Fundamentally
We're All the Same:
Look Deeper
European-wide Action Week Against Racism 2003 |
Organisations
wake up Europe's societies
Activities in 39 countries!
During the Action Week, Europe's campaign against racism, NGOs
from 39 countries promoted a Europe of diversity and equality,
in which people of different ethnic and religious origin can
live together in peace.
The campaign, centred around 21 March International Day for the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination, involved tens thou-sands
of people in all bigger European cities and almost all European
countries. Organisations that are linked through UNITED, European
network against racism, initiated local events to support the
common struggle for racial justice. Through (press) conferences,
street actions, intercultural festivals and workshops in schools,
universities and companies, NGOs addressed the entire society
to stop racism
and to take positive action for tolerance.
Racism is a European issue
Racism has always been a global issue - that becomes clear when
one realizes that European's colonialism was mainly based on
racist ideas. The Second World War has been another, often seen
as the most horrible, example to what racism and fascism can
lead.
Nowadays, Europe is politically and economically growing together
but still we can not speak about a common European House,
where all people feel welcome and have access to equal rights.
UNITED is concerned about locking Europe up for asylum seekers,
about widespread prejudice towards Muslims and growing antisemitism,
especially among young people. UNITED is concerned about exclusion
of Roma, growing right-wing extremism and how the New Right (often
called populists) are influencing Europe's political agenda.
The Action Week Against Racism is a European answer to these
pro-blems, supported by a broad coalition of so-cial groups.
Activities from Lisbon to Moscow and
from Dublin to Sarajevo
The European-Wide Action Week is one of the broadest annual anti-racist
campaigns, reaching people from the Ural to Gibraltar and from
the Balkans to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nansen Dialogue Centres throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina launched
activities during this year's Action Week, highlighting the issue
of dialogue between different ethnic groups in this fragile nation.
In Paris, UNESCO commemorated the International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimi-nation together with the French youth, launching
declarations against war (21 March was the first day of America's
strikes against Iraq) and against racism. In Ireland, Germany
and Romania, na-tional campaign co-ordinators were esta-blished,
motivating a wide variety of stake-holders to contribute to the
Action Week. UNITED's co-ordination of the European Week stimulated
activities in 39 countries with strong media coverage.
21 March marked the highlight of the campaign. On that day, organisations
(inclu-ding international bodies like the Council of Europe and
the United Nations) com-memorated the murder of 70 demonstrators
in Sharpeville in 1960, who were killed be-cause they protested
against the Apartheid regime.
UNITED against racism
Linked through UNITED for Intercultural Action, European network
against nationa-lism, racism, fascism and in support of mi-grants
and refugees, more than 560 orga-nisations from 46 countries
work together. The organisations base their common ac-tions and
shared activities on mutual respect and intercultural understanding.
They meet each other on European conferences, ex-change information
and good practices lea-ding to campaigning with strong local,
na-tional and European impact.
While activities of the Action Week Against Racism were performed
independently by the network organisations, the European Secretariat
of UNITED co-ordinated the whole campaign, provided organisations
with common campaign materials and ensured a good information
flow among organisations, the media and decision-makers.
UNITED is an open network inviting everybody to join the European
struggle against racism. It is independent from all political
parties.
If you want to get involved,
discuss the ideas and aims of UNITED within your orga-nisation.
Let us know that your organisation likes to join or receive information.
Add us to your mailing list!
COUNTRY REPORTS
INTERNATIONAL: Much remains to be done
International non-governmental
and inter-governmental organisations took up the occasion of
the International Day Against Racism to remind states of their
commitments. The declaration of the UN World Conference Against
Racism in Durban (South-Africa) 2001 asked all states to move
forward in the struggle against racism by implementing National
Action Plans. After more than a year after Durban, only few nations
brought forward new and better legislation, not to speak about
implementation. During celebrations on 21 March, United Nations
representatives demanded 'further co-operation from all quarters'
to effectively implement the Durban Declaration and the Programme
of Action.
In the European Union, 2003 is a decisive year for the Race Directive.
The Commission appeals to all Member States to implement the
directive on non-discrimination in national legislation by July
2003. UNITED, European network against racism, supports these
international efforts but recognises that only few steps have
been taken yet, leading to more equality in Europe.
As UNITED believes, it is not enough to put pressure on governments.
The fight against racism is first of all a fight against wrong
attitudes and prejudices deeply anchored in European societies.
Breaking down the prejudices in people's minds is the most sustainable
way to stop racism. Therefore, the UNITED network focussed this
year on "the perception of the other". Only when people
will be recognised as people and not as foreigners, blacks, Jews,
Muslims, Roma or other minorities, racism can be eliminated.
UNITED asked the people: 'Look deeper: fundamentally we're all
the same'. During the Action Week Against Racism, this slogan
could be found in every corner of Europe. Before the week the
UNITED Secretariat distributed some ten thousands of posters
to organisations all over Europe, which displayed them in schools,
in public squares, in cafes and companies.
In that way, the Action Week raised awareness among very different
social groups that all can and should take positive action. UNITED
sees awareness raising as a way to combat racism, and at least
as important as political lobbying.
AUSTRIA:
Racism Report 2002 published on 21 March
On 21 March, ZARA (Zivilcourage
und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit) published the Racism Report 2002 on
racist incidents and structures in Austria. The report includes
over 300 incidents.
In the category 'public spaces' the following incident is reported:
"Mr. P. an Indian student reported an incident on 17 April
2002 in the underground station Kagran. 'An innocent African
woman was beaten up by a man. As I got out of the bus around
1:40 pm I saw this man lashing out at the woman. There were at
least 10 to 15 onlookers, both men and women, standing around
and watching () The police were informed by someone and they
came very much later. I told the police that I was a witness
but the police officer simply ignored me. None of the other people
wanted to declare themselves as witnesses. Later the woman was
taken away by a police officer in an ambulance".
An issue of particular concern is discriminatory behaviour of
the police. In Vienna, especially black people are made scapegoats
for drug dea-ling and criminality.
Racism also occurs when it comes to housing and work. An African
refugee tells: "You can't get a job or a flat. You make
so many phone calls and they say, 'we don't need foreigners.'What
should you do then?"
ZARA stresses that more civil courage is needed in order to "defend
fundamental rights, human dignity is sacrosanct".
Other actions during the Action Week Against Racism were organised
by Aktion Kritischer SchülerInnen Austrian Student Union
and Evangelischer Flüchtlingsdienst.
BELGIUM: The Blok, election campaigns
and the media
UNITED's Action Week Against Racism coincided with the hot phase
of parties' campaigns for general elections mid May. Central
point of discussions during these elections was, in how far the
Belgian anti-immigration party Vlaams Blok would increase again
its share of votes. With the slogan 'Our people first' the Blok
raged against "the massive presence" of non-European
foreigners in Belgium. VAKA - Hand in Hand is extremely worried
about how the Vlaams Blok gets established in mainstream politics.
On 21 March, VAKA held a colloquium asking whether the media
'paves the way for extreme-right'. During the meeting, the researcher
Knut de Swert pointed out that although there is a political
'cordon sanitaire', or boycott, there is no such thing when it
comes to the issues raised by the extreme-right. On the contrary,
these issues get gradually more attention in the media. VAKA
is particularly concerned about a lack of strategies on how to
deal with the Blok.
In order to strengthen the Action Week Against Racism in Belgium,
a UNITED delegate visited the Flemish Youth Council on 20 March,
presen-ting the campaign and discussing ways for future co-operation.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Nansen Dialogue
Centres reliable campaign partners
Since 2000, Nansen
Dialogue Centres (NDC), based in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banjaluka,
have contributed to the Action Week Against Racism. This network
of local NGOs, committed to initiate dialogue through non-violent
conflict resolution, was the first in establishing the UNITED
campaign in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
This year, Nansen Dialogue Centre Sarajevo organised a whole
week of different cultural events and debates. Each day was dedicated
to a special subject, focussing for instance on poetry against
racism, "nation as a pseudo identity" or the Roma population
in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
As Amar Prasovic says, racism is not only a problem in countries
with many immigrants like Germany and Great-Britain. The issue
of racism is also related to how different ethnic groups live
together in a multiethnic society. Bosnians, Serbs and Croats
still live practically divided in Bosnia-Herzegovina and much
remains to be done to fully implement the Dayton peace agreements.
In her report to UNITED, NDC Banjaluka Programme Co-ordinator
Dragana Sarengaca writes that during a debate the issue of discrimination
against internally displaced persons, who came to Banjaluka during
the war 1991-1995, was raised. In this discussion on 'Discrimination
Among Us', held in Banjaluka on 21 March, about 30 young people
took part. NDC also distributed about 4000 info-leaflets in the
streets of Banjaluka and co-operated with the local media to
promote the Action Week Against Racism.
According to Dragana Sarengaca "the participants [of the
Action Week Against Racism] think this subject is of great importance
to our society. There are many burning issues in society which
have not been discussed enough or at all in public. This kind
of activities opens an opportunity for people to meet, exchange
experiences and opinions on certain subjects and it motivates
them to contribute to the struggle against prejudice and racism."
As stressed by a representative of NCD Sarajevo, the co-ordinating
organisation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, activities like discussions,
multicultural festivals and other gatherings are important steps
to intensify intercultural dialogue.
CROATIA: Human Rights Committee holds public
forum
on discriminatory school books
Human Rights Committee
Karlovac, an NGO focussing on the protection and promotion of
human rights, contributed to the Action Week by organising a
film showing in the town library and by presenting the results
of a project on "Analysis of text books in primary schools
in Croatia". School books were reviewed regarding their
nationalist, racist and sexist contents. The conclusion of this
project was that racism is widespread in school books in Croatia.
Unfortunately, the head of the commission for school books in
Croatia totally ignored the results of this project. By inviting
teachers of primary schools and parents, to the public forum
on 20 March, the Human Rights Committee raised awareness about
this issue among the direct stakeholders.
On 21 March, the local organisation showed the film 'Pavilion
22', which documents war crimes of Croats, committed during the
war in 1991. Because of its controversial content the film was
never shown in Croatian television before.
CYPRUS: "No space here for
racism"
For the first time in campaign's history Cyprus participated
in the European Action Week Against Racism. The Immigrant Support
Action Group and Youth Board of Cyprus, both active members of
UNITED network, joined the Action Week and organised "a
rich and varied programme of activities" under the slogan:
"No space here for racism. We join our voices and struggle
to turn our visions to reality".
Between 15 and 22 March, press conferences, public debates ("Xenophobia
discrimination racism: from declarations to praxis?"),
film showings, Music Against Racism Festival and exhibitions
have been organised in Nicosia.
In a press-release on occasion of the Action Week, the two organisations
state: "The ever-increasing number of migrants appealing
for help to the Migrant Support Centre, run by ISAG, in matters
of discrimination and racist attitudes in the media are only
a few indicators for the growing discrimination and racism in
Cyprus. This worrying increase is also supported by reports of
institutions such as the European Commission Against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI), which in a recent report identifies a lack
of political will and initiative, the inadequacy of the legal
and institutional framework, as well as institutional racism
in the state itself. A major factor is Cyprus's migration model,
which "regu-lates" migration through "temporary"
employment, according to which a permit to stay in Cyprus is
connected to the permit to work for a specific employer. This
creates an almost feudal dependency, since it places migrants
in a vulnerable position when faced with exploitation and renders
them powerless in claiming their rights. This leads to discrimination,
especially regarding domestic workers, and to violations of their
work contract (hours of work, rest time, denial of pro-per heath
care, living conditions, etc.)."
Therefore, according to organisers, the Action Week "is
a good moment to focus on racism, given both the pending accession
of Cyprus to the EU and the growing struggle of its people to
reunite the island in a way that will allow different ethnic,
cultural and religious groups to live peacefully in a multicultural
society."
DENMARK: Odense founds network against
racism
ARNO Antiracist
Network in Odense was founded in December 2002 as a network across
political lines, associated to the UNITED network and committed
to solidarity across cultural and national borders. As its first
project, the network of organisations including Fyns Antifascists,
International Socialists Youth and Conservative Youth Odense,
organised an action day at the Town Hall on 21 March. Activities
included sports, music, art and workshops against racism. Ron
Burnstein, one of the initiators of ARNO reported to UNITED:
"Despite a chilly day, many passers-by took the time to
look at the stands, asked for more information, listened and
watched the entertainment and also participated in the sports
activities. The dignified Town Hall turned into a court for basketball,
football and volleyball while music played in the background.
On the walking streets, the rhythm of samba, precision of capoeira
and agility of street dance gave the citizens of Odense a great
show."
SOS mod Racisme Denmark organised anti-racist activities throughout
the country. The issue of integration, covered by a conference
in Randers on 24 March, is object of a intensive discourse in
Denmark. The anti-immigration Danish People's Party was able
to get its points across, which can be seen in the decrease of
asylum applications to Denmark in 2002: the "strictest asylum
law in Europe" led to a decrease of asylum applications
of about 54 per cent compared to 2001.
The Action Week was also joined by the Global Days, a three-day
event including debates, happenings, concerts and workshops on
globalisation and racism.
FINLAND: Red Cross takes up occasion
of 21 March to promote diversity
Finnish Red Cross launched
the nation-wide campaign "Diversity starts from us".
Referring to UNITED's 'look deeper'-slogan, Red Cross produced
a poster showing a Somali doctor in white doctor clothes with
the comment "What did you see first?" In this way,
Red Cross adapted very well UNITED's campaign concept emphasising
that it should not be the colour of skin that defines who one
is.
Events, organised by local Red Cross groups, included for instance
a seminar about humanitarian law and racism in Kotka, an international
sports day in Oulo, an anti-racist march in Helsinki and a declaration
for tolerance in Turku and a school children happening in Tampere.
During this happening, kids could follow the roads of refugees
in order to make them aware of the enormous efforts of refugees
to reach a safe country. About 600 local Red Cross offices were
contacted to join the Week Against Racism.
A demonstration in Helsinki with the participation of about 600
people was co-ordinated by RASMUS, Finish network against racism.
As Prijo Vesala, Red Cross co-ordinator of 21 March activities,
puts it the demonstration was just at the right moment following
the success of a populist party in Finish's general elections
on 16 March. Especially in Helsinki the anti-immigration, anti-European
Union "Blue-White of the Finnish People" gained votes
in suburbs with high unemployment and a large immigrant population.
On 21 March, about 200 activists joined the demonstration in
Vaasa, organised by Antifa 65 in co-operation with Amnesty International.
The demonstrators protested against intolerance and America's
war against Iraq. Additionally, Antifa 65 and Amnesty organised
a concert with information stands of anti-racist organisations
at the town square in Vaasa.
FRANCE: broad movement against racism
Since the 80's, Ligue Française de l'Enseignement, a confederation
of about 33.000 organisations all over France, organises "Semaine
D'Education Contre le Racisme". Schools, youth organisations
and leisure time clubs throughout the whole country participate
in this annual Week of Education Against Racism, which coincides
with the European Action Week Against Racism.
On a conference about the Education Week on 5 March in Frankfurt,
La Ligue representative Nicolas Delesque presented "best-practices"
of this year's campaign: In Vitrolles, a city near Marseilles,
members of MRAP initiated projects in schools. Vitrolles is famous
for its conflicts between Algerians and the so called "pied
noir", former Algeria fighters, who tend to be extreme-right.
Pupils from primary schools worked together on enormous graffiti
images and elder pupils produced films and books against intolerance.
All products were presented during a celebration on 21 March.
Famous rap bands also supported La Ligue's education campaign
and held workshops on writing anti-racist rap lyrics together
with young people.
As Nicolas Delesque, responsible for education and anti-racism
within La Ligue stated, even though La Ligue has longer experience
than UNITED in co-ordinating campaigns, it still can learn from
the innovative ideas of the European network. In future the aim
will be to make a stronger conncetion between the European Action
Week and the Week of Education Against Racism.
Activities during the European Week Against Racism were also
organised by Fédération des Centres Sociaux de
Paris. The federation of Parisian social centres co-ordinated
activities in about 10 different neighbourhood centres. Special
exhibitions, theatre plays, film showings, debates and intercultural
events were organised. Joining the Action Week for the first
time, the Federation aimed to show Paris' multicultural face
and showed how art can contribute to a society that recognises
the value of cultural diversity.
On 21 and 22 March, UNESCO celebrated the UN Day Against Racism
in the headquarter in Paris. In a message on 21 March, Director
General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, said that racism and
discrimination have not disappeared. "On top of this, new
forms of discrimi-nation associated with scientific advances
and the phenomenon of globalisation are threatening gains that
we once thought to be irreversible. I invite all those you can
participate in this celebration in order to exchange experiences
and express support for victims everywhere of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance."
UNITED's delegate in Paris reported in an I CARE (Internet Centre
Anti-Racism Europe) interview about the different events: "UNESCO
organised a film showing on Apartheid and how the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission contributes to peaceful co-existence in South Africa.
Discussions with the film director followed, focussing on the
future of the country. On Saturday, 22 March, a debate with representatives
of mayors raised the issue how cities can combat racism. Afterwards
young people from UNESCO clubs presented statements, pieces of
art and songs against racism. A second film showing dealt with
the fact that there is no such thing as different races. There
is only one race: the Human Race!"
GERMANY: Intercultural Council establishes
Action Week Against Racism
For the third time,
the Interkultureller Rat in Germany together with Show Your Face
co-ordinated the International Week Against Racism taking place
from 17 - 21 March. All over Germany, politicians, popular persons
and people who experienced the Nazi-Regime, visited schools and
held discussions about racism, discrimination and xenophobia.
Activities were also organised in museums, sports clubs and other
organisations. The week consisted of more than 150 activities
and was supported by trade unions, German's football association
DFB, Pro Asyl, the Ministry for Economic Affair and Labour and
faith communities. Its motto was "all different - all equal".
Jürgen Miksch, President of the Interkultureller Rat, says
the campaign aims to make 21 March better known as the International
Day Against Racism. Especially young people should be aware of
racism and should commit themselves to tolerance and civil courage.
Interkultureller Rat hopes to stimulate broader participation
in the Week in the coming years. Still, 21 March is poorly known
among the German public. Therefore, the Council held a conference
on 5 March in order to learn from experiences of the French organisation
La Ligue (see France).
At the same conference, UNITED's representative suggested to
intensify co-operation across borders in order to strengthen
the European Week Against Racism. "Now is the time to stimulate
European citizenship (...) Intercultural co-operation will help
all of us to get our points across."
In Jena, 21 March was dedicated to the issue of police brutality.
The Voice Africa Forum orga-nised a gathering with the aim to
launch a common campaign against police violence, joined by refugee
councils and other NGOs from all over Germany. People of colour
face intensive police controls. The police believes that refugees
and migrants are more likely to be drug-dealers or other kind
of criminals than other people. In December 2001, a Nigerian
refugee suffocated after the police forced him to take emetic.
Emetic is still used by the police to make might-be-drug-dealers
spit out drugs that they possibly have ingested.
On the gathering on 21 and 22 March, the participating organisations
agreed on raising awareness among the general public and on organising
"disobedience" protest actions against unjustified
police controls and police violence.
GREAT-BRITAIN: Unite to stop the
BNP
During the European
Action Week, the National Civil Rights Movement together with
trade unions, faith communities and other organisations, launched
a campaign against the neo-nazi British National Party in the
South West of England.
For local elections on 1 May, the BNP started an aggressive campaign
in the South West, demanding a 'multicultural-free zone' and
a 'white homeland'.
The European Race Bulletin (No 43) writes: "If local issues
are successfully 'racialised' in this way, then the BNP will
have found a coded language for promoting its 'white homeland'
strategy while still preventing the all-important figleaf of
respectability, which has been pivotal to party's recent successes.
And this strategy is aided by the widespread racism that exists
just below the surface of everyday life in what the National
Civil rights Movement calls England's 'Deep South'."
In support of the campaign against the BNP, TUC (trade union)
published the manual 'Fascism - Keep the South West a Nazi Free
Zone'.
Other UNITED campaign activities such as multicultural celebrations,
sports against racism events and special film showings ("Cineversity")
were organised in London, Leeds, Leicester and Aberdeen. PressWise
contributed to the Action Week with workshops and seminars on
media coverage of refugees and asylum seekers.
IRELAND: National co-ordinators
of Action Week stimulate hundreds of activities
National Consultative
Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) in partnership
with the "Know Racism" Programme and Equality Commission
of Northern Ireland helped to deve-lop a coordinated approach
to March events in Ireland, North and South (see also Northern
Ireland). Due to this kind of co-ordination and support, new
groups could be included in the European Action Week Against
Racism. Key themes for this year's campaign in Ireland were "the
role of anti-racism training in deve-loping a whole organisation
approach to racism and the inclusion of women from minority ethnic
groups" (spectrum, issue 2). Kensika Monshengwo expressed
NCCRI's ambitions for this Action Week by saying "it is
now time to go beyond simply awareness raising but to begin the
process of changing behaviour, practices and policies within
organisations" (Irish Examiner, 12.03.2003).
Community groups, statutory agencies, companies, trade unions
and other national and local organisations contributed to the
Action Week "reflecting the concern about the issue of racism
in Ireland". In its report to UNITED, NCCRI mentions 110
events, among others seminars and conferences, theatre and dance
performances, poster displays, multicultural festivals, exhibitions
and sports events. In Dublin, La Cheile Artists in Ireland Against
Racism held a seminar on multi-ethnic society. In Limerick, a
local anti-racist network organised a whole week of activities
with special emphasis on the widespread discrimination of the
Travelling Community (one of Ireland's largest minorities).
On 21 March Travellers Youth Service launched its Youth Education
Programme 2003/2004.
Other important activities were organised by Youth Action Against
Racism and Disrimination (YARD) and the Metro Eireann that held
a forum "Meet the people living in Ireland".
In its Strategic Plan 2003-2005 one of NCCRI's priorities is
to enhance 21 March and the European Action Week Against Racism
"as a period where there is a significant focus on racism
in Ireland".
ITALY: ARI promotes positive image of immigrants
and refugees
During previous campaigns,
Associazione Rieti Immigrant-Provincia (ARI) experienced that
working with children and youth in schools has a strong impact.
In a report about the Action Week in Rieti, Renaud Cachia writes:
"Indeed the dialogue between teachers, kids, Association's
staff and immigrants has shown the value of diversity () This
year, we dedicated the whole week to debate with the various
schools of Rieti. Over 600 pupils and students came to visit
us, to talk and exchange ideas on the theme 'the image of immigrants
in the Italian society'". This issue is particularly important
since the Berlusconi government, which controls about 90 per
cent of the media, promotes the images of "criminal immigrants".
"The Action Week in Rieti was a great success. Many teachers
and kids asked us to organise more often such kind of manifestation!"
UNITED made new contacts with the youth organisation Arciragazzi,
which contributed to the Action Week with a public gathering
"United We Stand 2003 - Youth Forum Against Racism",
held in Chiavari on 21 March. Other contributors were Amnesty
International and Centro Studi Emigrazione Roma.
KAZAKHSTAN: NGO Dialogue concerned about "ethnic
revival"
NGO Dialogue, a regional
organisation in South Kazakhstan, launched several workshops
in schools on how to combat racism with the active participation
of young people. During an art contest, one student drew a cup
of coffee with crea-mer and wrote: "Coffee and milk are
friends. Why don't we?". In a discussion, broadcast by a
radio station, the issue of nationalism was raised. Igor Savin,
Director of the NGO "Dialogue", believes that "racism
in our countries takes the form of nationalism based on ethnic
alienation fostered by the ideology of 'ethnic revival'".
In Kazakhstan, especially the Uighur ethnic minority faces discrimination
and racism. In the 2002 report on Kazakhstan, Amnesty writes:
"Uighurs were frequently arbitrarily arrested, tortured
and ill-treated by the authorities."
The campaign activities of NGO Dialogue also included distribution
of translated UNITED campaign leaflets and poster into Russian
and Kazakh.
LATVIA: Youth is leading the charge
against racism!
Sadly, the Youth Council
of Latvia was the only organisation in the Baltic states undertaking
activities in the framework of the European Action Week Against
Racism. Nevertheless, the national youth council with its 35
member organisations, was able to mobilise many young people
and to get the attention of Latvian's most important newspapers,
television programmes and radio stations. The youth council organised
Internet discussions, published press releases and public debates
in the UN house in Riga.
In an article, published on the occasion of the Action Week,
Kaspars Zalitis, co-ordinator of all activities, writes: "A
casual review of Latvia media might give the impression that
racism is no issue in Latvia. A look at the homepage of an Latvian
group of extremists, which seeks to justify racial segregationproves
otherwise. Latvia is on the verge of joining the European Union
and worries about possible increasing influx of refugees and
migrant workers in the near future. I can not understand the
basis of these fears. Since 1998, the Latvian Centre for Refugee
Affairs has received only 98 asylum applications and only 8 people
have received refugee status. Second, it is important that the
Latvian government makes sure that young people do not emigrate
from Latvia in searching a better life elswhere in the European
Union. Latvian society must officially acknowledge that it is
a multicultural society and that minorities play an important
role in society."
But currently, the issue of racism is broadly ignored. An opinion
poll on www.tvnet.lv showed that most people believe there is
no racism in Latvia. This result fits with what Kaspars Zalitis
found out about the media: "Flipping through the pages of
the major Latvian papers in search of articles on racism in Latvia
I found only one article. Such a casual review of Latvian media
might give the impression that racism is not an issue in Latvia".
On the same opinion poll on the youth council's website the vast
majority was convinced that racism is indeed a problem in Latvia,
which is underpinned by the Second Report on Latvia by the European
Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) that expresses
concerns about the existence of racist and extremist groups.
During a discussion, that took place on 19 March in the UN house
in Riga, the different positions in society became obvious. While
the youth council agreed with the United Nation's appeal to take
action against racism, members of the extreme-right Latvian National
Front said that racism is an excellent way to "protect the
nation" as well as forbidding homosexuality as an "unnatural
phenomenon".
As Kaspars Zalitis puts it, the Action Week has left many unanswered
questions but has helped to start discussion on racism in Latvia.
In the future more organisations should join the campaign.
LUXEMBOURG: 20th edition of the
biggest intercultural festival
From 14 to 16 March,
CLAE, Comité de Liaison et d'Action des Etrangers, organised
the 20th Festival of Migrations, Cultures and Citizenship in
Limpertsberg. The festival promotes an intercultural Luxembourg
and enables cultural exchange between groups with different ethnic
and religious backgrounds. The festival presents music, literature,
dance and food from all over the world. Besides this cultural
programme, whose highlight was the "3ème Salon du
livre et des cultures", the festival also provided space
for political debates. As this year's festival motto was "Legalise
all!", President of CLAE Diogo Quintela demanded that all
Sans-Papiers should get a legal status.
The festival also included a round table discussion on immigration
and integration.
MOLDOVA: Youth Helsinki Citizens
Assembly presents project on Roma
On 27 March Youth Helsinky Citizens Assembly of Moldova organised
a seminar in Chisinau promoting solidarity of youth and international
organisations in the fight against different forms of discrimination.
About 50 youth leaders of va-rious ages and nationalities exchanged
opinions and elaborated ways how to counteract racism.
The participants were convinced that state measures are not sufficient
and that the media needs to promote another, anti-prejudice,
image of minorities.
The seminar, aiming to draw attention to the UN International
Day Against Racism was also used to present the results of YHCA's
project "Improvement of the situation of the Roma Minority
in Moldova". For YHCA the Roma issue is one of the most
urgent problems when it comes to racism and discrimination: "35
per cent of Moldovan population are ethnic minorities, including
the most vulnerable group of today -Romani people. According
to official estimates there are approximately 12 thousand Roma
in Moldova, according to a Romani NGO estimation 100-200 thousand.
In Moldova Romani people are victims of discrimination in many
fields of public life: education, housing, employment, access
to health care, access to public places and services, judicial
system, etc. Roma are underrepresented at all levels of the Moldovan
political system as well. In some cases, especially in rural
areas, Roma live physically separated from the mainstream of
Moldovan life, in settlements administered by a separate municipality
(comuna). In these places, the local authority is located in
another village and Roma have no representation on the local
council (Ursari, Schinoasa, Vulcanesti). There are cases of segregation
in school system. The negative stereotypes and prejudices against
Roma are commonly supported by some Moldovan media. In the criminal
chronicles, all people (Moldovans, Ukrainians, Russians, Gagauzians,
Bulgarians, etc), who committed a crime are identified as 'inhabitants'
or 'citizens' without mentioning their ethnicity, but all people
with Romani origins, who committed a crime, are mentioned as
Gypsies. This also contributes to discrimination of Romani people
in Moldova."
NETHERLANDS: Combating racism in
our neighbourhoods
After years of a co-ordinated
approach to the Action Week Against Racism, this year organisations
undertook activities according to their own priorities and local
needs.
Instead of a national co-ordinator, local partnerships and issue-based
network initiated activities with a local scale. Eindhoven Samen
Tegen Racisme, a collaboration of human rights, anti-racist and
cultural organisations, organised neighbourhood activities for
a whole week. Music and dance performances, sports activities
and film showings were organised under the common motto "Together
in the neighbourhood against racism",. On 18 and 19 March,
people could visit the reception centre for asylum seekers and
listen to the stories of refugees.
The local newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad published several articles
about the multicultural festival. A similar coalition of organisations
initiated a multicultural "World Tour" in the Zaanstreek
region.
In Leiden, organisations installed a "Wish Wall Against
Racism" on the town hall square, encouraging people to write
or paint their anti-racist wishes. The wall was opened by Leiden's
mayor Lemstra and remained for the whole Action Week on the square.
Just one day after the opening celebration when Lemstra wrote
'Leiden is for all of us', racist and antisemitic slogans have
been written on the Wish Wall. But as Jaqueline Schoonwater from
Diaconaal Centrum said this was no reason to remove the wall.
"We should give more attention to the positive statements
on the wall." Anton Dronkers from Stad van Vluchtelingen
is convinced that such racist statements are better than hidden
racism. "This proves that racism is indeed a problem here
in Leiden."
Brabant Bekent Kleur took up the occasion of 21 March to promote
diversity. "Studies have shown that diversity leads to progress
in organisations. Companies and NGOs that reflect the diversity
of our society seem to be more successful. Diversity management
is a way to get the best from your employers". On the International
Day Against Racism, Brabant Bekent Kleur held a symposium on
diversity with workshops on sports, education and language, work,
housing, religious diversity and homosexuality and the media.
NORTHERN IRELAND: Against Racism
and Sectarianism
Northern Ireland Equality
Commission co-operated with the South Irish organisation Consultative
Committee on Racism and Interculturalism and the "Know Racism"
Programme in order to promote an integrated and cross-border
approach to the European Action Week Against Racism. As the co-ordinating
and supporting body, the Equality Commission stimulated local
cultural organisations, anti-racist associations and other groups
to contribute to the campaign. Around 21 March, Belfast stood
in the sign of anti-racism. Activities took place in community
centres, museums and cinemas. The Chinese as well as the African
minority communities participated in the campaign and organised
quizzes against racism, debates and cultural performances.
Joe Lenaghan reported to UNITED: "Also included in the programme
of events for European Week, the Belfast Islamic Centre and the
Islamic Students Society of Northern Ireland hosted Islamic Awareness
Week, 2427 March at Queens University Belfast to raise awareness
of and promote good relations between Muslims and the wider community.
Activities included exhibition on Islamic culture and religion,
discussion workshops with other religious representatives, presentations,
video shows. Jamal Iweida, President of the Belfast Islamic Centre
said the events were well attended particularly by local students
and community representatives from different religious and ethnic
groups. He was encouraged by the continuing interest in the Islam."
One issue, raised during the Action Week, is an increase of racist
incidents: "The Belfast Islamic Centre reported heightened
tensions and the need for increased security following a recent
attack on their Mosque and cultural centre by a group of young
men, some with shaven heads, shouting pro British National Front
slogans", reported Joe Lenaghan.
For the Equality Commission, a strong Action Week is of great
importance to make people aware of racism. According to the Commission
the issue of racism should be taken more seriously by government
and community. Research shows that people in Northern Ireland
exhibit as much racism as they do sectarianism. Chief Commissioner
Joen Harbison summarised the idea of the Action Week saying that
"We have a diverse society and we need to encourage people
to respect and value that diversity." According to the Equality
Commission 21 March is recognised and celebrated with growing
enthusiasm.
POLAND: large number
of events illustrates growth of anti-racist movement
The co-ordinator of
the Polish Action Week, NEVER AGAIN Association, published an
issue of its NEVER AGAIN magazine on 17 March, highlighting the
Action Week with the distribution of the most important anti-racist
information source in Poland.
In Wroclaw, NEVER AGAIN Association, the Polish Humanitarian
Action (PAH), Amnesty International and the Jewish community
arranged anti-racist workshops in schools, public debates and
a street action/anti-racist information point in the city centre.
The organisers were threatened by the presence of several right-extremists,
members of the All-Polish Youth (MW) who publicly burned a NEVER
AGAIN leaflet.
Dedicated to victims of racism, special religious services were
held in Wroclaw churches.
On 20 March, in Glogow, a Music Against Racism concert was organised
featuring the rock band Ocean. Several hundred participants received
specially produced anti-racist leaflets. This successful action
was organised by a local youth group, Glogowska Alternatywa,
in cooperation with the NEVER AGAIN Association and the local
cultural centre (MOK).
In Poznan, the "One World" Association (Polish branch
of SCI) organised a series of cultural events, most notably Music
Against Racism concerts with bands playing world music. Signatures
under a petition against racism in stadiums were collected at
this and other events all over Poland.
On 21 March an annual action to remove "offensive and vulgar"
graffiti from streets in Lodz, a city where neo-Nazi and antisemitic
graffiti is particularly visible, was organised by local media
and city authorities. Ironically, mayor Jerzy Kropiwnicki took
part in the event, while he had been elected in October 2002
with support of a right-wing coalition which includes the antisemitic
neofascist party NOP.
Activities were also undertaken in Pila Prudnik, Leszno, Przasnysz,
Ciechanow, Glinojeck, Ostrow, Glinojeck, Lublin, Bialystok and
Slupsk. The Jewish Cultural Centre of Krakow and Warsaw University
also contributed to the Action Week. National television ("Rower
Blazeja", a programme for youth) broadcast a special programme
about the Action Week with the participation of the charity Akademia
Rozwoju Filantropii, NEVER AGAIN and representatives of minority
youth.
ROMANIA: Boost of participation
in Action Week
UNITED stimulated Romanian
NGOs to get active during the Week Against Racism by holding
a European conference in Bucharest in October 2002 with the participation
of many local, regional and national NGOs. Compared to the Anti-Racist
Week 2002, UNITED observed an increase of activities of 100 per
cent. The Action Week's co-ordinator National Council for Combating
Discrimination, an intermediate body arbitrating between state
and victims of discrimination, contributed to the boost of participation.
Together with UNICEF and UNHCR, the National Council organised
workshops on racism in several universities throughout the country.
The local branch of Youth Action for Peace and Youth Forum for
European Integration started collaboration for this year's activities
around 21 March in Oradea. As reported to UNITED, the organisations
worked with 15-year old students of a local secondary school,
making them realise the value of diversity within their school
classes (consisting of Hungarians, Germans, Jews, Roma and Slovaks).
Highlight of a whole week with different activities was a cultural
celebration on 21 March. Co-operation turned out to be so successful
that both organisations will collaborate also in future campaigns.
Other activities were a poster exhibition in Timisoara, a debate
on globalisation and racism in Bucharest, university workshops
on the perception of non-white women in Suceava and music festivals
in Timisoara and Oradea.
The Romanian Institute for Human Rights in co-operation with
the Romanian Association for United Nations also joined the Action
Week by holding a colloquium on "Let's think globally and
take action locally". Penal Reform International - Bucharest
Office took up the occasion of 21 March to release a study on
"Discrimination Against Roma in Criminal Justice and Prison
Systems in Romania", drawing attention to the widespread
violation of Roma's rights and the discriminatory impact of the
existing legal system.
RUSSIA: Active measures need to
be taken to combat right-wing extremism
On 21 March Amnesty
International Russia issued a press release on "The fight
against racism is essential to end a climate of impunity".
In its latest report 'Dokumenty! Discrimination on ground of
race in the Russian Federation' Amnesty observes an increase
of racist crimes and discriminatory practices of the authorities.
Amnesty emphasises that Russia is a state which is party to the
International Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination. "The Convention obliges the authorities
to take active measures to prohibit and eliminate any form of
discrimination." One issue, announced by Amnesty, is nationality.
By the end of 2003 all old passports of the former Soviet Union,
which still often have not been replaced by new passports, will
cease to be legally valid, "possibly leaving millions of
people stateless".
Amnesty is also concerned about Russia's apathy regarding racist
violence, mostly committed by extremist youth groups. A study,
carried out by Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy's Task Force on Racial
Attacks between May 2001 and April 2002, shows that only a few
incidents are reported to the police, mainly because victims
of racist attacks, often immigrants, fear that this could be
a reason to check their status and detain them. Only about 7
per cent of the perpetrators are prosecuted. Typical examples
of such racist attacks are: "African students or ethnic
Tajiks beaten by skinheads and left without redress when the
police fail to take appropriate action".
The Samara Society for Cultural Studies is worried about the
raise of right-wing extremism in its town. "Russians, Tatars,
Chuvashes, Mordva, Jews, Germans, Poles and other people live
here together in peace. Samara is not only an ethnic, but also
a religious symbiosis". Rising nationalism threatens this
peaceful co-existence. During the Action Week Against Racism,
the organisation focused on racist and nationalist graffiti,
which appears more and more in the city. Samara Society believes
that this graffiti creates an aggressive atmosphere and promotes
hate and racism. In a tour through Samara, students have documented
such racist graffiti, which includes slogans like "Gypsies
go to hell" and swastikas. During 18 and 19 of March several
workshops on nationalism were organised at the institute for
cultural studies.
Human Rights Centre "Memorial" and Amnesty appreciate
such activities. "Although the anti-racist and pro-tolerance
movement is new in Russian civil society, it is growing"
says
Alexander Ossipov from Memorial.
SLOVAKIA: People Against Racism
challenges public with controversial billboard
People Against Racism,
main organiser of the Action Week Against Racism in Slovakia,
opened the campaign on 17 March by unveiling a billboard stating
"Nearly everybody in Slovakia is racist. What about you?".
In letters to police stations, public servants and the media
People Against Racism said "The truth speaks a clear language:
according to a public survey conducted by Markant agency in 2001
and 2002, 8 out of 10 Slovaks admit that they are "soft
racists" - classifying and judging on people on grounds
of racial prejudices.
Tolerant people do not judge on anybody because of his or her
colour of skin, ethnicity or religion but according to their
actual deeds." About 200 billboards and 10 000 posters were
issued. The campaign included TV spots on four main TV and five
radio stations.
Local organisations and institutions also contributed to the
Action Week and organised cultural events, competitions, film
screenings and theatre performances. Altogether 1084 local actions
were organised in 137 cities.
SWITZERLAND: Preventive action needs
to be taken
In its first official
report on Switzerland the UN Committee for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination expressed particular concerns regarding
xenophobia towards persons of colour, Muslims and asylum seekers.
It recommended to take positive action, which helps to fight
the roots of racism and enables better integration. About one
year later, a discussion during the European Action Week Against
Racism raised similar issues. Young people said that racism is
mainly caused by fears towards "the other". Victims
of racism expressed that they face increasing violence and racist
provocations. "The people have fear because the police does
not protect them". A police officer admitted that the police
observes an increase in racist incidents and that the police
needs to be more alert. But as the discussion went on, it became
clear that repression is only the last possible measure. Many
participants said dialogue is the best way to prevent racism.
A lawyer of African origin told about her experiences: "When
I was in school a skinhead permanently harassed me. My teacher
forced us to sit tête-à-tête and discuss with
each other. I first felt that this would be traumatic. But after
six months I understood why the teacher did this. He wanted us
to understand, to learn from and respect each other."
Besides this discussion, Tous Différent Tous Égaux
Forum also organised several street games for children, music
festivals and cultural performances in Neuchatel, Chaux-de Fonds,
Peseux and Marin-Espagnier from 19 to 22 March.
An increase in 21 March activities is among others caused by
a new state programme "For Human Rights - Against Racism",
which financially supports local initiatives. One of those was
the intercultural festival "Kulturpotpurri", taking
place in Winterthur from 28 to 30 March. Another initiative during
the Action Week demanded equal rights for all people living in
Switzerland. In a statement the organisers (Sosf, cdf, FemCo
and others) said that last year's changes to asylum and immigration
legislation have in fact divided immigrants in two classes: those
who are appreciated because of economic reasons and those who
are seen as a burden for society. The manifestation "Rights
instead of boundaries" was joined by artists, activists
and other social actors in support of Sans-Papiers.
Eidgenössische Kommission gegen Rassismus organised a conference
on 21 March on media and minorities. The conference in Bern aimed
to show new ways of making minorities subject of news instead
of objects of discriminatory programmes.
UKRAINE: Small progresses in anti-racist
campaigning
Public campaigning
against racism is something quite new in Ukraine.
Nevertheless two organisations, Alternative V and UNITY, joined
the Action Week and organised activities on the local level.
An activist from Alternative V reported to UNITED: "Activities
were mostly for students. I presented UNITED posters in the National
Technical University of Zaporizhzhya and distributed them in
the streets. Most people showed a big interest, but some remained
passive or even showed a negative attitude to my action."
Ernest Suleymanov reports to UNITED that "racism appears
in various forms in Crimea of which the most dangerous is 'latent'
racism." It turns out to be very difficult for minorities
to find work. "Some people are still guided by the principals
of slaveholders". Therefore it is important that the youth
acts "united as a front against racist ideologies. On 28
March, under initiative of UNITY a lecture was hold on this subject".
Up
Order the
printed version (with many pictures and press clippings) of the
report at:
UNITED
for Intercultural Action
European network against nationalism, racism, fascism
and in support of migrants and refugees
Postbus
413, NL-1000 AK Amsterdam, Netherlands
phone +31-20-6834778, fax +31-20-6834582
info@unitedagainstracism.org,
www.unitedagainstracism.org
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