Watchers of the Sky Archives

Centre Statement on Myanmar’s Rohingya Refugee Crisis

admin@HKHTC2017-09-28T10:39:09+08:00Tags: HKHTC, Watchers of the Sky|

The HKHTC is deeply concerned about the developing humanitarian and refugee crisis due to developments in Rakhine state, Myanmar. There have been numerous reports of civilians being wounded and killed as well as Rohingya villages burnt. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have reportedly fled or been driven from their homes, resulting in a large scale humanitarian tragedy.

The HKHTC strongly condemns any violence targeting or affecting the civilian population. The HKHTC calls on the government of Myanmar to ensure the safety, legal protection and well-being of the civilian population, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion, and to grant humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to the affected communities and areas.

‘Watchers of the Sky’ Screening at the 7th Human Rights Documentary Film Festival

charles2017-09-27T19:00:49+08:00Tags: HKHTC, Watchers of the Sky|

On 22 and 25 September 2017, the HKHTC was delighted to co-organise two screenings and discussion event with the Amnesty International:

Watchers of the Sky (天空守望者) – Screening and Discussion with Simon Li, HKHTC Director of Education
Chinese accessible captions will be available. 電影提供中文通達字幕。
The post-screening discussion will be conducted in Cantonese. 座談會以廣東話進行。

Venue: Broadway Cinematheque (Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square Street, Yaumatei)
地點: 百老匯電影中心 (油麻地眾坊街3號駿發花園)

About the film: Raphael Lemkin, a young Jewish lawyer from Poland, was forced to flee to the United States alone during the Holocaust, later learned that 49 members of his family were killed in Nazi concentration camps. Lemkin was a person who believed deeply in the rule of law. He created the term “genocide” and spent most of his life pushing the United Nations to create the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Lemkin also pushed to have some sort of enforcement mechanism in place, although he did not live to see the creation of what we now know of as the International Criminal Court. Lemkin passed away in New York City alone in 1959.

Watchers of The Sky interweaves the stories of four modern humanitarian advocates, including the last surviving prosecutor from Nuremberg, while exploring the long-forgotten story of Raphael Lemkin. For those who want to deepen their knowledge about the violent acts committed during World War II and modern International Criminal Law, you would not want to miss this film!

關於電影: 居於波蘭的猶太裔年青律師Raphael Lemkin被迫移居美國，及後得知其49名親人死於納粹集中營。Lemkin深信法治精神，可惜國際法庭卻苦無法律制止不斷重演的大屠殺。他因而創作genocide (種族滅絕) 一詞，致力推動聯合國採納並通過《防止及懲治滅絕種族罪公約》，成功為紐倫堡審判與國際刑事法院的工作奠定了重要基礎。1959年，Lemkin在紐約市孤獨地去世。

《天空守望者》連結四名人道主義者的故事，包括最後一位尚存的紐倫堡檢察官，同時側寫Lemkin被遺忘的事蹟。希望深度認識國際刑事法的由來的觀眾，萬勿錯過！

About the speaker: Simon Li is the Director of Education at the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre. An award-winning former journalist in Canada, he was a Senior Lecturer and Visiting Educator at the Amsterdam-based Anne Frank House in Spring 2017.

關於講者: 李家豪現為香港猶太大屠殺及寬容中心總監 (教育)。李曾是加拿大獲獎記者和高級講師。在本年上旬，李擔任荷蘭阿姆斯特丹安妮之家 (Anne Frank House) 訪問學人。