Combatting Racism and discrimination
The new generation needs us to fight hard for the fundamental rights of all EU citizens & against racism and discrimination. Institutional racism and most notably the Dutch childcare benefit scandal are among the painful but real forms of racism that need to be fixed. Europe is stronger with its diversity and many of our citizens need to feel better included and represented.
The European continent has been more intertwined than ever. Many problems have been solved through groundbreaking cooperation and the lives of many European citizens have advanced over the years. We live in a more diverse and multicultural society.
However, many people of color and people with different orientations have been facing difficulties in accommodating their lives in the EU including the OCTs. Broad, subtle and unsubtle forms of racism and discrimination are unfortunately anchored in European society.
These forms are the main reasons why many people of (non-western) migration backgrounds and people with different sexual orientations and impaired persons face difficulties in their daily lives in EU society.
One of the most notable examples of racism, and discrimination in the digital era is the Dutch Benefit Scandal for which Samira Rafaela among others has fought hard to table to issue on the European agenda.
The Dutch Benefit Scandal is a prime example of institutional racism that took decades to be proven after the damage was done. The damage continues to this day, due to the scope of the scandal and the slow compensation payments, apart from the emotional and non-tangible damage that has been inflicted on some people.
As previously said, many forms are rather implicit, which makes the problem difficult and a reason why it took decades for thorough research and academic reports to point out that our countries, societies, and institutions are dealing with anchored racism and discrimination problems.
We believe that intuitions should serve the people, but how can we effectively represent people on the streets if they are not (well) represented in the bodies that make those life-impacting decisions? What are everyday people expected to think of what we do inside the European Parliament if the institutions feel far away from the streets on which their policy has an impact?
For us, it is important to keep talking on this ongoing matter and take the anti-racism and discrimination agenda to the table every time we draw upon new legislation in the EU. Legislation can only be effective when we take the perspectives of people that have been left out of the process for so long due to the lack of real representation and diversity in our decision-making bodies.
We need you to help us bridge the gap between the institutions and the street!
Follow this page for more stories and insights on anti-racism and discrimination efforts in the EU.