Union schizophrenic over race issue

Date: 05/11/1998

Since the Second World War, Europe's governments have tried to ensure that the hatred spawned by extreme right-wing sentiments never erupts again as it did in Nazi Germany. But immigrants from outside the Union still face discrimination. Simon Coss reports

SIXTY years ago next week one of the most horrific phases of 20th century European history began.

On 6 November 1938 a young Jewish man, Herschel Grynzspan, became so angry at the increasingly anti-Semitic policies being pursued by the Nazi regime in Berlin that he shot German diplomat Ernst von Rath at the German embassy in Paris.

Von Rath died two days later and news of his death reached Germany on 9 November, sparking the nationwide anti-Jewish pogrom that became known as Kristallnacht. During the outpouring of anti-Semitic violence, Jewish-owned shops had their windows smashed, synagogues were burned and hundreds of Jewish people were left dead in the streets. For many historians, the event marked the beginning of the Holocaust, a period which ended in the horror of the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen and the death of 6 million Jews and more than 1 million Roma gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, trade unionists and others regarded as 'undesirable' by the Nazis.

Kristallnacht and its aftermath showed only too clearly what can happen when extreme right-wing racist sentiments take hold in a community. Since the carnage of the Second World War, Europe's governments have attempted to ensure that such hatred never erupts again - not least, many diplomats would argue, by agreeing to set up the European Union.

But while few people believe that the sort of hate-filled, racist right-wing ideas which brought Europe to its knees in the Nazi era hold sway over the majority of EU citizens today, many anti-racist campaigners feel much work still needs to be done before old attitudes are completely consigned to the dustbin of history.

Many critics of current efforts to tackle racism within the Union say that the EU's institutions and governments have a decidedly schizophrenic attitude to the so-called 'race issue'.

The European Commission helps to fund hundreds of anti-racist initiatives in cities and communities across the Union, and declared last year an official 'European Year Against Racism'.

Yet at the same time, EU governments are continually criticised for introducing ever-tougher rules on immigration designed to discourage asylum-seekers from arriving on Europe's shores.

Successive agreements between the Union's 15 member states, including the Schengen free movement pact and the Dublin Convention, which sets out rules on which country will be responsible for handling requests for political asylum, have all contributed to the creation of what critics call 'Fortress Europe' - a place which is very cosy if you are on the inside but distinctly unwelcoming if you are knocking at the door trying to get in.

Many member states also have legislation on their statute books which effectively discriminates between Europeans and non-European nationals living on their territory.

"We have to ask why a youngster of Turkish background, even in the third generation, does not automatically get German citizenship? How long will stateless Roma people be expelled from one EU country to another? Why can a residence permit in France be withdrawn after 20 years because a person is found to be harbouring an 'illegal' immigrant?" asked a recent report by EU-wide anti-racism network United for Intercultural Action. "Minority groups cannot simply be viewed as workers, who do not require political and social rights," it added.

United would like to see EU citizenship granted to anyone who is born in a member state or has been living there for at least three years, but its demands are never likely to be met. The political sensitivity of the race issue was demonstrated most recently in the run-up to September's general election in Germany. On the political hustings, all sides made much of their commitment to take a strong line on immigration. It seems that in the cafés, bars and living rooms of Europe, fears of being invaded by hoards of foreigners ready to take away jobs from 'real' Europeans are still all too common.

Many EU countries have fairly brutal procedures for ensuring unwanted immigrants are removed from their soil, or 'repatriated', to use the diplomatic euphemism.

In Belgium recently, the results were shown only too clearly when a young African girl died after police held a pillow over her face while trying to force her on to an aeroplane. The incident led to a public outcry and calls for illegal immigrants, many of whom are held in prison-like detention centres, to have their situation 'regularised' by the issue of valid residence papers.

A similar furore over the rights of immigrants blew up in France in 1996 when several hundred people, most of them African, took refuge in the St Bernard Church in Paris. Many of these sans papiers, as they came to be known, had been living in France for years and were simply asking to have their hazy legal status clarified.

The question of the sans papiers is rapidly gaining prominence in many EU countries. It is estimated that there are several million illegal immigrants living in Europe (for obvious reasons exact figures are hard to come by) including a third of a million in France, half a million in Germany, 400,000 in Spain and around one-quarter of a million in Italy. These people usually survive by taking poorly paid work in the black economy.

Groups like United argue that EU citizens should support calls for the sans papiers to have their status regularised. From a purely practical point of view, says the organisation, if they were officially recognised, illegals would be able to ask for better wages and not undercut people working legally.

Some countries have already announced amnesties for illegal immigrants. Between June and December 1996, the Portuguese government granted certain legal rights to several hundred illegals.

But the fact remains that most administrations are still extremely wary of the whole race question and are acutely aware of what could happen to them on polling day if they appear too soft on foreigners.

It is against this background that the Commission has been trying to promote racial tolerance across the Union.

The institution's ability to act on the issue is fairly limited, as all questions concerning race relations, immigration and asylum policy remain very much the competence of EU governments. So its main approach has been to try and raise awareness of the problems caused by racism.

During the 1997 European Year Against Racism, this strategy took the form of organising a number of high-profile media-friendly 'happenings'.

Outstanding events included the unforgettable 'Round-the-World Skate Against Racism': a global tour by three roller-bladers who carried the message of racial tolerance. Other high spots were the 'Anti-Racism Train,' an all-star 'Football Match Against Racism' starring Diego Maradonna, Eric Cantona and Georges Weah, and a day-long 'Dance Workshop Against Racism' featuring famous Spanish Flamenco artist Joaquín Cortés.

Perhaps the most lasting achievement of the European year, however, was the creation of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia which is currently setting up shop in Vienna.

But while the Commission continues to do what it can to promote racial tolerance, the fact remains that under current EU rules any really significant changes will have to be made by governments. At present, there is precious little indication that national administrations have any intention of going 'soft' on the 'race question'.

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