Brave Dubliners are People of the Year

A SURVIVOR of one of the concentration camps of the Second World War was one of two Dubliners who have been honoured at this year’s 2014 People of the Year Awards for their outstanding bravery.

According to the organisers, the awards provide a unique and special opportunity for the Irish public to honour and celebrate those extraordinary people who do ordinary things. Whether its brave acts by individuals or collectively by communities, it’s all about celebrating those who make a difference every day.

Tomi Reichental, originally from Slovakia, but who has been living in Dublin for the last 55 years, joined Shane Kennedy, from Dublin at the 40th People of the Year Awards recently.

Organised by Rehab and broadcast live on RTÃ? One television from the Citywest Hotel, both men were joined by family and friends who travelled up for the event. Tomi, the International Person of the Year, was honoured for his dedication to peace, truth, reconciliation and forgiveness and to the rejection of all forms of racism and discrimination.

Born in 1935 in Slovakia, Tomi witnessed at first hand the horrors of life in a concentration camp, when he was deported with his family to Bergen Belsen aged just nine.

Tomi’s grandmother, Rosali died in the infamous camp and he watched as her body was dragged from a hut and thrown among a pile of corpses. For eight months, Tomi witnessed thousands of people perishing at the camp until he was liberated in 1945 along with his mother, brother, cousin and aunt, and was reunited with his father. Tomi, who has lived in Dublin since 1959, got married, raised three sons and ran a successful business.

For almost 60 years after his release from Belsen, he was unable to talk about his experiences but now he dedicates himself to highlighting the impact of the Holocaust. He visits two schools every week and a guide based on Tomi’s story has been developed so that others may teach children about the Holocaust.

Students all over Ireland have heard Tomi’s story and in January 2008 RTÃ? broadcast the film I Was a Boy in Belsen, bringing his story to an even wider audience.

In October 2011, Tomi published his first book by the same title and he is now writing his second book at age 79. As one of the last remaining witnesses of these war crimes, Tomi is committed to highlighting the impact of the Holocaust.

Shane Kennedy was a winner of a Young Person of the Year Award. At just 20 years of age, Shane has dedicated himself to the care of his baby brother Cian, who was born in October 2013 with a very serious and rare condition.

Cian was diagnosed with Cri du Chat (Cry of the Cat syndrome) and partial Down Syndrome, resulting in him being seriously ill from the day he was born and requiring 24-hour care and monitoring. Faced with this family crisis, Shane decided to put his own ambitions on hold and become a full time carer for Cian.

Shane’s commitment is all the more incredible given that only 12 months previously he himself had undergone brain surgery to remove a tumour that was thankfully benign.
Sean Egan, Chairman and Interim CEO, Rehab Group, said they were proud to be hosting the 40th year of the People of the Year Awards.

“It’s extraordinary to look back and remember the incredible winners from the past as we celebrate the deserving heroes of 2014,

? he said.