It is shocking that despite public knowledge of the atrocities that occurred in Nazi Germany, Pol Pot's Cambodia and in Bosnia and Rwanda, we have cause to mark the loss of life in one part of the world where such troubles, such tragedies, are ongoing: Darfur.
Will we ever learn? Unfortunately I think not. It is such very tragedies that breed the menace required to bring about fresh pain.
In an attempt to shed a little positive light upon what could be a day of dark memories, Holocaust Memorial Trust has made its theme for 2010: The Legacy of Hope. This theme aims to bring to the fore the positive contributions to society of survivors. It is a theme that gives us cause to wonder how strong a person must be to have any sort of sense of normality after having lived through what could only be hell.
Today I am going to try to remember that we have a choice.
Of course, it's much easier to choose to be 'good' when you've had positive experiences of life. I know that I have what could only be described as a charmed life and yet I make mistakes all the time. How difficult it must be for those who have witnessed intense cruelty, pain and suffering and who are asked to make the choice to be kind to others, to be fair and honest and sometimes to be selfless. But many people who have suffered greatly do just that.
I am in awe of people who have been personally acquainted with genocide and who put one foot in front of the next and continue, even when there is no longer anything more to run from. I just wish that the survivors who attempt to piece back together their shattered lives could forget the most terrifying moments and those who may perpetrate future crimes would not forget that they can choose and that they can stop the hurt.
I firmly believe that every person has the capacity for great goodness and great harm and that the experiences and people we come into contact with during our lifetime will swing the balance towards one or the other.
It would be a near-perfect world if everybody had a fighting chance from the start, but sadly many set off from damaged beginnings. It takes someone very special to break the cycle and they are the true legacy of hope.
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