Raja George Khouri
National Post
Re: Monument to Human Evil, Aug. 11.
As it concludes the 20th century, Canada seems poised to erect a
monument to crimes against humanity. A private members' bill
introduced by MP Sarkis Assadourian on Feb. 15 calls for an
exhibit "to recognize the crimes against humanity ... perpetrated
during the 20th century." Bill C-479 has been garnering support
from MPs of all political stripes, to the dismay of the Canadian
Jewish Congress, which has launched a campaign for using public
money to erect a museum dedicated to the Jewish Holocaust. Will
Canada choose to commemorate all 20th-century genocide, or only
the European Jewish experience during the Second World War?
A coalition calling itself Canadians for a Genocide Museum (CGM),
formed in November, 1998, has thrown its support behind Bill
C-479. The coalition of 24 organizations, representing 17 distinct
ethnic communities, has written to MPs and senators calling for an
inclusive genocide museum to serve as a monument to man's
atrocities against man, and educate Canadians about the human evils
of the 20th century.
The Canadian Ethnocultural Council (CEC), an umbrella of 33
ethnocultural organizations, including the Canadian Jewish
Congress, passed a resolution on May 24, 1998, calling on the
Canadian government to establish a "Canadian Museum of
Genocide [to] provide all communities that experienced genocide an
equitable opportunity to present their experiences." In prefacing its
resolution, the CEC described genocide as the "antithesis of
multiculturalism," which holds "important educational opportunities
for all Canadians."
The noble premise of Holocaust museums throughout the world is to
educate the general public about Hitler's horrendous crimes against
Jews during the Second World War -- so they would never happen
again. But genocide continues to happen: Rwanda and Yugoslavia in
this decade alone. CGM's message is simple: No genocide should
ever happen again. Commemorating all genocide alongside the
Holocaust does not denigrate it.
The enormity and uniqueness of Nazi genocide against European
Jews is not in question. Genocide, however, is most present in the
collective memories of those who have survived it and their
descendants. For all survivors, this memory is painful, haunting and
life-defining, and each memory is unique and enormous; to suggest
otherwise is arrogant.
Creating one monument to the Holocaust, and another combining all
other genocide, will send the wrong message: There is hierarchy in
genocide. It is fiscally irresponsible to spend public money on two
separate museums meant to serve the Canadian public in the same
manner. Why can't all genocide be commemorated under one roof?
The anguish experienced today by the remembrance of the
Holocaust is shared by many Canadian communities with historical
or contemporary experiences of genocide of their own. All
genocides are equally abominable and similarly deserving of official
commemoration. As we educate our children and the citizens of this
country about the viciousness of hate crimes, it is important to
recognize that any form of genocide, against any people, is
detestable.
Canada has uniquely made multiculturalism integral to its cultural and
political identity. In such a society, there is no room for showing
more deference to one ethnic group, its memory, history, tragedies
and triumphs, than another. In using its public funds and living up to
its multicultural identity and values, Canada must commemorate all
genocide. By building the world's first inclusive genocide museum,
Canada will show valuable leadership to a world entering a new
millennium.
Raja George Khouri, vice-president of the Canadian Arab
Federation,
Toronto.