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Dealing With Xenophobia in Times of COVID-19

Date and time: Thursday, May 28, 2020, 5 pm Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

Register here [1].

Organized by the Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association – Europe

The coronavirus pandemic-related crisis has sparked a growth in xenophobia and racism in Europe and worldwide. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, appealed for action “to end hate speech globally,” when the pandemic has intensified a “tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering” against those outside the mainstream society.

During recent weeks, human rights and antiracist organizations have documented numerous cases of aggressive behavior and hate speech towards Asian people in various European countries, Canada, and the USA. Similarly, people belonging to other minorities have been experiencing xenophobia. In the past weeks, the Roma, Europe’s largest ethnic minority, have been the victims of COVID-19 related online hate speech, and other forms of discrimination. Refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are being scapegoated as alleged potential carriers of the coronavirus and a health threat to European societies. The internet is overflowing with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories spread by far-right groups. Anti-Muslim actions have been intensified extensively in Asia and globally, and Africans have suddenly become a target for xenophobia in China. Even European nationals living peacefully together started to criticize each other again.

Apparently growing xenophobia, hate and scapegoating during times of hardship are among the post-COVID-19 challenges that the whole humanity will face.

Moderator: Eva Czermak, MD, head of Ambulatorium Caritas Marienambulanz in Graz/Austria which provides free treatment to people without health insurance. She has worked with marginalized groups like homeless, drug addicts, poverty migrants, asylum seekers and refugees for 20 years and is a former Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University from Austria.

Panelists: