by Guest Contributor Flavia Dzodan
Serbians hold protest against asylum seekers. They claim that the asylum seekers are destroying the image of the popular tourist town.
Asylum seeker douses himself in petrol because his application was rejected by Danish authorities. Police stopped him before he could set himself on fire.
Earlier this year, Iranian Asylum seeker Kambiz Roustayi set himself on fire in front of Amsterdam’s Royal Palace in The Netherlands. He died of injuries a day later.
Sterilized Roma woman wins human rights appeal at European Court of Human Rights. She had been sterilized in 2000 while under the influence of heavy sedatives. This week, she was awarded Euro 43,000 in compensation.
Far right on rise in Europe, says report. The study reveals a continent-wide spread of hardline nationalist sentiment among the young, mainly men. Their fear about the future is focused on cultural identity and immigration. As part of the report on the right of the far right, The Guardian created an interactive map of nationalist populist and far right organizations in Europe.
Estonian Marathon Bans Black Runners. One of the organizers explained that it was not a racist measure but that “he only wanted to avoid the usual problems with Africans, of which he was warned by some experienced people.”
Racism still a reality in Malta’s housing market. The ad, that a real estate agent published in a local newspaper, read: “No arabs, blacks or young boys.”
Thousands of Russian nationalists march in Moscow. Thousands of far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis marched through Moscow on Friday calling on ethnic Russians to “take back” their country, as resentment grows over dark-complexioned Muslim migrants from Russia’s Caucasus.
Portugal’s Housing Policy for Roma Violates Social Charter. The European Committee of Social Rights delivered a decision, finding Portugal in violation of the Revised European Social Charter. The committee said that the “continuing precarious housing conditions for a large part of the Roma community, coupled with the fact that the Government has not demonstrated that it has taken sufficient measures to ensure that Roma live in housing conditions that meet minimum standards” was in breach of Portugal’s obligations under the social charter.
Italy’s fascists stay true to Mussolini’s ideology. Leader of anti-immigration group CasaPound describes former dictator’s brand of fascism as ‘our point of reference.’
Vatican calls Tintin a ‘Catholic hero’ and ridicules suggestions he may be racist. Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said that accusing the fearless journalist of racism was the “imagining of an integralist political correctness”.
Serbian Extremists Join Neo-Nazis in Poland. Members of the far-right group 1389 are packing brochures on Kosovo and posters titled “Kosovo is Serbia” for their Warsaw trip on November 11 and 12. Every year on the Independence Day of Poland, November 11, extremists organise a march in the streets of Warsaw carrying such slogans as “All of Poland will be white” or “Enough of Jewish occupation.” Anti-fascists, anarchists and other human rights activists also gather in large numbers to oppose them.
UK family attacked by gang of thugs who viciously assaulted them with a plank of wood, in what they believe was a racist attack. Del Singh, his wife Jo Kaur-Hayre (who ended up with nine stitches to her face) and their children and grandchildren, were attacked outside their home in Marsh Green, a suburb of Wigan, near Manchester, after trying to stop an act of vandalism. Mr. Singh said, of his life in the small town of Marsh Green “This street itself is fine; we get on well with the neighbours. But all I have to do is walk down for a bus or to the shops and I get met with the most vile, racist abuse”.
Croatian Journalist Barbara Matejcic teams up with a Roma and a Muslim woman to find out how pervasive racial and religious discriminations are in her country. They respond to 100 ads for housing and jobs and document the responses (spoiler alert: some people wouldn’t even open the door for the Roma and Muslim women).
Arson attack on mosque in eastern France. A group calling itself Les Echappees Belles (The Lucky Escapes) claimed responsibility for the incident in tracts left near the mosque. The group – believed to be a group of women loosely influenced by right-wing extremists, had claimed responsibility for setting fire to the mosque’s van in October.
UK Border Agency officials ‘illegally targeting’ bus passengers. Staff from the UK Border Agency have been “regularly” targeting coaches at bus stations “to prevent undocumented migrants from making use of the public transport network”. However, the practice appears to be illegal, with officials only authorized to examine passengers at air or sea ports.
Flavia Dzodan is a transnational feminist. She runs the blog Red Light Politics and is a regular contributor to Tiger Beatdown and Persephone Magazine. She volunteered to do a link round up on European race issues for our blog.
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