A tree will be planted to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember all those who have lost their lives as a result of acts of genocide.
Ealing Council will be planting the tree on Tuesday, January 27 outside Perceval House on Uxbridge Road.
Ealing’s mayor, Councillor Tej Ram Bagha, will be joined at the tree planting by the leader of the council, Councillor Julian Bell, and Rabbi Janet Burden, Ealing Synagogue, who will both give short speeches, followed by a minute’s silence.
The ceremony is open to all members of the public, and pupils from local primary schools along with guests and dignitaries from across the borough.
The tree will be planted at 11am in remembrance of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust as well as all the other victims of persecution, genocide and torture around the world, including those in Armenia, Assyria, Cambodia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Darfur.
This year’s theme of keeping the memory alive is particularly poignant because 2015 also marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in south-west Poland and the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia.
Councillor Bell said: “Ealing is a vibrant and diverse borough with strong community cohesion and we will not tolerate persecution.
“Marking Holocaust Memorial Day helps us ensure that the terrible atrocities of the past are never forgotten and gives us the chance to think about the part we can all play in standing up to discrimination.”
On Thursday, January 22, the council, along with the European Union-funded iParticipate project and local community groups, will host a free international conference on ways to better integrate non-EU immigrants in political and social life at the Town Hall.
Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity to learn lessons from the past to help create a safer, better future for everyone.
