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Online Action Day for the recognition and remembrance of the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day
This year would have been the 10th anniversary of Dikh He Na Bister. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not possible to bring together hundreds of minority and majority youth from all over Europe, as in previous years, to jointly strengthen remembrance, recognition and education about the genocide of Sinti and Roma on the occasion of the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma.
Only a small delegation of 10 people took part in the commemoration ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial on 2 August on behalf of the young people. Therefore we startet the “Online Action Day for the recognition and remembrance of the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day”. It led to diverse encounters between youth work, remembrance culture and online commemorations.
Virtual Name-Reading Ceremony
Amare Manusha – Remember Them
How can we comprehend the catastrophic horrors of the Holocaust? How can we envision today all the radiant lives that have been brutalized, murdered and robbed off their identities by Nazi Germany and its collaborators? Many names of the approximately 500.000 Roma and Sinti people murdered by fascists are known to us. On the occasion of the 76th anniversary European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma we take time to read their names, to bring their memory to the present, to try and unravel the incomprehensible numbers and statistics of victims. They are nor forgotten. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Tribute to our hero Raymond Gurême!
Dikh He Na Bister pays tribute to our friend and hero Raymond Gurême, who died in May 2020. He would be celebrating bis 95th birthday in a few days. Raymond was born into a Manouche family of actors and acrobats in France. In Nazi-occupied Europe, his family had been imprisoned in camps, like so many other Romani People under fascism. As a teenager he escaped, then he would break into these camps to feed and care for his loved ones, before boldly escaping again! His sister Henriette wrote a song about his courage. Raymond was a warm mischievous soul, always at the center of the Dikh He Na Bister Commemoration meetings. Urging us to continue his fight, and to live freely and joyfully. This is a collection of memories of our times together.
10 YEARS of Dikh He Na Bister – Youth Statements
2020 is the 10th anniversary of Dikh He Na Bister. Since 2010, Dikh He Na Bister brought thousands of young Roma and non-Roma together to remember the Holocaust of Sinti and Roma, to learn from the past and to show resistance against racism today.
In 2020, around August 2, the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma, Dikh He Na Bister could not, as usual, gather 400-500 young Roma and non-Roma from all over Europe.
Instead, we bring to life for you the experiences of participants from the past.
Here you can see three selected statements, but many more can be found on our youtube channel: DikhHeNaBister
“Let’s make sure that we, young Jews and Roma, are at the forefront of building a world of open doors and windows. A world without anti-Roma discrimination, antisemitism, and racism. A world that takes “Never Again” seriously. A world of true peace.” Bini Guttmann, European Union of Jewish Students
“Last Year I was a facilitator and had the opportunity to become part of the organisational Team and facilitate a group of young people. I teached them about Roma origins, history, language, and human rights. The most beautiful experience for me at this event is meeting with the survivors. Last year there was, for the first time, witnesses from Slovakia.” Nicola Pompova from Slovakia
“There is a lot that we European Roma youth have to fight for today. In a number of countries, even after so many years, the Roma Holocaust and the date of its commemoration, August 2, continue to be officially unrecognized. In a number of countries where the majority of Roma perished as victims of Nazi persecutions, there are still no monuments, memorials or museums dedicated to the Roma victims. Roma youth voices matter and it is a high time that we hear them!” Atanas Stoyanov, Phiren Amenca (Belgium)
Local Commemorations across Europe
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we could not gather on 2 August to commemorate the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma in Auschwitz. Youth groups organized local commemorations across Europe.
Commemoration in Montenegro, Bratislava and Bucharest
