THE MESSAGE OF PEACE RINGS LOUD FOR 2024

Members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association have taken part in several important events promoting peace and justice across the world in the last months of 2023. In 2024, the Association invites international volunteers to join the global struggle against racism and intolerance.

‘NEVER AGAIN’s representative Anna Tatar participated in a two-day seminar on ‘Current Forms of Antisemitism’ organized in Berlin by the European Network for Countering Antisemitism through Education (ENCATE) and the Center for Research on Antisemitism (ZfA) on 9-11 October 2023. It aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of contemporary debates surrounding antisemitism and the skills necessary to identify different forms of this phenomenon.

On 20-22 October 2023, Natalia Sineaeva, a ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association activist, attended the Rotary Positive Peace Activator Leadership Summit in Nagarkot, Nepal, together with 42 peace-builders from 25 countries and all continents. The Summit included academic sessions, strategic planning working groups, resilience conversations, and reflective practices. The participants shared and planned actions to build peace in their communities.

On 30-31 October, members of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Rafal Pankowski and Natalia Sineaeva visited Lumbini in Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha, as guests of the Theravada Buddhist Community of Nepal. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited Lumbini on the same day. During meetings with monks and lay members of diverse faith communities, the representatives of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ emphasized the importance of inter-faith dialogue for world peace.

On 5 November, Natalia Sineaeva and Rafal Pankowski were invited as speakers at the public discussion organized by the Forum for Secular Bangladesh (Nirmul Committee) at the Supreme Court Auditorium in Dhaka on the occasion of the Bangladesh Constitution Day. They shared the experiences of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in the field of dealing with the past and, in particular, its successful campaign to include a ban on racist and fascist activities in the Polish Constitution. The Speaker of Bangladeshi Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and other prominent discussants welcomed the contribution of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ members to the event.

On 9-11 November, ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association representatives participated in the international conference on ‘The Politics of Genocide Denial: Global Struggle towards Truth, Recognition and Justice’ at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Drawing from the research conducted under the aegis of ‘NEVER AGAIN’, Rafal Pankowski presented a paper on ‘The Phenomenon of Multideniers: Denying the Holocaust and Cambodian Genocide’, Natalia Sineaeva spoke on ‘Holocaust Denial and Distortion and its Interconnectedness with National Identity: The Case Study of Moldova in Eastern Europe’. Other speakers at the conference included, among others, the friends of ‘NEVER AGAIN’: Dr Gregory H. Stanton (Founding President, Genocide Watch), Dr Elisa von Joeden-Forgey (Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention) and Dr Navras Jaat Aafreedi (Presidency University, Kolkata).

Between 15 and 20 November, members of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ met and discussed future cooperation in the area of peace-building with universities and Rotary clubs in Dhaka and Chattogram (Bangladesh). The meetings were hosted by Professor of Buddhist Studies Biman Chandra Barua, Professor Mamun-Al-Mahtab and Rotarian Ranjan Barua.

On 15-17 November, Rafal Maszkowski participated on behalf of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in the international conference ‘Holocaust Distortion and Counter Strategies’ in Berlin, organized by the Kreuzberg Initiative Against Antisemitism and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in cooperation with the Topography of Terror (Germany).

On 21 November, members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association Natalia Sineaeva and Rafal Pankowski presented the Association’s activities at a special meeting hosted in Dhaka by Shahriar Kabir, an eminent Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker, the founder of the Forum for Secular Bangladesh and Trial of War Criminals of 1971. The meeting was followed by a screening of a documentary on the Bangladesh genocide.

Nosizo Zondo represented ‘NEVER AGAIN’ at the conference ‘Integration through Sport and Inclusion for Refugees in Europe for Sustainability’, which took place in Berlin on 23-24 November 2023. The conference was organized by the Fare Network in conjunction with partners in Greece, Italy, Germany and Finland. It was aimed at empowering women refugees with the necessary skills and knowledge for engaging in the creation of sports activities, and innovating capacity-building methods that aid civil society organizations collaborating with refugees.

In the near future, on 13-16 February 2024, delegates of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association are going to participate in the 11th International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action (ICPNA) to be held in Mumbai, India.

- ‘The range of topics and international events attended by the NEVER AGAIN Association in the recent months points to the global relevance of its message’ - said Rafal Pankowski, co-founder of ‘NEVER AGAIN’, Sociology Professor at Warsaw’s Collegium Civitas and Rotary Global Peace Fellow (Makerere University, Uganda, 2024-25). - ‘In 2024, we invite online volunteers to join our initiatives from all over the world, wherever you are, we welcome all backgrounds and cultures.’

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent civil society organization founded in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights across the world. It has actively participated in international civil society networks, including the Alliance Against Genocide (AAG), the European Network for Countering Antisemitism through Education (ENCATE), Facing Facts network, Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), the International Network Against Cyber Hate (INACH), the Global Alliance Against Digital Hate and Extremism (GADHE), and the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine and Against War (ENSU).

‘NEVER AGAIN’ can be contacted at info@neveragainassociation.org .

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MUSIC AGAINST RACISM: MUSIC FOR PEACE

The new album entitled ‘Zaraza’ (Plague) by the band Human Rights was released in partnership with the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association’s campaign Music Against Racism. The record was launched during the ‘Peace for the World’ concert on April 29 in Warsaw. Human Rights were joined on stage by M-kwa, one of the most renowned bands of the Polish punk rock scene.

 According to the members of Human Rights, ‘The album <Plague> was recorded as a protest against political depravity and the epidemic of intolerance.’ The songs include reflections on ‘what attitudes people adopt in the face of a pandemic, war, dictatorship, lack of mutual respect and tolerance, aggression. It is not without reason that the word <plague> appears in the lyrics of every track.’

Human Rights is a hardcore punk band from Warsaw. For years, it has been supporting the Music Against Racism campaign of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. The band describes its work as ‘energetic music and positive and direct lyrics coming out of irritation at intrusive attempts to manipulate our lives only because of differences in sex, views, religion or nationality. So there is fire and fury, there is also some melody and catchy choruses about freedom, respect, compassion, tolerance.’

M-kwa (previously known as Moskwa) is one of the most original and charismatic bands of the Polish punk rock scene. The band was established in 1983 in Lodz and famously played at the festival in Jarocin (the largest festival of alternative music in Eastern Europe in the 1980s). The band’s performance at Jarocin was immortalized in the BBC documentary ‘My Blood, Your Blood’. For years, the band has been supporting the Music Against Racism campaign of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association.

From the first days of Russian military aggression against Ukraine, numerous bands have played concerts with an anti-war message supported by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. During these events,  actions to provide aid for Ukrainian refugees have also been organized. For instance, on 2 April, the ‘Art Will Help - Benefit for Krzemieniec in Ukraine’ concert took place in Warsaw, with the participation of the bands Human Rights, HairyCane and Dlonie. The legendary Polish punk rock band Dezerter, which has been cooperating with the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association for many years, has also played anti-war concerts in Mogilno, Ciechanow, Poznan, Olsztyn, Bialystok and other locations.

In turn, on 7 May in Poznan, under the motto of Music Against Racism, the concert ‘Punks are Playing for Ukraine’ will take place. The following bands will be spreading a message of peace: Uliczny Opryszek, NoG, Amunicja, and Izerbejdzan.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association encourages musicians, record labels and promoters from all over the world who are interested in releasing music tracks or videos as well as organizing concerts with the promotional support of the Music Against Racism campaign to get in touch via email: info@neveragainassociation.org .

In 2021 the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association released the historic record ‘One Race - Human Race. Music Against Racism: Part 2’ on vinyl. This album was dedicated to the memory of Marcin Kornak (1968-2014), a human rights activist, poet and the founder of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. The full album ‘One Race - Human Race. Music Against Racism’ is also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5m2-fFk2zk

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent organization founded in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against fascism, racism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

Human Rights ‘Plague’ (from the album ‘Plague’ in partnership with the Music Against Racism campaign):

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ROCK FOR PEACE

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association organized a special session entitled ‘Rock for Peace’ during the Global Peace Conference ‘Weaving a Shared Future Together’.

The online session on 19 June 2021 provided an opportunity to discuss issues of human rights, peace, protest, and reconciliation with well-known musicians as well as activists and intellectuals from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, China (Hong Kong), Poland, UK, and other countries.

The participants explored the relationship between rebel music and social movements, anti-racism, and peacebuilding. The examples included the Woodstock Festival of 1969 as a symbol of the peace movement, the Rock Against Racism campaign which emerged in reaction to racist attacks in the UK in the 1970s, the Music Against Racism movement initiated by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in Poland as well as other initiatives tackling the challenges of racism, xenophobia, and human rights abuses across the world, with a special focus on Asia.

The speakers included:

- Chris Salewicz, a London-based renowned music journalist and author of ‘Bob Marley: The Untold Story’, ‘Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer’, ‘Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography’;

- Kyaw Kyaw, the founder and leader of ‘Rebel Riot’, a punk band from Yangon, Myanmar, who was featured in the acclaimed documentary ‘My Buddha is Punk’;

- Julien Poulson, co-founder (with the internationally recognised singer Srey Channthy) of Cambodian Space Project, a freewheeling, psychedelic Cambodian rock group which led a revival of the Cambodian music scene;

- Riz Farooqi, founder of King Ly Chee, one of the first bands to introduce hardcore punk to China, editor of Unite Asia website (Hong Kong);

- Maqsoodul Haque a.k.a. Mac Haque, the leader of Maqsood O Dhaka, the leading jazz-rock fusion band from Bangladesh, featuring strong environmental and social messages of peace, harmony and cohesion;

- Pawel Gumola, the leader of Moskwa, a legendary Polish punk band established in 1983, he also played reggae with 5000 Lat and folk with R.U.T.A., a band using historical revolutionary lyrics from the region of Eastern Europe.

The event featured a newly released video ‘One Day’ produced by Rebel Riot in the aftermath of the recent military coup in Myanmar, a new song inspiring the protesters to stand against oppression. The session ended with an informal discussion and an improvised live solo set of songs with a positive message played by Pawel Gumola.

A full recording of the session will be available on the website of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association shortly.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent anti-racist organization founded in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

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SWEET TEA, BITTER LIFE

On the occasion of the Refugee Week 2020, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has launched a new video documentary on the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar under the title ‘Sweet tea, bitter life’ (SEE FILM).

The Rohingya refugees are survivors of the ongoing genocidal campaign conducted by the Myanmar military. They have been described by the United Nations as the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority.

The languages of the documentary are Rohingya, Polish and English (with English and Polish subtitles) and it is available freely on the Association’s YouTube channel. It was shot several weeks ago, shortly before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, where approximately 1 million predominantly Muslim refugees from Myanmar are located.

According to the lead maker of the short documentary, Pawel Bolek, its aim was to show the human side of life in the refugee camp, which is largely unknown to the outside world. He says: - ‘The film shows that in our world everybody can suddenly, unexpectedly become a refugee’.

Previously, members of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ visited the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar in November 2019. During the visit representatives of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Natalia Sineaeva and Rafal Pankowski met with refugees as well as medical personnel and civil society representatives.

Commemoration of genocide, empowering the victims of violence and the promotion of peace and non-discrimination will be among the subjects of a large-scale international event co-organized by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association member Natalia Sineaeva, the Global Cyber Peace Conference ‘Envisioning the World After the Great Pause’, held on 27 June.

The conference will last for 24 hours, starting from New Zealand through Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe, ending in the Americas/Caribbean. It will be an interactive online experience featuring speakers and attendees from around the globe. The conference is organized in cooperation with Rotary Peace Centres across the world, Mediators Beyond Borders International, and many other organisations. Almost forty sessions and workshops will be conducted across three conference zones: Asia/Oceania, Africa/Europe/Middle East, and the Americas/Caribbean. The conference themes include topics such as tackling identity-based violence, environment and peace, education and peace, and cultural resources for peace.

Natalia Sineaeva is the Europe regional coordinator for Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association and she is a member of the conference leadership team for Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

During the event a special panel under the heading Cultural Resources for Peace: Peace Project Incubator will be devoted to the question: how do museums and memory sites deal with ongoing atrocities and war? The speakers include the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association’s Natalia Sineaeva as well as Shahriar Kabir, a renowned writer, filmmaker and human rights activist, President of the Forum for Secular Bangladesh & Trial of the War Criminals of 1971; Kornelis Spaans, a member of the International Committee of Memorial Museums in Remembrance of the Victims of Public Crimes of the International Council of Museums (ICOM); Tali Nates, the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre and chair of the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation; Naomi Kikoler, the director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Mofidul Hogue, director of the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Haider Elias, the President of Yazda - Global Yazidi Organization.

‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association members and friends are also going to speak in several other sessions of the conference, one of the largest of its kind in recent history.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent organization established in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

Additional information:

Global Cyber Peace Conference registration: http://rpfaa.org/global-cyber-peace-conference/

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