The 27th January Holocaust Memorial Day

Robin Cohen (2008) thinks that the term ‘Diaspora’ has evolved in different stages. This concept originally was used to label Jewish historical experience and Greeks’ spread across areas, and was later extended to the dispersion of collective victimhood, such as Africans moved by the slave trade, Armenians deported by oppression, and the Irish propelled by famine.

From victim dispersal to new patterns of global migration in the postwar era, the term ‘diaspora’ now has been widely used in academic literature regarding different topics such as diasporic political engagement in the migration-development nexus. However, it is the homeland — the place of origin, attached to diasporic stories — which composes the whole picture of diaspora in different settings, despite the usage of diaspora being refined over time. In other words, diaspora has strong connections with their homeland. 

Tonight, 600 lighting candles set as a sacred ritual held in the York Minster ‘s historic Chapter House in memory of victims of genocides from the Holocaust to the present day. Although international organizations such as UN has made efforts to promote humanitarian principles , genocides, ethnic violence and human rights persecution still happen every day. According to BBC news, Myanmar's army kill Rohingya people and burn their villages, forcing 600,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since last August (BBC News 25 October 2017).

The 27th January marks Holocaust Memorial Day. These 600 candles not only commemorate the past ethnic disaster but also uncover the present persecutions and call for actions to make a difference in the future.

在國際移民時代，羅賓·科恩（Robin Cohen，2008）認為“流離人群”這個詞在不同階段發展出新義。在第一階段的“流離人群”概念被用來標記猶太人的歷史經驗和希臘人在各個地區的散居，後來擴大意義到集體受害者的分散，例如奴隸貿易中的非洲人，被壓迫驅逐的亞美尼亞人和被飢荒驅走的愛爾蘭人(後來到了LONDON找工作而被鄙視, Pub門口貼著No Irish, no black, no dogs)。

從受害者分散到戰後新的全球移民模式，現在“散居人群”這個術語在學術文獻中被廣泛地應用於不同的話題，例如移民發展關係中的離散國民的政治參與。然而，儘管散居國外人士這個名詞隨著時間的推移而逐漸被修改，但它卻是以家鄉 - 原生地，附屬在散居人民的故事裡 –來構成散居者在不同背景下的全貌。換句話說，僑民與家鄉有著密切的聯繫。資料源自: 'Why is diasporic political engagement in the homeland sometimes cast in a negative light? The case of Tibet', 2017, Ching-Yu, Chang)

今天晚上，在約克大教堂歷史悠久的Chapter House舉行了600根點燃蠟燭的儀式，以紀念從大屠殺到今天的種族滅絕的受害者。儘管聯合國等國際組織為促進人道主義原則作出了努力，但種族滅絕，種族暴力和人權迫害仍然每天都在發生。據BBC新聞，緬甸軍隊殺死羅興亞人民並燒毀村莊，迫使60萬羅興亞人自去年8月以來一直逃離緬甸。

1月27日是種族大屠殺紀念日。這600支蠟燭不僅紀念以往的種族災難，而且還揭示了目前還在進行的迫害，並要求採取行動，以改變未來。