While many AEGEE members were spending their time green travelling with the destination Mannheim, the Sports Working Group (SWG) was hosting a football tournament for the ones already in the city.

The idea behind the active afternoon was not only to raise awareness about physical activity but also to inform members about the topic of racism in sports. In a collaborative project between the SWG and Policy Officer Stephanie Müller, Agora Rhein-Neckar was used to consult AEGEE members about racism.

At the time that the football tournament took place not many had arrived in Mannheim yet and a large part of the ones who were there were taking part in city tours. However, there was no need to call off the match since the motivation was there, so instead of being AEGEE members playing against each other, it turned out to be a little group of AEGEE members playing against some locals from Mannheim.

While the active representatives from our organization were sweating on the field under the summer sun, the rest cheered them along while also filling in surveys about racism in sports created by Stephanie Müller. Later on during the Agora the questionnaire was used again during the AEGEE fair and these are only the first steps in the research of AEGEE people’s opinion on the topic.

Back at the match the spectators saw a large number of goals being scored by the footballers, and in the end it was a victory on the field to the AEGEE team. Outside of the team the small but interesting event is also considered a victory. It proved raised awareness amongst our members about the connection between sport and racism and it also underlined that there is an interest in such sportive activities in our organization. There might not have been many people able to take part in the game, but many showed interest in the outcome, and the Sports Working Group has afterwards received numerous requests to repeat the event before Agora Zaragoza, in even larger dimensions.

Written by Patricia Anthony, Secretary of the Sports Working Group

In a nice, warm spring day last year, AEGEE members were kicking a football around at the first day of Spring Agora Enschede. This will happen again this year in Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar with some more organisations ensuring to raise awareness about the fight against racism. The Sports Working Group (SWG) keeps working with Policy Officer on Social Inclusion Stephanie Müller on the matter in the hopes of increasing the interest of the topic time and time again.

In a network of 13,000 members, great ideas are created all the time. Recently, the Sports Working Group was approached by Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar organisers with the idea of organising a football tournament. The idea itself fitted the Sports Working Group in a great way, in connection to the fight against physical inactivity. The tournament was furthermore an open opportunity to show participants of the Agora what the SWG is working on. Thus some might have the opinion that a football game is something simple, and in many peoples’ eyes all that is needed is some players and a football. The question regarding why a Working Group was needed for the organisation was raised and the answer is likewise simple. The participants of an Agora differ in many ways. Boys, girls, fresh members, experienced members all with a wide range of different nationalities will be travelling to Mannheim next week. They are all invited to take part in A Game Of football against RAcism, in order get to know each other, get to know the Sports Working Group, and raise awareness about AEGEE saying no to racism in and outside of sports and AEGEE.

As mentioned in the intro, AEGEE members have enjoyed playing sports together before. It was even revealed to the SWG in the preperations for Rhein-Neckar that a similar football tournament was organised in connection with Spring Agora Maǧusa back in 2009. That event was described as wonderful and the SWG hopes that similar words will be associated with the game in Mannheim. Hopefully the sun will be shining on the active AEGEE members running on the grass field in Germany, and Stephanie as well as the SWG board have high expectations for the tournament.

Besides getting a closer introduction to what the Sports Working Group does on the European Level of AEGEE, the tournament also provides an opportunity for our Policy Officer to collect responses to her research work  on racism. Participants will receive surveys on racism, and the main organiser Patricia Anthony (Secretary of the SWG) hopes that the tournament will also foster the discussion on what things can be organised within AEGEE in the fight against racism. Patricia cannot hide her enthusiam for the tournament when saying: “I genuninly hope that participants of the Agora enjoy this idea as much as we do in the SWG and will take part in the football game April 2nd. As I see it, it’s a great opportunity to have fun, contribute to the work on the European Level of AEGEE, and maybe even win some nice prices.”

Only time will tell the outcome of the tournament itself, but there is no doubt that this tournament is only one event set to happen in the Sports Working Group’s fight against racism in and outside sports in Europe.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

A few weeks ago, the football team AEK Athens won against Veria, which made Giorgos Katidis want to celebrate. He did this, using the Nazi salute. Katidis (20) says he had no idea what the gesture stands for. His coach Ewald Lienen states that Katidis is young and does not have any political views, so he absolutely did not mean any harm by doing it (BBC News). Now we are wondering, just as the rest of Europe, is it really possible? Are there people in Europe who do not have a clue about this?

The Human Rights Working Group, the International Politics Working Group and the Sports Working Group join their forces to take a closer look at the case.

It does not matter if the player knew what it meant. He used the sign, and the punishment is clear: Katidis is now banned from playing for the Greek national team for the rest of his life. It is a bit more complicated than it may seem at first sight though. Was he discriminating? Was he making a political statement? Sport players are role models, so how does this happening influence other people?

Maria Arends – Speaker of the HRWG

In Germany, the Nazi salute is illegal, but in other parts of Europe it is not. I would like to focus on the way this offends human rights, and also I want to share some thoughts on the difficult question whether the punishment is too harsh or not.

Stretching your right arm is a violation against human rights

To understand well what the Nazi salute stands for, we need to go back to the year 1926. Europe was in crisis, crying for change, and the Nazi Party made the Heil Hitler salute compulsory, because it showed commitment to the party and it functioned as a declaration to the outside world. Although it was compulsory, from 1933 on it became prohibited for inmates to use the salute, followed by Jews, Roma, and other ethnic groups, until it was only found acceptable for the Aryan race.

Even though nowadays most people see it as a very bad symbol, back then it represented some sort of privilege. One that many people were excluded from, which went from bad to worse.

As I said, people were excluded, and they were not allowed to do something because of their ethnic or religious background, when people from other backgrounds were allowed to do it. And because of that, it went from bad to worse. It went from quite small things to a holocaust Europe will not – and may never forget. As you see, stretching of your right arm to eye level is still very much related to this happening.

Nowadays, the salute is still used by neo-Nazis, who represent some elements of the Nazi regime back in the day, such as nationalism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and anti-Semitism.

Katidis states that he did not know about all this. He did not know that the salute was used during WWII, nor that it is still associated with this and with the beliefs of neo-Nazis. But would he have used it anyway, if he had known? If it were illegal? Would he have done it if he had known the consequences?

The consequences for Katidis

Katidis can never play again for the national team. The punishment is loud and clear. Yet, it leaves us a lot to discuss. Do we agree with this decision?

He violated human rights, which, especially as a role model, is unforgivable. But what if he really did not know what he was doing? What if he realises how wrong this was? Wouldn’t it be enough then to suspend him from the team for a limited time?

The Italian player Paolo di Canio also used the salute as well in 2005, and he was banned for only one match. According to the article in The Guardian, he did this solely to greet his comrades, as the Roman salute (on which the Nazi salute is based) was used to serve for in the ancient Roman empire.

Personally I cannot give an honest answer to this question. My gut feeling tells me that it was totally wrong, a bad violation of human rights, and the punishment seems very valid seeing it from this point of view. Also, because it explains to young people who do not know a lot about the WWII how seriously we still take this. On the other hand, if he really did not know, then who are we to judge? If he really, really had no clue, did not have proper education, then shouldn’t we blame the institutions that were supposed to teach him?

Can it be possible?

Ivan Bielik, Speaker of the IPWG

In my post I will examine the two claims of the footballer which he uses to advocate his innocence in the case. First, he claimed he was not a fascist. Second, he told he did not know what that salutation means. After a step-by-step rebuttal, I will conclude the strength of these claims.

In the first claim, Katidis proclaimed that he was not a fascist. This excuse is quite common when your behavior becomes an object of media coverage. Appealing to the non-political nature of the Greek footballer is however weak. Even if he is into any other kind of political affiliation (Christian, Social democrat or whatever) this fact does not mitigate his real actions. Why? The problem of Katidis is that he did that salutation in a public space under media coverage and fans’ presence. That means his action (salutation) has a direct impact on others who could see it. In this case, your action becomes public, which means you have the moral duty to observe some rules which govern the society you live in. A fascist salutation is linked throughout the European continent with the ideology of race hatred and mass extermination. It definitely has a bad connotation in people’s minds. It ought not to be shown in the public space. Thus, such salutation is not appropriate in a public space such as football stadiums, even if you are not a supporter of the fascist movement. The first claim by Katidis is therefore weak.

The second statement is more interesting. Claiming that you do not know what such salutation means shows two fundamental flaws. Firstly, your level of education is very poor. Probably you felt behind in school or you are very reluctant to learn new things. Secondly, the level of social learning is even poorer in this case. Many actions we do publicly are learnt from our social context. For example, if you show your middle finger to someone, that person will not respond in a very friendly manner. He/she will insult you or fight you. Afterwards, you have learnt that showing your middle finger is inappropriate, because of others’ reaction (in other words, the social context). The same applies to the Nazi salutation. You could see such actions only in the atmosphere of hatred and violence when supporters of such movement gather together. They often insult ethnic minorities and offer solutions that are too simple for complex problems of society. People respond very strangely to such actions. Thus, this salutation occurs in very specific circumstances which any ordinary human is capable to comprehend (it is bad sign). Therefore, the value of this action is predestined by social context where it occurs. If the footballer claims that he does not know what it means, he is showing a lack of knowledge and intelligence. Moreover, such claim is not very strong, because it transcends your responsibility to other institutions (in this case education or family upbringing). Therefore, the punishment for Katidis is justified, because it emphasizes the personal responsibility of a person who is showing inappropriate signs in public. Without personal responsibility such problem will occur again and again.

Patricia Anthony, Secretary and founder of the SWG

Katidis’ case might be rare but cases of nationalism, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia are unfortunately too common in the world in and outside of sports. A case like Katidis’ raises the question of how to deal with such cases in sports. How is it avoided? How tough of a punishment is needed? What does it take to combat nationalism, racism, xenophobia and homophobia?

The answer is not black or white, and a large number of solutions are needed. On top of the list the SWG finds it important to take a stand and raise your voice in the fight against different causes. The SWG especially focuses on the fight against racism, xenophobia and homophobia in the world of sports, hoping that the actions will extend beyond the world of sports and especially the world of AEGEE.

Katidis’ case shows not only the importance and potential of AEGEE’s Working Groups and Project Teams to create different projects that can have high relevance of what happens around Europe on a daily basis. The European-level bodies are collaborating more and more, and all ideas are always welcome. What does Katidis’ case mean for you? What does it mean for AEGEE? What does it mean for Europe? Is it really possible to salute in such a harsh way without knowing the meaning of stretching your arm like that?

Written by  Maria Arends (AEGEE-Groningen), Patricia Anthony (AEGEE-København), & Ivan Bielik

Sources

1. BBC News. Who, what, why: Can you accidentally do a Nazi salute? Requested at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21829682 on 19-03-2013.

2. United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Requested at http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml on 20-03-2013.

Idaho might remind the geography brains about some place in the United States of America, but it is obviously not the Idaho that the Sports Working Group (SWG) will bring to AEGEE.

Lately, the SWG has been working with two policy officers on two different, but yet a bit similar subjects; organising events combating homophobia and racism in AEGEE. Recently, the SWG were the leaders in the project and Skype meeting with the aim of gathering the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), SWG members and Policy officer E.G. The topic of the meeting and project is to create an easy concept that antennae all across the AEGEE Network can adapt to and organise events in connection with the international day against homophobia which takes place yearly on May 17^th. The day is also referred as IDAHO, and after a fruitful Skype meeting the possibilities to create a lot of awareness about a great cause and at the same time make AEGEE reach beyond where it has reached before are looking very good.

Are you yellow, blue or violet?

“What rainbow color are you?” was the question recently on the SWG Facebook page which made has created confusion amongst many people, but it is linked to the IDAHO campaign. A campaign that the SWG will continue working on together with Eline with the aim of getting as many antennae across Europe to join the rainbow flash mobs dancing and raising awareness about the fight against homophobia together with other national movements. This way youth participation and inclusion of minorities are both involved in the event.

Dancing is a sports activity that is easy to organise and furthermore sport is considered a universal language that brings people together. The aim with our involvement in IDAHO is to create awareness about the fight against homophobia and raise the interest in AEGEE and beyond, hopefully raising an even greater interest in organising many more events against homophobia in AEGEE both in and outside of the SWG after May 17^th as well.

As mentioned, the SWG will continue the work together with the HRWG and Eline on the topic in order to specify the project even more. However, any member with an idea about how AEGEE can become visible in the flash mobs is more than welcome to contact the SWG.

Combating racism as well

The policy officers have before been introduced in The AEGEEan, but it can still be a confusing reading about what exactly the policy officers are doing, so while in contact with policy officer Stephanie Müller, the SWG had the time to ask a few questions about her work so far.

SWG:  What have you been working on as a policy officer so far?

Stephanie: The topic I work on is “Racism and Xenophobia”, so far I have collected information on the topic, about its relevance for Europe and how racism & xenophobia is experienced in different countries in Europe. Therefore, at the beginning of December I send a questionnaire to the Network and got very interesting answers, which I will share with the Network soon.

It is very sad to see in how many European countries nationalists are raising and turning against foreigners, mostly immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. Particularly, in Southern European countries strong national and sometimes racist parties are raising and gaining more and more supporters.

SWG: What are your upcoming projects as a policy officer?

Stephanie: Like the other Policy Officers I will write a position paper against racism and xenophobia, for which I like to involve the Network as much as possible. I hope the Skype meeting about the international day against racism is just the beginning. I hope to be able to motive some locals to organise some events which are raising awareness of the fact that many people in Europe are discriminated because of their country of birth, religion, nationality or appearance. This is a very important topic we should not close our eyes to. Furthermore, I hope to raise the topic during the Agora Rhein-Neckar in a progress meeting and talk to some people of what could come next.

The Skype meeting that Stephanie is talking about is a project between the SWG and Stephanie aiming to gather AEGEE members and ask the question “What would you do in the International Day United against Racism?” If you want to join the discussion, then contact the SWG.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.”

Abrahah J. Heschel (Jewish theologian and philosopher, 1907-1972)

For a long time before starting this article, I was thinking about how to start it, and at last I have not found anything better than to just take a quote of Abraham Heschel, who was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and philosophers of the 20th century. In his quote, dating back to the 1950s, he managed to describe perfectly the modern concept of racism. Racism is not something new or unknown to mankind; it has been developing alongside with humankind. According to Wikipedia, racism refers to the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination.

Personally I do not like speaking on some theoretical issues and problems in international politics, as in my opinion such issues are a result of uncertain and different approach of individuals to some existing issues, but during the last few months I guess many of us have witnessed numerous unknown and unheard of things, for example in sports.

Liverpool and Chelsea football teams’ star players Luis Suarez and John Terry, and the professional boxing superstar Floyd Money Mayweather Jr. have two things in common, and the first one is their recent involvement in racial scandals.

The first two racially abused their opponents during their respective football matches, and were banned from the field for several months by England’s Professional Footballers’ Association.

In his turn, Floyd Mayweather Jr., who in my opinion is really one of the best pound-for-pound boxer in history, after the New York Knicks’ basketball match, wrote down on his Twitter page, which has 2.5 million followers, the following tweet about one of the Asian basketball players: “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Why have I taken these examples? The thing is that all the aforementioned sport figures have another thing in common: they are super popular, and today the interpretation and concept of racism could really have an awful impact on everyday activities of many modern civil societies, of which they are an integral part. You may immediately argue with me that today there is no such state in the world where racism is officially promoted, and it is very common that individuals get involved in such scandals. Yes, God bless all of us, we have managed to successfully overcome those times when it was not possible to imagine that black and white children would be sitting in the same classroom or that black citizens would not get problems while getting citizenship of their respective states.

But the thing is that in today’s reality even a little racism abuse may bury anybody’s career and everything. In this simple, and very obvious truth on first sight, lies the whole concept of modern racism.

Of course, these racial scandals in my opinion shall not have much impact on popularity or career of people mentioned; in fact, I guess it may even get bigger. But surely after such accidents they would be under much more pressure from society and it may have an impact on their working/playing abilities. Simultaneously, it is really interesting to know their motivation or ideas by which they were guided while making such harassing comments or offenses. The answer is again very simple; as practice shows, they are really doing it intentionally, as none of them is denying their fault after, and some are even making excuses, but they also do not think to what consequences it may lead.

Nobody shall exclude the possibility that the victims of these scandals (Patrice Evra, Anton Ferdinand, Jeremy Lin) may have done something which compelled our “heroes” to make such abuses, but in my opinion, a strong-minded and composed person, especially when he/she is also very famous, shall not allow himself/herself to do such things.

Simultaneously, I could not mention another thing on this topic; such racial scandals, taking place on the football pitch, were really unknown thing for the British society, as well as to the international football community, and the replies to them were too critical and radical, but racial incidents are a very common thing in the USA and I may even agree with Mayweather Jr. that if some black player played as Jeremy Lin maybe he would not get such fame in the USA just because of his skin colour.

With no debate, we just shall state that today the interpretation of racism is much more different than it was some decades ago. The equality of the individuals and social justice in civil societies shall not recognize any racial arguments or grounds. Only when the rights and freedoms of an individual will be respected by the others, humankind will be able to fulfill the dreams of Dr. Luther King and Mr. Mandela, and as long we do not have that respect, we shall continue living while bearing in our minds the simple truth which is expressed in the starting quote of this article.

Written by Armenak Minasyants, AEGEE-Yerevan & Speaker of International Politics WG