Genocide is occurring in Sudan, Holocaust survivors' daughter says: 'There's a genocide going on and the world doesn't admit it'
Page: B5
Section: WestCoast News
Byline: Lindsay Kines
Dateline: VICTORIA
Source: Victoria Times Colonist
Now the Victoria woman, whose parents survived the Holocaust, fears the same indifference that allowed the killing of her relatives then is allowing another slaughter in Darfur, Sudan.
"There's a genocide going on and the world doesn't admit it," said Milman, 56, following her Holocaust Memorial Day speech at the B.C. legislature Tuesday. "They speak about it in other terms and there's nothing stopping it. And it's so similar to what happened to Jews in the Holocaust. It's not enough to remember what happened in the past. I mean, the whole point is to be aware of what's going on today."
As more than 90 Holocaust survivors attended the ceremony, Milman and the Canadian Jewish Congress urged Canadians to honour survivors and victims alike by speaking out against the massacres in Darfur. B.C. politicians who attended the ceremony wore green "Darfur" ribbons given to them by the congress.
"We are calling upon all Canadians to redouble their efforts to attempt to ensure that the post-Holocaust mantra of "never again" is imbued with real meaning," said Mark Weintraub, chairman of the congress's Pacific region.
The Jewish community has spoken out in the past about genocides in places such as Rwanda and Cambodia, he said. "But our voices were not loud enough, and the voices of our other brothers and sisters in Canada and the world, were not loud enough. And this time we made a decision that we were going to have very loud voices."
Two years ago, the congress began lobbying politicians about the unfolding crisis in Darfur. It succeeded in getting Canada to commit $200 million to support the African Union peacekeeping effort in the west of Sudan.
"Canada became a lead country in the Darfur region, but it has been tragically insufficient," Weintraub said.
The Associated Press reported last month that at least 180,000 people have died -- some estimates put the toll much higher -- and millions of people have been displaced since the start of a 2003 revolt by rebels from Darfur's ethnic African population. The Arab-dominated Sudanese government is alleged to have responded to the revolt by unleashing Janjaweed militias, who carried out sweeping atrocities against ethnic villagers, the news agency said.
Weintraub, a Vancouver lawyer, is encouraging people to write letters to newspapers, politicians, the prime minister, to push for an end to the killings.
"This is my message to my fellow citizens: You would be astounded by the impact that one letter can have in communicating what is a profound concern. Have your church groups, your synagogues, your mosques, all of your organizations commit to anti-genocidal work."
Milman, who runs the epilepsy program for the Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson's Centre, said she, like others, often feels helpless in the face of such horrors.
"But I think, like Elie Wiesel said, our job as human beings is to be witnesses, and to not be indifferent," she said.
"That is what is the problem always. Indifference. It's like, 'Oh, it's not my problem. I don't need to worry about it. Somebody else will take care of it. It's not me. It's not my family. So why should I worry?'
"But we are a family of human beings in this world, and if we don't take care of each other, we know what happens."Edition: Final
Story Type: News
Length: 574 words
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