Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

#AnneFrank Hatred killed her yet she saw the good in others. She continues to inspire me. https://t.co/vnYGoc1JOC — Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) June 12, 2015 Anne Frank would have turned 86 today. Anti-Semitism killed this gifted young writer. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/UYiK7pizGc — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 12, 2015

I took this photo of white flowers / white buds on a tree branch a few days ago. It was a warm and sunny day, the sky was a gorgeous blue and there was just enough wind to provide a pleasant breeze. A perfect day to stare up at the trees and the sky, to enjoy the beauty right there and all around me. I walk past this tree almost daily however rarely stop to actually look up at the beauty above. How much beauty and how many happy moments have I missed, walking past without looking up? White flowers can have different meanings depending on country, culture and context - purity and innocence, perfection, or death and mourning. A quick online search for the symbolism of white flowers tells me they are "Often associated with innocence, humility, and reverence" ( Teleflora ) as well as purity, honesty and perfection ( Flower Shopping ). Today all those meanings feel appropriate. As The Netherlands remembers those who died in World War Two , I am drawn to the diary of a young girl...

Vanavond zijn wij om acht uur twee minuten stil. Zeventig jaar na het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog is er vrede in Nederland. Wel in Nederland, maar op zoveel andere plekken niet. Wij staan stil bij wat er tijdens de oorlog gebeurde, bij de mensen die omkwamen, die vermoord zijn, vervolgd zijn om wie zij waren en wat zij geloofden. Twee minuten stilte om miljoenen doden te herdenken. Al ben ik jaren na de oorlog geboren vind ik het belangrijk om twee minuten stil te zijn, om stil te staan bij wat er al die jaren geleden gebeurd is. Elk jaar weer vraag ik me af of twee minuten stilte wel genoeg is. Elk jaar weer weet ik zeker dat twee minuten lang niet genoeg is. Wat is een mensenleven waard? Wat zijn miljoenen mensenlevens waard? Toch zeker meer dan maar twee minuten per jaar? Twee minuten stilte Op 4 mei vindt elk jaar in Nederland de Nationale Herdenking plaats. Tijdens deze dodenherdenking worden om 20.00 uur in het hele land twee minuten stilte in acht genomen voor de Nederl...

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day - Yom Ha Shoah in Hebrew. May we never forget. May we never be silent. May we remember those who died and those who lived, scarred and beaten but not defeated. May we always remember the words "Never Again" and work, year in and year out, to understand their meaning and to honour the memory of those who died, those who suffered, those who fought and those who lost so much.  Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה ; "Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day"), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah ( יום השואה ) and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day and public h...

Some days I wonder if humanity is doomed to fail at being human and humane. Some days I wonder if Europe is gearing up for a do-over of the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties. Some days I wonder if our entire world will end in flames and fumes, dust and rubble. Some days I wonder if some trigger-happy madman will nuke the entire world to Kingdom Come. What are we doing to each other? Will we ever stop trying to kill and hurt other human beings? Will we ever learn that true world peace will only happen when we all learn to live together, when we learn to respect our fellow human beings and understand that our way may not be their way?

Today it is exactly eight years ago that Pim Fortuijn (Fortuyn) was murdered. I wasn't in The Netherlands when it happened. I heard about it, read about it, was completely dumbfounded by it. The Netherlands is not usually a violent country (well, apart from when it comes to football, perhaps!), we are not usually a violent people. We are competitive, we are easily annoyed, we often grumble about anything from weather to sports to the economy - but we are not a people who assasinate politicians or our royal family or people we don't agree with. Or so I thought. The first time I came across Pim Fortuijn was when I saw him on TV, commenting on the happening of September 11th. I was 17 then, and really not interested in politics. This TV appearance was the first time I heard Pim Fortuyn's name, the first time I saw his face. The first time I can remember anyway. I didn't agree with what he had to say then - something along the lines of how Muslims are bad, Isl...