On 11th July Redbridge Council held an event in the Town Hall “Remembering Srebrenica” which Redbridge Faith Forum was glad to attend. The event started on the steps of the Town Hall with addresses from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jas Athwal and the Mayor of Redbridge, Councillor Debbie Kaur-Thiara with raising of the flag followed by a minute’s silence to remember those affected by the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995.
Everyone then was invited to enter the Town Hall to hear more about the terrible events in Bosnia and messages of peace from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders, the metropolitan police, and Councillor Littlewood. The guest speaker was Amra Mujkanovic who spoke movingly about her experience of coming from a family where 3 generations have experienced and survived concentration camps and persecution before settling in Scotland as refugees. Amra’s talk was followed by contributions from Fr Andrew Headon, Fr Gareth Jones, Rabbi David Hulbert, Imam Khurram Rafiq (RFF Trustee), and D/S Shab Chaudri. Wes Streeting and Mike Gapes both sent messages of support
Councillor Bob Littlewood then launched the Hate Crime Pledge which outlines Redbridge’s commitment to challenge all forms of hate. Members of the public are invited to sign the hate crime pledge to send a clear message that ‘Redbridge does not tolerate hate’. Follow this link to sign the pledge
Redbridge Faith Forum has signed the pledge and works throughout the year to make Redbridge a tolerant and cohesive society. RFF has developed a programme to be used in secondary schools “Steps away from Genocide” to seek to educate young people about this vitally important topic. It is currently being trialled in a Redbridge secondary school.