A beautiful park of more than five thousand square meters of green areas was opened in the Green Coast of San Miguel by the Mayor of the District, Salvador Heresi, the Ambassador of Israel, Ephraim Modi and the Honorary Consul General of Sweden, Lars Andrén.
The park carries the name of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews by giving them Schutzpasses, which provided them with some protection against the Nazi persecution, when he was Secretary of the Swedish Legation in Budapest.
“This park represents more than 5525 meters of green areas recovered to the city, and we want the people to come to the park and learn about the living story of a man who fought against discrimination, so that it will never happen again,” said mayor Salvador Heresi.
The mayor also said that this project means the recovery of an area formerly characterized by neglect, dirt and lack of infrastructure. “The Wallenberg Park embodies our philosophy to continue to build a city with sea view for the enjoyment of the citizens,” he said.
The Honorary Consul General of Sweden, Lars Andrén, appreciated the gesture of Mayor Heresi and made a biographical review about the selfless heroism of Wallenberg, which puts him in a place of honor in the history of universal solidarity. The same was stated by the president of the Jewish Association of Peru, León Pardo.
The Ambassador of Israel, Ephraim Modi, hailed the friendly nature of the meeting and thanked the Swedish hero on behalf of the thousands of Jews who were saved by him. “Your gesture is an eternal song against discrimination, xenophobia and anti-Semitism” he said.
Gustavo Jalife, Executive Director of the IRWF, traveled especially from Buenos Aires to attend the ceremony and conveyed the greetings of the Chairman and the founder of the global NGO, Eduardo Eurnekian and Baruch Tenenbaum, respectively. Jalife presented a splendid portrait of Wallenberg to the audience. It was painted by Peter Malkin, the man who captured Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. A copy of the portrait was given to each of the attendants of the ceremony.
The Polish Ambassador in Peru, Izabela Matusz, Rabbis Abraham Benhamu and Guillermo Bronstein and Holocaust survivors, were also present.
Special mention deserves the presence of the renowned journalist Hugo Coya, author of “Final Station”, a research that tells the unknown story of Peruvians who saved hundreds of lives during the Second World War.
