Network for Tolerance participates in Day of Action against Racism
Right-wing extremist attacks and racist discrimination are a permanent problem in our country. In 2019 alone, 22,342 crimes with a right-wing extremist background were recorded nationwide. The anniversary of the Hanau murders has just been marked and the trial on the assassination of Dr Lübcke has reached a conclusion. Right-wing extremist aspirations endanger our peaceful coexistence just as much as racist, anti-Semitic and totalitarian ideologies and discrimination.
Assaults and even murder are particularly visible signs of racism in our society. However, they are only the tip of the iceberg. Many people are discriminated against in everyday life because of their actual or perceived origin or religion, their appearance or other racist attributions: in daily encounters on the street, on the train, at work, in access to services and housing or at school. In everyday life, racism often arises through prejudices and stereotypes that obscure the view of the person. For those affected, this experience is hurtful. Racism attacks a person's dignity and has drastic consequences as it restricts equal participation in society.
The Network for Tolerance Waldeck-Frankenberg is participating in the campaign "Beware, Prejudices!" of the federal programme "Live Democracy!" launched by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The campaign aims to draw attention to existing prejudices and everyday racism and to show that everyone can question and counter racist actions and statements in their personal environment.
The campaign offers an entry point into the discussion of racism and other phenomena of group-based hostility. Few people recognise their own racist attitudes or would openly admit to them. Nevertheless, prejudices and stereotypes shape the lives of almost everyone. The campaign makes clear that prejudice and racism are not only phenomena "among others", but part of our society. Therefore, it is also up to each individual to take action against it.
As part of the campaign, a special project will take place for the Day of Action against Racism on 18 March 2021. In the train stations in Bad Wildungen, Frankenberg and Korbach, floor stickers will be displayed with the message "Too many just walk over me. Racism is a real problem in Germany and starts with prejudice. But only those who become aware of them can overcome them". The campaign is supported by the Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund (NVV) and the Kurhessenbahn.
"Prejudices and racist attitudes can be found everywhere in society," said District Administrator Dr Reinhard Kubat. "Violent acts such as the murders in Hanau, the attack in Halle or the murder of the Kassel district president Walter Lübcke have shown us in a terrible way what right-wing extremism can do." That is why it is important to deal with the topic again and again, whether in school, in the press, in professional life or in everyday life.
"We were also happy to join the campaign because we want to make the public aware that everyday racism has no place in public transport," says NVV Managing Director Steffen Müller. Racism takes place in public transport just as it does in all other places. Society must take a firm stand against all degradation and threats on buses and trains. Passengers, train conductors and all other people who encounter each other in public transport are affected. "If we create more sensitivity for this, we will treat each other with more respect. That should be our common goal," emphasises the NVV managing director.
"When the request to participate came, we didn't have to think long," confirms Jens Wrabletz, Head of Finance and Marketing at NVV. The DB Group, and thus also the Kurhessenbahn, is open to diversity and expressly welcomes this campaign. At Deutsche Bahn, people from more than 100 nations work successfully together in a team, the company connects countries and cultures. "Equal participation of all people living here is a principle that we pursue and support," said Wrabletz. The critical examination of one's own prejudices is already integrated into the training of the various apprenticeships, he said. "Racist attitudes have no place in our workforce or on our trains. We live tolerance and value diversity."
Within the framework of the work of the Network for Tolerance, various activities take place to deal with the topics of "prejudice" and "racism, right-wing extremism". Among other things, workshops are offered at schools with multipliers. The working group #RegionGegenRassismus, which is part of the network, uses signs and stickers to signal "Hate and discrimination without us! With every sign and sticker distributed, the working group grows; currently there are already 250 signs and over 300 stickers. The Network for Tolerance and the working group call for people to show their attitude on the International Day against Racism and during this year's Anti-Racism Week, on the internet and in social networks under #RegionGegenRassismus and to post this attitude, to raise the issue in their own environment: Waldeck-Frankenberg is not a place for anti-human, anti-democratic and so-called xenophobic attitudes.
The Network for Tolerance Waldeck-Frankenberg is funded as a Partnership for Democracy within the framework of the programme Democracy Live! of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and the Hessian Ministry of the Interior. For more information, please contact Netzwerk für Toleranz Waldeck-Frankenberg, network coordinator Ursula Müller, tel. 05631 954-889, e-mail ursula.mueller@lkwafkb.de, homepage www.toleranzwafkb.de.