Orange on Racism

Don´t pretend racism doesn´t exist

We are living in an intercultural society where migration and immigration is a part of everyone’s life. You may think that racism is abolished and nowhere to be find. I also wish that was true, but I can´t look away from it and pretend it isn´t there when I know it is.

Racism includes discrimination based upon fear. This can mean culture as well as appearance and heritage. Racism is intolerance based on lack of knowledge and creates stereotypes or enemy images of “the other”. 

The feeling of being different and being discriminated by the society makes this a problem, how ever the media shows racism more as a topic then an actual problem. The discriminated are often instead viewed as the base of the problem. This leads to segregation and a problem of integration in Europe.

This topic is important since it is an actual topic where there is a lack of knowledge. The situation through out Europe is different with different examples but it still has the same base. We see a lack of a European coverage comparing the different situations as well as a youth view that wish to cover the whole topic. Not just the negative effects but also the positive initiatives taken to work against discrimination.

Our aim for this issue is to show global racism with local examples to be able to illustrate the big scale of racism trough out Europe and to show the differences but still the common ground. We wish to inform Europeans positive examples of how to deal with this issue as well as how easy it is to do something. Stereotypes are something common but we can work against it.

Racism, especially cultural racism and discrimination against minorities are very rarely dealt with on a youth level. We find this a very important topic since the European Youth Press, as an international youth organisation, is related with the differences and common approaches of the countries, situated in the geographic area of Europe, on nearly every meeting. Especially the field "racism" and the handling of "minority issues" in the different countries are touched very often. No matter if there is a right wing party in a local parliament in Germany or the situation of Sinti and Romanies in Hungary – all this is handled by the young journalists in media. We want to pick up this issue and create a Europe wide publication about “Racism in Europe”.

We hope you enjoy our issue, and feel free to contribute with your thoughts and ideas!

This project was funded from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe in the framework of their campaign "All different - all equal"

Articles

• Don´t pretend racism isn´t existing

  10.02.2008

  We are living in an intercultural society where migration and immigration is a part of everyone’s life. You may think that racism is abolished and nowhere to be find. I also wish that was true, but I can´t look away from it...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• Racism today

  10.02.2008

  Racism is still out there. Maybe it just changed shapes. Orange is discovering the different shapes racism can take. This article focuses therefore on cultural racism. [more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• Same racism but different name

  10.02.2008

  What actually happened to the rightist extremists? Is it still the Molotow Cocktail throwing skinhead? A review of media doesn’t reveal a scandal like the attacks in Rostock Lichtenhagen 1992. Maybe racist violence becomes...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• Racism as an old burden - cultural openness as an new opportunity

  09.01.2008

  In Germany the topic racism always entails a rat-tail of bad emotions because our history still remains in bad memory. The German democratisation after World War II taught us to keep in mind what Germans had done. In reaction it...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• European Network Against Racism changing prejudiced Europe

  09.01.2008

  During its nearly 10 years of activity ENAR has been tirelessly fighting with racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. It was established in 1998 as an outcome of 1997 European Year Against Racism and throughout the...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• United in a diversity of discriminating methods

  09.01.2008

  Romania. A country in a full process of development, recently entered in the EU family has always confronted considerable racism issues. Even though, there are many organizations which try to stop this dishonorable phenomenon,...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments

• "Poland for Poles" – Attack on Chief Rabbi of Poland

  09.01.2008

  More than a year ago, on 27 May 2006, the Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich was attacked on one of the main streets of Warsaw. The attacker insulted him and sprayed gas on his face. The Chief Rabbi was fortunately not...[more]

  Posted in 2007 Racism | No Comments