Arnhem, Netherlands - Nourredine El Omrani
The mayor of Arnhem, Ahmed Marmoush, delivered a speech to the city's citizens on the occasion of May 4th, commemorating the eightieth anniversary of freedom. He considered the country's suffering as a result of the Nazi occupation during World War II. Addressing his fellow citizens, the mayor said, “Many of you still suffer from overwhelming psychological repercussions that bring back painful memories of stories of fathers and grandfathers, stories of loss, and others that chronicle the resistance witnessed in the city of Arnhem. The Jewish memorial, designed by Betty Vodsink, remains a witness to that difficult period when an entire family was taken by the Nazis, who mercilessly executed eight of her mother’s brothers and sisters. It is a truly painful story of parents who hid in Friesland.” Ahmed Markoush called for brotherhood and solidarity among the various components of Arnhem society to commemorate this painful memory in the history of the Netherlands, where Jews, Roma, Sinti, and others suffered the horrors of such a devastating war that left psychological scars and traumas left by the barbaric Nazis during and after World War II. In all regions of the world, Ahmed Markoush says, history repeats itself with the continuation of violence and the blaming of Jews, refugees, and immigrants for what happens in The time that so-called 'strongmen' continue to starve and destroy, trying to impose a coercive force on humanity. The late former mayor of Amsterdam, Schjelto Patten, said in his speech thirty years ago during the national May Day commemoration in Dam Square, 'If a war breaks out in a distant place, as happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we cannot evade responsibility.' In Gaza, approximately 2 million prisoners are suffering from a war that has led to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Thousands of children and women are suffering from starvation, thirst, and a lack of medicine. It is a crime against humanity. We are all required to resist and eliminate such practices, because it is now. For three years, Ukrainians have been suffering from the horrors of war imposed by tyranny and oppression. Once again, security and freedom in Europe are under pressure. It is time to defend the right to life in a time of the penetration of the poison of populism and extremist ideas that threaten the democratic values ​​of our country and to limit the continuation of extremist ideas that Europe experienced in the thirties of the last century, which led to the outbreak of World War II, which destroyed millions of people. A war machine that placed authority and power above humanity.

foto : Maarten van der wolf