Where we went: The Eye Cinema Galway.
Date: 16th of January.
Summary: We left the school at nine in the morning and arrived in Galway at half ten. We went into the screening room and settled down to watch the film.
The film was about a holocaust survivor talking about his life and others things in todays world which is very familiar to the things he saw as a child. Tomi Reichental was a child in the holocaust. He survived through it all but his family were not so fortunate. 35 members of his family died in the holocaust. As a child Tomi saw his own grandmother get shot in front of his eyes. He only talked about the holocaust fifty-five years after it happened. He didn’t speak about to his late wife about it. Shootings killed more Jews than the gassing.
He also travelled to places where Jews were killed and burned alive. He paid his respects and placed stones by the memorial places. He also went to Slovakia and films how people are taunting Muslims in the street just for who they are. This shows that racism is on the rise again.
He also went to his home place and remembers happy memories from his family and home life. All that is left of it is a green field but he still remembers running around with his brother playing and his mam making ice cream.
The film ended and we got to ask questions to Tomi himself. It was a very interesting film and I enjoyed learning more about the holocaust.
Reflection: I learned a lot more about the holocaust and how we could be repeating ourselves with the genocide in Bosnia. I took a lot from the trip. I took how we should be more open to the idea of Syrians staying in Ireland as from a survey 73 percent of Irish people said no to bringing in the refugees.
This helped me achieve my aims and objectives of the year as I learned things I didn’t know before.
What struck you about the event-movie/Tomi Q and A
The thing that struck me the most about the film directed by Gerry Gregg, is how the world doesn’t want the past to repeat itself but racism is becoming more common in today's world. In the film, Tomi shows us how racism is on the rise by filming Muslims being verbally attacked by Far Rights supporters led by Marian Kotleba in Slovakia. Police had to protect them from the Far Rights supporters. In Bosnia, Muslims were killed in the Bosnian genocide in 1995. This was where the Bosnian Serb forces and the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys and another 25,000 to 30,000 of Bosnian civilians. This was the worst genocide since the Nazi's killing of up to 6 million European Jews during World War II. This struck me as we don’t want the past to relive itself but we let this happen.
The thing that struck me from Tomi's Q and A is how he shares his story about what he went through as a child. He saw people shot in front of him and 35 members of his extended family died during the Holocaust. He wants as many people as possible to know his story so we don’t make the same mistakes again. This struck me as it must be extremely difficult to relive the traumatic events he had to go through.
What was surprising?
I found the number of people who didn’t want refugees in Ireland surprising. 73 percent of Irish people didn’t want refugees coming into Ireland. I know some may be worried for their lives and think they may hurt them but I think that is a very stereotypical view to hold. I think you should pretend to be in their shoes and think of it differently. Even in the film, Tomi interviewed a Muslim Man who was very hurt when told such information. He says they shouldn’t be thought of in a such a way just because of how they look or where they come from. I just found that so surprising as If I were in their shoes, I would want help.
What action does this inspire?
This inspires me to spread Tomi’s story to others so we don’t make the same mistakes again and so history doesn’t repeat itself. Tomi wanted as many people as possible to know of what happened so we will never forget the truth. As one person, I can’t stop the holocaust from ever happening again but if more people know and remember what happened, there’s a better chance it won’t.
Date: 16th of January.
Summary: We left the school at nine in the morning and arrived in Galway at half ten. We went into the screening room and settled down to watch the film.
The film was about a holocaust survivor talking about his life and others things in todays world which is very familiar to the things he saw as a child. Tomi Reichental was a child in the holocaust. He survived through it all but his family were not so fortunate. 35 members of his family died in the holocaust. As a child Tomi saw his own grandmother get shot in front of his eyes. He only talked about the holocaust fifty-five years after it happened. He didn’t speak about to his late wife about it. Shootings killed more Jews than the gassing.
He also travelled to places where Jews were killed and burned alive. He paid his respects and placed stones by the memorial places. He also went to Slovakia and films how people are taunting Muslims in the street just for who they are. This shows that racism is on the rise again.
He also went to his home place and remembers happy memories from his family and home life. All that is left of it is a green field but he still remembers running around with his brother playing and his mam making ice cream.
The film ended and we got to ask questions to Tomi himself. It was a very interesting film and I enjoyed learning more about the holocaust.
Reflection: I learned a lot more about the holocaust and how we could be repeating ourselves with the genocide in Bosnia. I took a lot from the trip. I took how we should be more open to the idea of Syrians staying in Ireland as from a survey 73 percent of Irish people said no to bringing in the refugees.
This helped me achieve my aims and objectives of the year as I learned things I didn’t know before.
What struck you about the event-movie/Tomi Q and A
The thing that struck me the most about the film directed by Gerry Gregg, is how the world doesn’t want the past to repeat itself but racism is becoming more common in today's world. In the film, Tomi shows us how racism is on the rise by filming Muslims being verbally attacked by Far Rights supporters led by Marian Kotleba in Slovakia. Police had to protect them from the Far Rights supporters. In Bosnia, Muslims were killed in the Bosnian genocide in 1995. This was where the Bosnian Serb forces and the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys and another 25,000 to 30,000 of Bosnian civilians. This was the worst genocide since the Nazi's killing of up to 6 million European Jews during World War II. This struck me as we don’t want the past to relive itself but we let this happen.
The thing that struck me from Tomi's Q and A is how he shares his story about what he went through as a child. He saw people shot in front of him and 35 members of his extended family died during the Holocaust. He wants as many people as possible to know his story so we don’t make the same mistakes again. This struck me as it must be extremely difficult to relive the traumatic events he had to go through.
What was surprising?
I found the number of people who didn’t want refugees in Ireland surprising. 73 percent of Irish people didn’t want refugees coming into Ireland. I know some may be worried for their lives and think they may hurt them but I think that is a very stereotypical view to hold. I think you should pretend to be in their shoes and think of it differently. Even in the film, Tomi interviewed a Muslim Man who was very hurt when told such information. He says they shouldn’t be thought of in a such a way just because of how they look or where they come from. I just found that so surprising as If I were in their shoes, I would want help.
What action does this inspire?
This inspires me to spread Tomi’s story to others so we don’t make the same mistakes again and so history doesn’t repeat itself. Tomi wanted as many people as possible to know of what happened so we will never forget the truth. As one person, I can’t stop the holocaust from ever happening again but if more people know and remember what happened, there’s a better chance it won’t.