We can’t tolerate ethnic discrimination in the education sector, in searching for a job or in any other field of life, said Hungarian Community Party (SMK-MKP) chairman Jozsef Menyhart on Wednesday to mark Roma Holocaust Memorial Day-Porraimos, adding that a lesson must be drawn from the past, and atrocities and injustice mustn’t be allowed to be repeated.
The Roma, who differ from majority nations by their culture, language and lifestyle, became an easy target for National Socialists professing “a pure race”. “Organisation and record keeping concerning the Roma was insufficient at that time [WWII], and that’s why it’s difficult to estimate the actual number of victims. Nevertheless, the blood of innocent people who were dragged into Nazi concentration camps, those who were starving, deprived of any human rights, tortured and murdered, forces us to look into the eyes of the past,” said Menyhart, adding that peace and a better future can only come if the past can be dealt with.
SMK-MKP views Roma Holocaust Memorial Day as a dignified opportunity to express a mutual human attitude to all fellow citizens.
(TASR, 2 August 2017)
Minority Report / Bulletin on the Hungarian Community in Slovakia
