Holocaust and Genocides Reflections - Plight of Rohingya

Please mark your calendars!

Event: 13^th Annual Holocaust and Genocides
Date:  Sunday, January 28, 2018 12:00 to 4:00 PM
Topic: Holocaust and the Plight of Rohingya, what can we do?
Place:  TBA - It will be in DMV area.
Website: http://www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
Website: www.CenterforPluralism.com
email: RohingyaGenocide@aol.com

We invite you to attend, participate and support the event.  If you have difficulty in seeing these painful pictures, imagine the pain and suffering of the people who have gone through this, please have the courage to attend the exhibit of the sufferings of the people, and hope it will encourage you to be a peacemaker.   In the last 12 years, we have listed and mentioned almost all Genocides,   Massacres and ethnic cleansing events and have highlighted 20 such events. This year we have expanded the program to be a 4 hours symposium with policy makers and futurists to find solutions.

We must find solutions. Please send a 300 words abstract identifying the causes of such conflicts and the possible solutions. Once the abstracts are accepted, you will be asked to write a full blown article in the length of 1500 words for publication.


Thank you
Mike Ghouse(214) 325-1916

THE PLIGHT OF ROHINGYA
Holocaust and Genocides Event

Event: 13^th Annual Holocaust and Genocides
Date:  Sunday, January 28, 2018 12:00 to 4:00 PM
Topic: Holocaust and the Plight of Rohingya, what can we do?
Place:  TBA - It will be in DMV area.

The Rohingya people have nowhere to go, the terrorists among Buddhists are gang raping and burning them alive, and when they flee, India and Bangladesh as neighbors are not allowing them either, where do they go?

They are seeing their own killed and raped in front of their eyes, and one day, they will not be able to handle the pain, and will chose violence and the whole of Myanmar will be burning.  The world owes them relief and security and the sane people of Myanmar need to wise up and save their nation from a long term destructive path and endless chaos. Terrorism is like swine flu or other diseases and they spread through thin air and will affect every one every where. It behooves us to correct it now before it is too late.

I am pleased to advance a good idea that originally came from Sean Hannity, he had proposed safe zones in Syria where the refugees can live and breathe safely. This idea of safe zone is the best solutions for the world refugee problems.  No human wants to flee his motherland and no one should beg for his or her  life, and on one should have the right to evict people from their own homeland.

We must accept refugees for the short run, but not as permanent residents.  If we take them for good,  we will be legitimizing the oppressive regimes to continue to throw their native populations out. Indeed, we are giving them  permission to throw their own out.  We cannot let that happen.  Let people who belong to the land live in dignity, if their oppressive government is not doing a thing, we the community of nations needs to take that up.

The United Nations was formed to protect the vulnerable from destruction, it is time now for the United Nations to land their troops in Myanmar and secure the areas for the good of Myanmar.

There is a shameless cruelty in us; either we shy away from facing or simply refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others.  

If we justify massacres arrogantly believing that the victims deserved it or asked for it, we need to examine our heads, for there is a criminal lurking in us and will eventually mess us up.

We have to learn to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other. We have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves.

Our safety hinges on the safety of others around us, and it behooves us to work for the safety and security of others on this little planet. We have to be continuously be aware of the Holocaust and Genocides and prepare us to avert such tragedies.

It is never the religion; it is always the bad guys in each religious group that are the problem. Hinduism does not teach to be violent killers, but there is tiny group of bad Hindus in India who are violent killers in the name of Hindu religion, the majority of Hindus need to speak out and stop the radicals from hijacking Hinduism.  Muslims and Jews are not suppose to kill a single life, but there are Jews and Muslims who are killing in the name of their religions, the majority needs to stop them from committing crimes in their names.  Of course the bad Christians have done so much destruction around the world, and now, the peaceful Buddhist have allowed terrorist among them to unleash violence against fellow Burmese who are not Buddhists.  They all are terrorizing innocent people.

Over the last 12 years, we have listed almost all Genocides, have talked about 24 Genocides and we will continue to learn to reflect on what we can do to say and do, "Never Again."

References:

Videos - https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1882266758453593&id=100000108622570

Buiddhist Monk who ordered killing 5000 Rohingya – http://lifeinsaudiarabia.net/blog/2017/09/21/ashin-wirathu-a-buddhist-monk-who-ordered-to-kill-5000-rohingya-muslims/

Indian Government tells the Supreme Court of India not to interfere about the legality of the deportation. https://barandbench.com/fali-nariman-rohingyas-supreme-court/

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/718891#.WazwsUuuxkM.facebook

Tahmena Bokhari https://www.facebook.com/TahmenaBokhari/

UN takes action - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rohingya-crisis-latest-news-un-burma-ethnic-cleansing-military-muslim-minority-villages-bangladesh-a7954626.html

https://ahtribune.com/human-rights/1868-rakhine-genocide.html

Let's see how Modi the prejudiced man deals with this - http://www.ironyofindia.com/2017/09/rohingya-crisis-hindu-rohingya-refugees-hoping-india-will-grant-them-shelter/

What the hell is happening in Myanmar? http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/what-the-hell-is-happening-in-myanmar.html

---

Mike Ghouse, President
Center for Pluralism, Washington, DC

(214) 325-1916 -Text | Mike@CenterforPluralism.com  

Dr. Mike Ghouse has dedicated his life to the mission of building a cohesive America. He is a pluralist, thinker, writer, activist, speaker (Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics and foreign policy), interfaith wedding officiant and a news maker. He offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 65 links at www.MikeGhouse.net

Pluralism Studies in Religion,Politics,Culture and Society

The Center for Pluralism is committed to building a cohesive America, where no American has to live in apprehension, tension or fear of the other. Our research, educational programs and actions are designed to bring Americans together in social, political, cultural and religious settings, the more we come together and learn about each other, the more we get immunized to divisiveness resulting in fewer misunderstandings and mis-perceptions between us. We believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to appreciation of the otherness of others. As we move forward, conflicts fade and solutions emerge. 

Holocaust and Genocides - 12th Annual reflections in Washington DC

You are cordially invited to join us for this purposeful gathering.
 Join us at 1:45 PM on Sunday evening in Washington, DC 

XII Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides 

January 29, 2017 | 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM Sunday

Ashburn Mosque, 21740 Beaumeade Circle, Unit 100, Ashburn, Virginia 20147

RSVP- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holocaust-and-genocides-12th-annual-reflections-tickets-30942394535

We are deeply committed to education and relentlessly pursuing to build cohesive societies and offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

We have to learn to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to be prejudiced and stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves.

Here is a video from one of our previous events:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uneRYgYfgWI

Many a organizations have joined in commemorating this event and are listed alphabetically.  This is the 12^th year for the Center for Pluralism and other organizations have been doing for many years as well. 

-----------

A CRITICAL MESSAGE

There are over 100 Genocides and Massacres in just the last one hundred years.  I have tried to recite them all,  and it took me three hours just to recite the name, place, number of deaths, source of conflicts, perpetrators and victims of each occurrence.  

Shame on us if we exclude any one of the Genocides and or ethnic cleansing  or massacres. God bless us,  we have not excluded any.  An effort was made to hold an "All Day" Holocaust and Genocides event and failed , as no one registered for it.  We are still open to it.

Part of the learning at this event is to think of other people's pain and suffering as opposed to being hung up with "Me, me, and my suffering alone."

So we chose to keep it to two hours and reflect upon Holocaust, as the anchor event and give a brief talk about a genocide, a genocide in making and a massacre.  Over the years we have been able to cover at least 20 such human failings.

We will observe a minutes silence and ask each person attending the event to pay tribute to each one of such atrocity  he or she is familiar with. However, we have videos listing most of the Genocides and here is one compiled a few years ago, and it is not complete either.

We want you to take the responsibility to go through the list and send us the corrected information, what is missing including the one's that have affected you deeply.  We hope in the next few years, we would have list of every tragedy.  Please remember we are a volunteer organization and all the work is done by the volunteers. 

Kindly visit www.HolocaustandGenocides.com and see the many things we have done including pictures and reports over the last 11 years.

Mike Ghouse
Initiator of the program Holocaust and Genocides in 2006
Mike@CenterforPluralism.com  | (214) 325-1916 Washington, DC

XII Annual Reflections on
HOLOCAUST & GENOCIDES

 www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

This  annual event is to reflect on human failings, acts of violence, massacres, ethnic cleansing, genocides and Holocaust with the intention of learning to prevent such happenings as an individual, and affirm, ”Never again”.  

We hope each one of us would walk out with a commitment to do our share of the work in building a cohesive America, where no American has to feel apprehension, discomfort or fear the other. Indeed, safety of each one of us hinges on the safety of all others around us.

We have to learn to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other. We have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves. 

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away from facing or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. We cannot justify massacres arrogantly believing that the victims deserved it or asked for it.

Our safety hinges on the safety of others around us, and it behooves us to work for the safety and security of others on this little planet. We have to be continuously aware of the Holocaust and Genocides and prepare us to avert such tragedies.

It is an initiative of American Muslims, striving to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE &
GENOCIDE AWARENESS*

 
2:00 PM -4:00 PM Sunday, January 29, 2017
ADAMS Ashburn Center, Ashburn, VA.

Website: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com 

PROGRAM 

Pledge of Allegiance & National Anthem 

Purpose of Gathering 

Moment of Silence to Commemorate Genocides

Holocaust Survivor Johannah Neuman

Summary of Genocides *

Signs of Demonization Leading to Violence

Audience feed back and their personal experiences

Interfaith prayers representing many faiths

Prayer break for Muslims

Fellowship  

 

  SPONSORS 

All Dulles Area Muslim Society—ADAMS

Center for Pluralism 

Foundation for Ethnic Understanding  

Greater Washington Muslim-Jewish Forum 

I Am Your Protector 

CO-SPONSORS 

Jewish Islamic Dialogue Society—JIDS

  World Muslim Congress—WMC

Interfaith Action for Humans Rights—IAHR

Jewish Community Center—JCC

  Jewish Community Relations Council—JCRC

Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom—SOSS

 * Also known as Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

** It is the XII Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides by the Center for Pluralism—www.Centerforpluralism.com

----------------------------------------

This is an initiative of the Center for Pluralism which is deeply committed to education and relentlessly pursuing to build cohesive societies and offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

We have to learn to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other. We have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves.    

There are over 100 Genocides and thousands of Massacres in just the last century.  I have tried to recite all of them once, and it takes three hours just to recite them all with the year, place and number of deaths, source of conflicts, perpetrators, victims and the destruction.

Shame on us if we exclude any one of the Genocides,  we made efforts to hold an "All Day" Holocaust and Genocides event, no one registered for it.  

Part of the learning at this event is to think of other people's pain and suffering as opposed to being hung up with "Me, me, and my suffering alone matters."

So we chose to keep it to two hours and reflect upon Holocaust, as the anchor event and give a brief talk about a genocide, a genocide in making and a massacre.  We will observe a minutes silence and ask the audience to remember and pay tribute to each one of such atrocity they are familiar with. However, we have videos listing most of the Genocides and here is one compiled a few years ago, and it is not complete either.

We want you to take the reponsiblity to go through the list, an send us the information as to what is missing, including the one's that has affected you deeply.

Here is the partial list: http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2009/10/genocides.html


There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away from facing or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. We cannot justify massacres arrogantly believing that the victims deserved it or asked for it.

Our safety hinges on the safety of others around us, and it behooves us to work for the safety and security of others on this little planet. We have to be continuously aware of the Holocaust and Genocides and prepare us to avert such tragedies.

It is an initiative of American Muslims, striving to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.

To all those, who have endured Holocaust, Genocides, Massacres, Bombs, Annihilation, Land mines, Ethnic Cleansing, Hunger, rape, torture, occupation and inhuman brutality, we say we share your fears and apprehensions.

The least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge every one's pain in one voice. We have begun the process of coming together as one people, to stand with you, we are indeed one world and a single humanity, and caring for each other brings safety and peace to all of us. I cannot be safe if the people around me are not, and I will not have peace if people around me don't. It is in my interest to seek a peaceful world for one and all.

We are working on initiating a course on tolerance education, so one day; we all can learn to have a heart that opens to the pain of every human, yes, we can do that.

Bringing people to understand the suffering of people has been my personal drive, I must say that through this program, many a non-Jewish people have come to understand about Holocaust for the first time. You can see pictures people from Atheist to Zoroastrians and every one in between has been a part of this event. And every one has shared a prayer in the events. We have to create the awareness to get people to become activist and speak up and say Never Again.

Mike Ghouse
Center for Pluralism
(214) 325-1916

XII Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

Join us at 3:00 PM on Sunday evening in Washington, DC 
A casual gathering. 
You are cordially invited, its free
-------------------------

Holocaust and Genocides

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM SUNDAY

JANUARY 29, 2017

We are deeply committed to education and relentlessly pursuing to build cohesive societies and offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

We have to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to be prejudiced and stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away from facing or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. We cannot justify massacres arrogantly believing that the victims deserved it or asked for it.

Our safety hinges on the safety of others around us, and it behooves us to work for the safety and security of others on this little planet. We have to be continuously aware of the Holocaust and Genocides and prepare us to avert such tragedies.

RSVP: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com

Detail of Past events at: http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/ 

 
It is an initiative of American Muslims,  striving to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.

To all those, who have endured holocaust, genocides, massacres, bombs, annihilation, land mines, hunger, rape, torture, occupation and inhuman brutality, we say we share your fears and apprehensions.

The least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge every one's pain in one voice. We have begun the process of coming together as one people, to stand with you, we are indeed one world and a single humanity, and caring for each other brings safety and peace to all of us. I cannot be safe if the people around me are not, and I will not have peace if people around me don't. It is in my interest to seek a peaceful world for one and all.

We are working on initiating a course on tolerance education, so one day; we all can learn to have a heart that opens to the pain of every human, yes, we can do that.

Bringing people to understand the suffering of people has been my personal drive, I must say that through this program, many a non-Jewish people have come to understand about Holocaust for the first time. You can see pictures people from Atheist to Zoroastrians and every one in between has been a part of this event. And every one has shared a prayer in the events. We have to create the awareness to get people to become activits and speak up and say Never again.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
 

10th Annual Holocaust and Genocides commemoration

X  ANNUAL HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDES COMMEMORATION | www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

The purpose of this event is education, information and activism. We hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying “Never Again”. 

• Event: 10th Annual Holocaust and Genocides
• Date: Sunday, January 22, 2017
• Time: 11:00- 2:00 PM
• Place: TBD
• Address: Washington, D.C.
• Rsvp: holocaustandgenocides@gmail.com
• Site: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com 
• Donations- http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/
  
  
  
  

We hope you will walk out of the event with a genuine feeling of being a contributor towards building a cohesive world where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. 

The Holocaust event has been commemorated by the Jewish community since 1953 for the loss of  6 million Jews during the Holocaust, known as Yom HaShoah in Synagogues around the world. The general public learns it by visiting the Holocaust Museums and educational institutions.

We at America Together Foundation are committed to spread the knowledge of Holocaust and Genocides through interfaith and public events.

Our format has been simple and consists of four parts: interfaith prayers, the Holocaust, Genocide (one or two each time), a Massacre, action items for individuals and the pledge of peace. Silently we acknowledge all suffering, but physically we are limited to a Genocide and a Massacre at one time.  

I believe, when we acknowledge each other’s grief and participate in each other’s commemoration, we connect with the humanness within ourselves and seed the relationship of understanding and caring for each other. 

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own suffering, and every community and nation has suffered through this.

The purpose of this event is education; we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying “Never Again”.

Our mission is to create awareness of the inhumanity within each one of us and hope to find the solutions.

The goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff of oxygen.

It is a bridge building event and we sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:

• Other people’s suffering is as legitimate as mine;
• It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, we must also see the perpetrator in us;
• When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
• We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
• The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other’s suffering.
• A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened.

A initiative of American Muslims, organized by the Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress and America Together Foundation.

We are looking for participating organizations, sponsors and volunteers. Please text or call me at the number below.

References:

Our first event: Hon. Roslie and William Schiff, the Holocaust survivors delivered the key note, while people from many faiths participated in sharing scriptures from their holy books:.http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/HMD2006_ProgramReport.asp 

Holocaust and the Muslim guy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-and-the-muslim-_b_4629509.html 


United Nations proclamations:  http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/docs/res607.shtml

Dr. Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, (Muslim). politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine and foreign policy.

He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and for his writings at www.TheGhousediary.com
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 | text or talk
SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com

8th Annual Holocaust and Genocides commemoration

The purpose of this event is education, information and activism. We hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying “Never Again”. 

• Event: 8th Annual Holocaust and Genocides
• Date: Sunday, January 25, 2015
• Time: 3:00- 6:00 PM
• Place: Unity of Dallas
• Address: 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230
• Rsvp: holocaustandgenocides@gmail.com
• Rsvp: https://www.facebook.com/events/306824256177609/ 
• Site: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com 
• Donations- https://holocaustandgenocidesdallas.eventbrite.com

We hope you will walk out of the event with a genuine feeling of being a contributor towards building a cohesive world where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. 

The Holocaust event has been commemorated by the Jewish community since 1953 for the loss of  6 million Jews during the Holocaust, known as Yom HaShoah in Synagogues around the world. The general public learns it by visiting the Holocaust Museums and educational institutions.

We at America Together Foundation are committed to spread the knowledge of Holocaust and Genocides through interfaith and public events.

Our format has been simple and consists of four parts: interfaith prayers, the Holocaust, Genocide (one or two each time), a Massacre, action items for individuals and the pledge of peace. Silently we acknowledge all suffering, but physically we are limited to a Genocide and a Massacre at one time.  

I believe, when we acknowledge each other’s grief and participate in each other’s commemoration, we connect with the humanness within ourselves and seed the relationship of understanding and caring for each other. 

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own suffering, and every community and nation has suffered through this.

The purpose of this event is education; we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying “Never Again”.

Our mission is to create awareness of the inhumanity within each one of us and hope to find the solutions.

The goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff of oxygen.

It is a bridge building event and we sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:

• Other people’s suffering is as legitimate as mine;
• It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, we must also see the perpetrator in us;
• When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
• We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
• The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other’s suffering.
• A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened.

A initiative of American Muslims, organized by the Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress and America Together Foundation.

We are looking for participating organizations, sponsors and volunteers. Please text or call me at the number below.

References:

Our first event: Hon. Roslie and William Schiff, the Holocaust survivors delivered the key note, while people from many faiths participated in sharing scriptures from their holy books: .http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/HMD2006_ProgramReport.asp 

Holocaust and the Muslim guy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-and-the-muslim-_b_4629509.html 


United Nations proclamations:  http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/docs/res607.shtml

Mike Ghouse, Event Chair
(214) 325-1916

30th Anniversary of Sikh Genocide, a survivor writes his story

Survivor of Sikh Genocides writes on 30^th Anniversary.
Published at:

• www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
• http://mikeghouseforIndia.blogspot.com and
• http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com  

Dallas, Texas, October 31, 2014.  It’s been 30 years since the Sikh Massacre took place in New Delhi; justice is still not served to the victims and their families. The fanatics among Hindus went on a rampage of killing 3000 Sikhs within a week, just because they were Sikhs and nothing but that. The Moderate Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others have condemned the acts of the fanatics.

As we have been learning about the mind set of criminals regardless of what religious garb they don, invariably they deny – some even say, why bring it up, there is no problem now. They are lying to themselves, the sparks of hatred are potent, and can catch the fire any time.

There is a criminal lurking in each one of us, we need to find him and destroy him before he eats us out from within. If we justify the rapes, murders, killing, massacres or genocides by believing "they asked for it" "they ignited it" or worse "they deserved it", then we have a serious problem and need to find a release.

What is needed is to face the problem squarely, acknowledging the wrong doing, and apologizing to the victims and finding mukti, the Jain Dharma offers a great phrase – Michami Dukadam, that is clean each other’s slates and start afresh.

Injustice is the mother of Adharma – i.e., everything that is wrong in the society stems from injustice, and Martin Luther King said, injustice to one is injustice to all at the end.

I hope one day, India will focus on cleaning up its dirty stains – there are many unfinished items on our plate that prick the nation from time to time. The hatred against the other is part of that mess.

Prime Minister Modi believes that when there is prosperity, most of the nagging things will go away, I hope they do. But I believe until we sit down face to face and acknowledge the evil in each one of us, and commit to go forward dumping the old baggage, we will be limping along. We need to reboot our souls, hearts and minds.

The following write up is from a Sikh Survivor of the 1984 Sikh Massacre.  It is a shame that many a families are still waiting for the whereabouts of their loved ones missing for over 30 years. The Indian Government has a responsibility to take this up, to bring relief to the victims of these massacres. I do hope Mr. Modi, as the Prime Minister of the nation, who claims to be a Hindu, acts like a Hindu and restores Dharma – the righteousness and justice to fellow beings.   

Pritpal Singh has spoken at our Holocaust and Genocides events and I am pleased to share his story with you, please feel free to share wherever you like.

The Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress is commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for the last seven years, as a step towards reconciling with each other and learning about each others pain and suffering of each of us humans on this planet.

Wayne Slater of Dallas Morning News wrote, “Ghouse says he hopes attendees will walk out better appreciating the sufferings of others and seeing “the perpetrator in us” as a way of building trust across social and religious lines.

“I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey,” said Ghouse. “Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.”

“There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause,” he said. “We should be ashamed of ourselves in justifying the massacres by falsely propagating the myth that the victims deserved it, or asked for it.” It shows an absence of intelligence.

Our event is comprised of 3 segments; Holocaust is the anchor event every year, then Genocides and a Massacre. We have been able to address many Genocides around the Globe, as well as the Massacre of Bangladeshis in 1971, Sikhs in New Delhi in 1984 and Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.  

The criminals are still at large and need to be punished to restore peace of mind to the victims and their families. That is the least a head of the state can do for his countrymen and it is good for the psyche of the people.

Mike Ghouse

www.MikeGhouse.net

 

---

 

---

1984:  My Struggle & Inspiration

According to famous Czech writer Milan Kundera, "the first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory.  Destroy its books, its culture, its history.  Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history.  Before long that nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was...  The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."  We are here today to continue that struggle.  Never had the citizens of independent India experienced state sponsored genocide against its own people.

  After the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi, for three days the well-organized mob with explicit instructions from the federal government went to loot, destroy, rape, eliminate every identifiable Sikh on India.  Iron rods, crow bars, kerosene, and firearms were provided to mobs.  Voter lists, ration lists, and school registration lists were used to identify & track Sikhs, Gurdwaras, and Sikh businesses. 

Slogans like "blood for blood" were shown repeatedly on state controlled TV.  Rumors were circulated about the violence against Hindus in Punjab to incite hatred against Sikhs in India.  Sikh soldiers were disarmed and confined to barracks while army was deliberately kept outside Delhi until 11/4.  All this occurred in the presence of police who ignored the violence or at times aided in it.  The police officers who deviated from this order were neutralized and records were manipulated to destroy paper trail and to protect criminals from prosecution.  For the Sikh victims, the police refused to record FIR (First Information Reports) or falsified them.

 According to NY times, there was complete censorship of the press.  The relief measures were inadequate.  VM Tarkunde, retired justice of the Indian Supreme Court, stated "Two lessons can be drawn from the experience of Delhi riots.  One is about the extent of criminalization of our politics and the other about the utter unreliability of our police force in critical situation."  According to government report the number of Sikhs killed in Delhi was 2733; HS Phoolka, Delhi high court lawyer, estimates 4000; Affidavits have been filed for 5015; Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi, estimates 10,000.  These   estimates are just in Delhi while the killings occurred throughout India.

 Rajiv Gandhi justified the Sikh murders, rapes, loot & arson by saying, "When a great tree falls, earth trembles."  The result of the violence against an easily identifiable minority was winning 414/533 seats in the parliament for Congress Party of India.  Even the opposition party, Sangh Parivar, stated the Sikhs invited the attacks. 

There have been 11 commissions & inquiries but no high level politician or law enforcement official has been convicted despite eye witness accounts and abundant of evidence.  On the other hand, the perpetrators were awarded cabinet positions, governorships, and party chief positions.  The lack of accountability against the organizers of the Genocide paved the way to the violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002. 

Pogroms will continue to occur in India unless the State acknowledges and records these violations in a transparent & honest manner, toward cleansing itself of the people and the institutions that perpetrate these crimes and addressing the survivors' rights to knowledge, justice, and reparation.

 I, as a survivor of the Sikh Genocide of 1984, wait for a day when the citizens of India will demand and display the very ideals of unity, justice, and healing as the citizens of America illustrated after the Wisconsin massacre in 2012.  So, my dear brothers & sisters, we cannot forget the killings of innocent people no matter where they occur.  Instead, we ought to remember, revive, and respond like our fathers & mothers did.  They sought Inspiration from within and channeled their energy toward discovering their role in pursuit of Justice.

Pritpal Singh