Roma Holocaust: We must reject hatred

The Brussels-based European Roma Information Office organized a conference on Roma Holocaust together with the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee. In her speech, MEP Lívia Járóka emphasized that it was not only a duty to pay homage to the miseries of victims but also to pronounce over and over again that we must reject hatred. She pointed out that we must step up against extremism that teaches people that other people are less than equal, or worse, less than human. She reminded that it was in this spirit that she had launched a written declaration this July in the European Parliament to officially proclaim the 2nd of August as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Roma Holocaust. Járóka also welcomed the decision of the German government to open a memorial for Roma victims in Berlin.

 

MEP Járóka underlined that through the EU Framework for National Roma Inclusion Strategies, the largest ever scale international initiative has been launched to improve the situation of Roma, which through firm political will and adequate financial resources is hoped to achieve tangible and profound changes by the end of the decade. 'We must tell our children about the Holocaust, a crime that is unique in human history. But more that that, we must pave the way for their future: a future of safety, hope and prosperity. Because remembrance without resolve, awareness without action remains nothing more than a symbolic gesture' – Járóka Lívia emphasized.