Series of events in the international week "STOP RACISM!" starts in Murmansk. A similar campaign is held in many cities around the globe and is associated with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. March 21, 1960 in the village of Sharpeville, South Africa police killed 69 and injured 180 people-participants of a peaceful protest against the laws of the apartheid regime of mandatory certification of Africans in South Africa.
An educational seminar, film "Fanatic" and picket against xenophobia will be held in Murmansk during one week. It was organized by the project coordinator of the LGBT organization "Maximum" Violetta Grudina.
Photo: Svetlana Scherbakova
"We see signs of hostility in the public space of the city and on the Internet: the swastika, neo-Nazi runes, anti-Caucasian slogans. We see that a lot of minor children come into neo-Nazi community. And we say "NO!" to all this. Using civil society organizations and citizens' initiatives we want to show that solidarity with a variety of "others" in our society is possible. Seminar, which will take place on March 17 at 19 o'clock in the "House of Equality", will be focused on this topic. There I will talk about the neo-Nazi groups, their objectives and branches in our city. The importance of the seminar is to tell people about the illegal activities of these groups," Violetta Grudina explained to "7x7". "And in general, the goal of all activities is a protest against xenophobia, violence and discrimination for the recognition of diversity and human rights values in the society, fomenting hatred and pitching different groups against each other, call for the respect of human dignity and human rights without discrimination. In the International Week "STOP RACISM! - 2015" We want to show that tolerant and liberal society in which conflicts are resolved without violence is possible."
In addition to the educational seminar, in the "House of Equality" (Privokzalnaya street, 10) on March 20 in 18 hours the movie "Fanatic" will be showing. This is a story about a Jew teenager who has become the leader of the ultra-right skinheads. International Week "STOP RACISM!" will come to end on March 22 with picket "against xenophobia". However, the exact place and time of the meeting are unknown. Violetta Grudina is waiting for a response from the administration of Murmansk on the approval of the public event.
Alexander Borisov, «7x7»
