80 years ago tonight, 2 August 1944, 2, 897 Roma people - mostly women, children and the elderly - were slaughtered by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Altogether Nazi Germany and its allies killed around 500,000 Roma and Sinti people in the years leading up to 1945
Betty Smith Billington, from the Dorset based charity Kushti Bok said for years the Roma Holocaust had been forgotten. But after a visit to Auschwitz in 2016, she vowed to reignite the memory of the horror suffered by Roma and Gypsy peoples under the Nazi regime and introduced the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.
"We are no longer the forgotten people," she said in a service held in Sherborne Abbey to mark the day with poetry, music and memory.
The Lord Lieutenant Angus Campbell warned that such horror could happen again: "Looking around us we can see man's inhumanity to man in many places. History proves we can all stand by and do nothing so it is timely we do this today, on the 80th anniversary. Thank you for keeping the remembrance alive."
The diocese's chaplain to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Community, Rev Canon Jonathan Herbert prayed for peace and an end to racism, discrimination and hatred and his predecessor, Rev Roger Redding sang a song mourning the passing of some of the traditional way of life for Roma people.
Bishop Karen gave the final blessing, urging people to share the story of what happened "for it is the sharing of stories that keeps the light and of one other's shared humanity alive".
Roma, Gypsy and Traveller peoples still experience serious discrimination and racism today, both in the UK and Europe. Next year in May, the diocese, working with the Gypsy, Roma Friendly Churches Network and Salisbury Cathedral, is hosting a conference exploring barriers faced by the community, and the Church's response. Details to follow soon.