Listen to survivors

Good morning.
You may well have heard that Eva Shloss, Anne Frank’s step-sister, died at the age of 96 just over a week ago. I am also very aware of other remaining Holocaust survivors who have died recently, which is not surprising when we consider that World War 2 and the Holocaust ended over 80 years ago. I believe that the testimony and witness they have given in recent years has been so important.
I have heard many Holocaust survivors talk of their experiences at the hands of the Nazis and their supporters. I have also heard survivors from the Rwandan genocide, from Srebrenica and Bosnia, and other genocides and atrocities talk of their experiences.
I am saddened when I hear people suggest that these events did not take place and that the accounts are exaggerated or made up. We know how horrible human beings can be to each other, horrendously so, and it is important that we recognise that.
It is only when we accept the inhumanity and capacity for evil we possess, that we can try to do something about it. I believe that we must work together to overcome these scars on humanity.
Our world is a beautiful place and we can do so much together when we share love and compassion. When we hear of injustices in our world, we need to work together to highlight the problems and do what we can and encourage action to put things right.
That is why I think it is so important to hear the testimony of survivors from their children and even grandchildren, several of whom have stepped up to tell the stories of their loved ones.
So today I pray that survivors of injustice and genocides, and their loved ones, can continue to provide testimony for us to learn where humanity has failed. I hope we can always listen and learn from their experiences. And I pray that we face up to the issues that cause these failures and learn to act in time to stop more genocides and injustices.