On Monday the 5th of December, the Genocide Awareness group hosted by the pupils of Hampton School, Genocide80Twenty, invited Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC Newsnight journalist, to their school to speak in front of an audience of over 700 pupils.
Mr. Gatehouse spoke very movingly and in great detail of his recent experience as a journalist stationed in Bangladesh where he has witnessed first-hand the horrible plight of members of the Rohignyan ethnic group as they flee from the terrible atrocities committed against them by militias in Myanmar.
The most moving part of the speech was when Mr. Gatehouse described the massacre in the village of Tula Toli and the experience of the survivors. He cautioned the audience from dehumanising and disassociating from minority groups and to not believe those who demonise them for their own gain and to not fall prey to hate speech. If ordinary people start believing hateful nationalist rhetoric, he presses on, then anyone can commit the atrocities which he saw being committed in Myanmar.
After the speech, Mr. Gatehouse kindly stayed behind to talk to the group about their work in raising awareness both locally and on a national scale, and to ask about the exhibition which the group set up to commemorate victims of Genocides internationally. He then volunteered to spend time answering questions for Hampton Radio pupil presenter: Fabio Rossini.
“It is a really good thing”, says Chris A., member of the group: “The more people recognise the problem of Genocide and start the educating others, the sooner we will eradicate this horrible atrocity”
