, gender or religious beliefs.

The Ambassador of the embassy of the State of Israel, Mr. Gil Haskel said that many of the lingering questions that come up from the events of the Holocaust are complex and partly unexplainable. He however is lucky to have had a father who managed to escape the horrific fate of the brutal murder and massacre as a child, and later shared the whole story with him before his death two years ago. 

On behalf of the Hebrew congregation of Nairobi, the chairman Mr. Albert Atias, noted how, in spite of their acute vulnerability, many children discovered ways to survive. He also added that of the millions of children who suffered persecution at the hands of the Nazis, only a small number wrote diaries and journals that still exist.

The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ms. Margit Hellwig-Boete, explained how the 1.5 million children who perished could have made a difference in the world. She added that the atrocities committed by Germans would remain part and parcel of their lives and called on the children of victims and those of perpetrators to live together for a better future.

Ambassador Solomon Maina the representative of the Government of Kenya noted that while this year’s theme reminds us of the millions of children who perished in the holocaust, it also highlights the vulnerability of children when violence occurs and it is in this spirit that the Kenya Parliament enacted the necessary legislation in chapter 4 of the Bill of Rights of the new constitution which calls upon the protection of children from violence as a basic human right.

Six guests each lit a candle in remembrance of the six million victims of the holocaust, followed by an observance of a minute of silence in their memory.

The observance was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, students from various schools, parents, and the media.

An exhibition on the holocaust was mounted at the United Nations Office complex in Nairobi. 

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