Dikh He Na Bister is an initiative that this year commemorated 78 years since 2nd August 1944, the day when almost 4300 Roma prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau camp were exterminated by Nazi Regime. Every year, DHNB gathers young people from all around the world and encourages them to get more educated regarding WWII, civil rights and resistance.
This years’ Dikh He Na Bister initiative started on 29th July in Krakow Poland where 150 young Roma and non Roma participants gathered to share stories, learn about history, commemorate the atrocities of the past and get empowered to face the challenges of today.
For five days, the participants had the chance to learn about the atrocities of WWII, the long suffering of survivors who had to fight for recognition as victims of the Holocaust in their European countries, or how the survivors had to fight to get the Holocaust of Sinti and Roma officially recognized and to get appropriate compensation as victims of Nazism.
DHNB 2022 started with a welcome plenary where the participants got to meet their facilitators and session rooms.
First working day, 30st July, was dedicated mostly to discussing the historical background on the Roma Genocide during World War II as well as preparations for visiting the Auschwitz Museum. The participants got insights on the topic and exchanged experiences and knowledge. This year, the participants have been split into 10 working teams, 8 of them having two facilitators each and two of them having four facilitators. The groups were international and gathered both Roma and non Roma young people from all 19 different participant countries.
31st July started early in the morning with the departure from Krakow to Oświęcim where the participants visited Auschwitz Museum – a good opportunity for reflection on the knowledge they exchanged and gained in the first day of sessions, and also a place to understand better the historical background of Roma and Sinti Holocaust and WWII. Most of the day was spent in Block 13 of the museum, where Roma and Sinti exhibition is, and the participants had enough time to go around and gather information that they shared with others in the following days.
1st August sessions focused on topics such as racism, discrimination and remembrance and later on the day, the participants got the chance to meet Zijo Ribic, that talked about the Bosnian War in 1992 which he survived as the only one of his family when he was just eight years old.
The project is funded by the EVZ Foundation and the Federal Foreign Office as part of the program YOUNG PEOPLE remember and European Union.
