3. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:29 pm on 24 January 2023.

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Photo of Jane Dodds Jane Dodds Liberal Democrat 3:29, 24 January 2023

It's so hard, isn't it, to talk about this, and, yet, it is so essential. It is so important that we remember these events, these horrific events, which should pervade our life, and we must never forget them. One thing I will never forget is standing in Kigali in Rwanda, on the site where 125,000 people were buried. It's hard to imagine that ordinary people in Rwanda, in a period of only 100 days, we found that Hutus were murdered by Tutsis—800,000 were murdered, and the world stood by and did absolutely nothing.

I've worked with refugees, and I've volunteered at Calais. I know how important language is in our discussions, and I associate myself with all of the remarks made earlier, particularly the remarks made by Sioned with regard to the language of our Conservative Ministers. It is absolutely unacceptable. We must look at our language. We mustn't call people 'migrants'; they are people—they are people desperately looking for a different way of life. And, in everything we do, we must remember what happened in the Holocaust. We must remember what's happened over the years in countries around the world, and we must always challenge what is going on today in this country, because it's about language, it's about challenging injustice, and challenging hatred. Thank you for your remarks, and thank you for the work that you're doing, Minister. Diolch yn fawr iawn.