Remembering

April 16th is the Hungarian day to remember the victims of the holocaust as it was the day the first ghettos were set up. For more information you can look here. I also read about an incredible man called Raoul Wallenberg who came to Hungary after the German invasion and issued passports to help Jews escape.

Our school remembered by doing a kind of mass role play. It was announced before the first lesson that this would be taking place and the rules would be read in the first break. Anyone who was wearing green had to come forward and get a star like the one here and wear it all day. I was wearing a green dress but even if you just had a bit of green on a bracelet for example you had to get a star. If you were caught without a star by the year 11s you were punished and had to do some laps of the running track. In one of the breaks all of those with stars were made to gather in the middle of the hall in representation of the ghettos. We were hemmed in by the other students so it became very squashed. Some of the year 11s played different roles within the 'ghetto', pushing through, screaming for lost family members for example.

Although it was only for about 5 minutes and we were in the school it did make us feel quite uncomfortable, especially the feeling of no space and with all of the others staring at us. It definitely gave you something to think about, in fact it hasn't left me all day.

Around the school there were lots of signs and photos shown on the TV screen. For example there were signs on the benches in the hallway saying that 'Jews' could not sit here.

All in all I think it was an interesting way of remembering and made a lot of people think. One of my colleagues said the idea of it just being those with green clothes is just as random as it was then.



As a side note I would like to say something about this country. I love it so much but aspects of it continue to shock and upset me. In 2012 racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism seems to still be rife. I hear comments at least several times a week which leave me speechless and that at home I would deem as a reason not to mix with such people. Unfortunately, here people I would call my friends are amongst those who say such things. I always tell them that I disagree and that I would prefer it if they didn't voice opinions like this in front of me. When students make comments in class I tell them that I will not accept that sort of behaviour in my lessons and if they do it again they will be punished. Moments like this stay in my head and continue to weigh on my mind. I think this is the hardest part of being here because I feel that I am letting myself and my beliefs down by not doing more. I have written about this today because firstly some students went to the hostel to change their clothes because they didn't want to be a Jew. I also had a strange reaction from a friend who asked me if I felt uncomfortable being labeled as a Jew. When I said that firstly why on earth would I? and that I'm a bit Jewish anyway (my grandfather) she was a little strange.

I would like to reiterate how much I love this country, how happy I am and that it is not everyone. I guess everywhere has its problems.