Remembrance day

The United Nations and the European Union designated January 27th as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed also in other dates in a variety of countries. In Italy, for instance, today is called 'Giornata della Memoria' (Memorial Day), but it has nothing to do with the 'Memorial Day' commemoration that takes place in the U.S. each year at the end of May.

Last night broadcast of the "Porta a Porta" TV series by RAI International dealt with today's anniversary of the Holocaust. It was a very compelling program not simply for the direct testimonies of some survivors present in the TV studio, and the different reactions in their lives' development after such traumatic experiences, but for the extremely interesting considerations and lessons learned by whomever has studied and continues to assemble documentation about this dreadful historical occurrence.

The commentaries furnished by the rest of the show participants that included a journalist, an historian, a psychologist, a politician, and the show host, all converged to similar conclusions: not enough has been done to really expose the atrocities in questions, it's insufficient to just remember them, and their assessment, as well as correct information, should provide instead the basis to educate toward the prevention of any future similar actions. A good example is demonstrated by a couple of interesting comments to today's article by the Orlando Sentinel related to this subject. It raises attention to the importance also of publishing correct information.

While listening to last evening program, which also brought up the fact that to date in Italy there is not yet a museum about the Holocaust, I remembered the fact that while visiting in the past the Historical Museum in Tirana, the absence of a good exhibit about the communist dictatorship and its atrocities, was quite obvious. Talking with some parents while in Albania, I found out that recent past history is not taught to the younger generations. Negating dreadful past is no solution for a better future. The opposite should be true.

As time goes by, we all tend to forget 'the bad' and just go on. History is the greatest teacher. We should keep in mind and learn from the past, instead of pushing it aside. This should be the goal of every individual because each and every of us can contribute to a better future.