Emily’s Words: Reflect and Remember
This Genocide Awareness Week has felt like a long time coming for me. Last year's Genocide and Holocaust Education Council (G&HEC) had the goal of widening our Reading of the Names to include other communities but our initiative was cut short because of COVID and weren't able to bring our ideas to fruition. This year, making up for that was very important for me. I was really interested in continuing what we had started last year by trying to involve different groups that had been affected by genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Our 2020-2021 Genocide and Holocaust Educational Council comprised of Hillel interns, Teresa Aniev, part of Armenians for Human Rights, Nav Chima, the President and founder of the Sikh Student Association on campus and other interested members of our Miami community. We were able to put on a really meaningful week by first hosting presentations for people to learn more about Armenian and Sikh atrocities that many don't know too much about. Wednesday, we held our annual Reading of The Names but included not only the names of Holocaust victims but Armenian, Sikh, and told the history of Rwandan, Bosnian, Cambodian, Rohingya, and Uyghur genocide. Following our Reading of The Names, the G&HEC led a memorial walk to commemorate to victims around the world who lost their lives because of having an identity they couldn't control. I was so moved by our walk and was extremely grateful for the people who came to speak including Rabbi Yossi Greenberg, Victoria Negron (Unidos), and everyone who included poems and final thoughts. I hope this week and our programming continues to encourage the Miami community to Never Forget and our Genocide and Holocaust Education Council continues to shine a light on untold stories for years to come.
Please join us tonight as we hear from Walter Frank, Hillel Board Member, share his family's experience with the Holocaust and our Holocaust Memorial Shabbat, our final event for Genocide Awareness Week.
Shabbat Shalom,
Emily Garforth '21
