By Rosa Doherty
1 min read
By Rosa Doherty
The widow of American Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded by militants in Pakistan in 2002, has received a moral courage award from the Anne Frank Trust in London.
Mariane Pearl was presented with the award by broadcaster Natasha Kaplinsky at the trust's lunch at the Park Lane Hilton, which raised £420,000.
Mrs Pearl - whose book about her husband's life was turned into a Hollywood film - set up the Daniel Pearl Foundation to combat hatred and promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism. She told the 600 guests, including shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, that "the likes of Isis, Boko Haram and al-Qaeda all have the same nature as the Nazis.
"They dehumanise themselves and we need people like Anne Frank who can pierce through that darkness."
She said she had "always felt a strange connection to Anne. I discovered my own father was Jewish. He never told us he survived the Holocaust. His early life affected him so much he killed himself aged 42."
Among the hundreds of condolence letters she received after her husband's death was one from a great-aunt in Amsterdam who had survived the Holocaust. "I went to see her. She hugged me for what al-Qaeda had done to me and I hugged her for what the Nazis did to her.
"She said: 'No one can take Daniel's sprit' and I knew then why I had this connection with Anne. Hitler's primary objective was to deny the victims a voice and she kept hers alive."
Trust executive director Gillian Walnes said that having Mrs Pearl at the lunch "is very personal to me because in 1997 Daniel came to my home to interview me. I will never forget him. He was a remarkable man and she is a very strong woman."
Pupils involved in the charity's education programme spoke about the impact Anne Frank's story had made on their lives.
Eve Meskell, 13, who attends Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls in Romford, now speaks to younger students as an ambassador for the trust.
"I faced my own rejection and separation when my mum and grandmother died and my family didn't want me," she said. "I wanted to find out how a girl my own age could adopt that hopeful attitude like Anne.
"I know now I am capable of consideration and compassion.The programme has given me confidence and determination."