Holocaust Memorial Day and ‘The Fragility of Freedom’

Dr Fidèle Mutwarasibo gave his own personal account at the Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Milton Keynes Rose in Campbell Park on Saturday 27 January, 2024.

‘The Fragility of Freedom’ was this year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day. This is dedicated to the remembrance of the millions of people who died under Nazi persecution and the genocides which followed in many countries around the world over the decades.

Fidèle is Director of our Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) and a Lecturer in Work-based Learning. He spoke about ‘Thirty years ago’, focusing on 6 April 1994, and his lived experience of the Rwandan genocide. Fidèle said: “I lost a few freedoms as a consequence of what happened in 1994. The call to leadership is to ensure that ‘Never Again’ – the phrase used at the end of the Second World War – becomes a reality and not just an aspiration. Ignoring history, if unchecked, can lead to repeating history.”

Lecturer in Law Jessica Giles has also highlighted the research cluster she leads in the Law School which has a particular focus on peaceful coexistence. This is so relevant on Holocaust Memorial Day when the atrocities perpetrated against religious and minority groups are remembered.

There are several relevant sections on the Project for Interdisciplinary Law and Religion Studies (PILARS) website. Also, for Human Rights Week a few years ago, the renowned writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who sadly passed away in December, introduced Jessica’s short video in which she discusses the right to religious freedom and belief.