30 April

Dear Friends

ANNE FRANK – EXAMPLE OF COURAGE

No visit to this city could be complete without a tour of Anne Frank’s House. The tragedy of this teenaged girl, full of life and highly skilled as a writer despite her young age, brings home to all of us the colossal tragedy of the Holocaust. 

Back in the 1990s an exhibition based on the life and achievement of Anne Frank came to Dublin. Hilary and I and the children were privileged to view the exhibition. The official opening was performed by the then President of Ireland. Mary Robinson. In her speech the President recalled reading Anne Frank’s diary in her teens and how she wept into her pillow as she lamented the loss of a girl of her own age with so much to offer the world.

Reading that moving book was a part of the education which formed Mary Robinson’s character. As President her role was mainly ceremonial, but she used her status to draw attention to groups who needed to raise their profile, groups dedicated to righting wrongs and helping the neglected. She was the first head of state to visit Somalia and Rwanda after the disasters that befell those nations. After stepping down as President of Ireland she undertook an ever more difficult role as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

All of us weep for Anne Frank. Let’s learn from those who turn tears into action on behalf of all such victims. 

Denis Campbell

(Locum minister)