”The importance of individual and social solidarity and the need for accurate and timely public information and awareness raising are two lessons that, I hope, we have all learned during the Covid 19 emergency, and these are two important postulates that we should start from when we talk about migrants as well. We must work harder on information and education, starting from local communities in the border areas that host migrants, all the way to children and young people who have to learn from an early age about tolerance, equality, non-violence, respect for others and those who are different. In addition, it is of key importance to work on improving responsible media approach to this problem and promote positive examples”, states Brankica Janković, Commissioner for the protection of the equality.
According to the UNHCR data, there are currently 80 million forcibly displaced persons and 26 million refugees in the world, which is the record number since World War II. Consequently, in recent years, in a growing number of European countries, there has been a change in the policies towards refugees and migrants coming from the Middle East and Africa. Serbia has shown its humane face since the beginning of the crisis, but have you noticed any changes in the attitude towards refugees and migrants in our society?
Since the beginning of the migrant crisis, the Republic of Serbia has shown that it respects the international laws and fosters the values of a humane and tolerant society, and most citizens have shown understanding and solidarity for the situation of refugees, but the fact is that there have been individual cases of discrimination, intolerance, and hate speech. Although those were relatively rare, early last year, and especially during the state of emergency, there has been a change, primarily on social media, which became a hotbed of inaccurate allegations and misinformation about migrants, and in turn, a source of various xenophobic posts aimed at creating a hostile and degrading environment. This caused public alarm and fear. Occasionally, posts would appear on the Internet or on Facebook groups that share anti-immigrant content, but still, after the public condemnation and the authorities’ reaction, they would quickly disappear. Of course, there are always extremist individuals and organisations looking for a way to act and continue to post contents that encourage intolerance towards migrants. Illegal expulsions of refugees from other countries, the so-called “push backs”, which are marketed as a constantly smouldering danger, also contribute to the increased levels of intolerance and fear. Xenophobia and racism are dangerous phenomena, and every single such case must be widely condemned by society, which is exactly what has happened in most cases.
According to the Commissioner’s most recent survey on the public attitude towards discrimination, the highest social distance was measured precisely towards migrants and asylum seekers. What do the survey results tell us exactly?
According to the survey conducted by the Commissioner in 2019, 48% of respondents do not want to be married or for their children to be married to migrants, 36% do not want migrants for friends, 37% do not want migrants permanently settling in Serbia, 38% do not wants migrants to be their neighbours, while 31% do not want them to be their co-workers. In the previous survey conducted in 2016, the intolerance-targeted groups included members of the LGBT population, Albanians, and, at the third place, migrants. These findings coincide with the changing attitudes in or society that are caused by fear, which is generated by the fundamental misunderstanding or stereotypes that people have formed mainly based on the information from the media, movies, and from social networks. Social networks are proving to be a serious generator of discriminatory posts, and the main problem is the lack of adequate legislation that would contribute more effectively to the removal of such contents. The Internet is the field where hate speech and vilification is disseminated faster and more easily, which is not only a characteristic of our climate, but a global problem, and much more developed countries are currently struggling with the same problem.
How many complaints has the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality received since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, which referred to this vulnerable social group, and what were the most common reasons for filing complaints? u
In the last couple of years, we have received about five complaints per year, on average, and they mainly related to the provision of public services, and a number of them related to actions by public authorities. We received, for example, complaints related to a public company refusing to sell a ticket to an asylum seeker. Also, a number of complaints related to banking service providers refusing to do money transfers under the same conditions as provided for other persons. In addition, some complaints related to media reports and pointed to newspaper articles expressing negative prejudices against migrants. However, there were also cases when we reacted on our own initiative, in accordance with our legal powers, and issued a public warning or a statement, as was the case in Šid, when the parents of children who were supposed to attend school together with migrant and refugee children protested. In the end, this case was resolved and the conditions were created for equal access to education. There was also the case of Boško Obradović, the leader of the right-wing political party “Dveri”, who illustrated the consequences of “mixing” with migrants using glasses filled with different colour liquids.
What are the reasons for the small number of complaints filed against discrimination against refugees and migrants, if based on the media reporting and online content we can recognise that this social group is very often exposed to discrimination and xenophobic behaviour by individuals and extreme nationalist groups?
The complaints on behalf of migrants, but also refugees and asylum seekers, are submitted mostly by the civil society organisations. The difficult situation, much bigger problems they face in life, the language barrier, the previous traumatic experiences from the country of origin and other countries that these people went through on their way to Serbia certainly influence the decision whether to report cases of discrimination. It should also be said that Serbia is not a society in which the rights of migrants are blatantly violated, because if it were, I believe that we would certainly have more complaints.
In the last two years, there has been an intensified activity of the anti-immigrant organisations such as the People’s Patrols and the Leviathan, but also some political actors who believe that flirting with xenophobia would gain them votes in the elections. Do you think that such strategies can really bring political points or is it just another misconception?
Fortunately, the activity of the abovementioned groups is not continuous and constant, and it occurs only occasionally. The last time these activities disturbed the public was in March last year, when the alleged “news” appeared that migrants would leave the reception centres and walk freely on the streets during the lockdown, when movement was limited, attacking Serbian people, which led to calls for lynching and violence, self-proclaimed “people’s patrols”, etc. That brought about an increase in social distancing from migrants, who were presented as a danger to life and property. Additional fear was created among those citizens who were already worried about the Corona virus health situation. Fortunately, the situation soon calmed down and did not get wider support. In that same period, due to the announcement of an anti-immigrant group rally, we sent a letter to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs stating that the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality and ethnic origin, as well as hate speech and harassment and degrading treatment, particularly if it creates fear or a hostile, degrading and offensive environment. After that, the rally was not held. Regardless of some individual misunderstandings and prejudices that persist in our country, the appearance of such groups and events in Europe, where the anti-immigrant views that can be heard are much more extreme, is more worrying. While some political actors count on the votes that such rhetoric unfortunately brings, so far, in reality, that as proved to be less successful than they would expect. While a small number of social and political actors in the public space continue to base their strategy on fostering fear and intolerance towards everything that is different, the duty of the state is to make it clear that such a strategies are not acceptable. It is a misconception that xenophobia and racism can have a future in a world where communication, cultural and civilisational barriers can be overcome more easily than ever and where human rights are one of the most important pillars of society.
Xenophobia, discrimination, religious, national and racial hatred and intolerance are also some of the most common causes of forced displacement in the world. How can we fight the increasing xenophobic sentiment in our society? How can we reduce the local population’s fear of the people who come from different cultural and religious backgrounds?
The importance of individual and social solidarity and the need for accurate and timely public information and awareness raising are two lessons that, I hope, we have all learned during the Covid 19 emergency, and these are two important postulates that we should start from when we talk about migrants as well. There is no society in which everyone stands for the same values, but one of the values that is shared by most of our citizens is a developed culture of solidarity and understanding. Also, we must work harder on information and education, starting from local communities in the border areas that host migrants, all the way to children and young people who have to learn from an early age about tolerance, equality, non-violence, respect for others and those who are different. In addition, it is of key importance to work on improving responsible media approach to this problem and promote positive examples. I think it would be very useful to publish more “warm human stories”, as the journalists call them, and serious documentaries such as the film about refugees ”Pushback and dangerous games” by Bojana Lekić, and in that context I do recognise that the media could have a huge role.
Photo: Commissioner for the Protection of the Eqiality
According to the UNHCR data, there are currently 80 million forcibly displaced persons and 26 million refugees in the world, which is the record number since World War II. Consequently, in recent years, in a growing number of European countries, there has been a change in the policies towards refugees and migrants coming from the Middle East and Africa. Serbia has shown its humane face since the beginning of the crisis, but have you noticed any changes in the attitude towards refugees and migrants in our society?
Since the beginning of the migrant crisis, the Republic of Serbia has shown that it respects the international laws and fosters the values of a humane and tolerant society, and most citizens have shown understanding and solidarity for the situation of refugees, but the fact is that there have been individual cases of discrimination, intolerance, and hate speech. Although those were relatively rare, early last year, and especially during the state of emergency, there has been a change, primarily on social media, which became a hotbed of inaccurate allegations and misinformation about migrants, and in turn, a source of various xenophobic posts aimed at creating a hostile and degrading environment. This caused public alarm and fear. Occasionally, posts would appear on the Internet or on Facebook groups that share anti-immigrant content, but still, after the public condemnation and the authorities’ reaction, they would quickly disappear. Of course, there are always extremist individuals and organisations looking for a way to act and continue to post contents that encourage intolerance towards migrants. Illegal expulsions of refugees from other countries, the so-called “push backs”, which are marketed as a constantly smouldering danger, also contribute to the increased levels of intolerance and fear. Xenophobia and racism are dangerous phenomena, and every single such case must be widely condemned by society, which is exactly what has happened in most cases.
According to the Commissioner’s most recent survey on the public attitude towards discrimination, the highest social distance was measured precisely towards migrants and asylum seekers. What do the survey results tell us exactly?
According to the survey conducted by the Commissioner in 2019, 48% of respondents do not want to be married or for their children to be married to migrants, 36% do not want migrants for friends, 37% do not want migrants permanently settling in Serbia, 38% do not wants migrants to be their neighbours, while 31% do not want them to be their co-workers. In the previous survey conducted in 2016, the intolerance-targeted groups included members of the LGBT population, Albanians, and, at the third place, migrants. These findings coincide with the changing attitudes in or society that are caused by fear, which is generated by the fundamental misunderstanding or stereotypes that people have formed mainly based on the information from the media, movies, and from social networks. Social networks are proving to be a serious generator of discriminatory posts, and the main problem is the lack of adequate legislation that would contribute more effectively to the removal of such contents. The Internet is the field where hate speech and vilification is disseminated faster and more easily, which is not only a characteristic of our climate, but a global problem, and much more developed countries are currently struggling with the same problem.
How many complaints has the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality received since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, which referred to this vulnerable social group, and what were the most common reasons for filing complaints? u
In the last couple of years, we have received about five complaints per year, on average, and they mainly related to the provision of public services, and a number of them related to actions by public authorities. We received, for example, complaints related to a public company refusing to sell a ticket to an asylum seeker. Also, a number of complaints related to banking service providers refusing to do money transfers under the same conditions as provided for other persons. In addition, some complaints related to media reports and pointed to newspaper articles expressing negative prejudices against migrants. However, there were also cases when we reacted on our own initiative, in accordance with our legal powers, and issued a public warning or a statement, as was the case in Šid, when the parents of children who were supposed to attend school together with migrant and refugee children protested. In the end, this case was resolved and the conditions were created for equal access to education. There was also the case of Boško Obradović, the leader of the right-wing political party “Dveri”, who illustrated the consequences of “mixing” with migrants using glasses filled with different colour liquids.
What are the reasons for the small number of complaints filed against discrimination against refugees and migrants, if based on the media reporting and online content we can recognise that this social group is very often exposed to discrimination and xenophobic behaviour by individuals and extreme nationalist groups?
The complaints on behalf of migrants, but also refugees and asylum seekers, are submitted mostly by the civil society organisations. The difficult situation, much bigger problems they face in life, the language barrier, the previous traumatic experiences from the country of origin and other countries that these people went through on their way to Serbia certainly influence the decision whether to report cases of discrimination. It should also be said that Serbia is not a society in which the rights of migrants are blatantly violated, because if it were, I believe that we would certainly have more complaints.
In the last two years, there has been an intensified activity of the anti-immigrant organisations such as the People’s Patrols and the Leviathan, but also some political actors who believe that flirting with xenophobia would gain them votes in the elections. Do you think that such strategies can really bring political points or is it just another misconception?
Fortunately, the activity of the abovementioned groups is not continuous and constant, and it occurs only occasionally. The last time these activities disturbed the public was in March last year, when the alleged “news” appeared that migrants would leave the reception centres and walk freely on the streets during the lockdown, when movement was limited, attacking Serbian people, which led to calls for lynching and violence, self-proclaimed “people’s patrols”, etc. That brought about an increase in social distancing from migrants, who were presented as a danger to life and property. Additional fear was created among those citizens who were already worried about the Corona virus health situation. Fortunately, the situation soon calmed down and did not get wider support. In that same period, due to the announcement of an anti-immigrant group rally, we sent a letter to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs stating that the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality and ethnic origin, as well as hate speech and harassment and degrading treatment, particularly if it creates fear or a hostile, degrading and offensive environment. After that, the rally was not held. Regardless of some individual misunderstandings and prejudices that persist in our country, the appearance of such groups and events in Europe, where the anti-immigrant views that can be heard are much more extreme, is more worrying. While some political actors count on the votes that such rhetoric unfortunately brings, so far, in reality, that as proved to be less successful than they would expect. While a small number of social and political actors in the public space continue to base their strategy on fostering fear and intolerance towards everything that is different, the duty of the state is to make it clear that such a strategies are not acceptable. It is a misconception that xenophobia and racism can have a future in a world where communication, cultural and civilisational barriers can be overcome more easily than ever and where human rights are one of the most important pillars of society.
Xenophobia, discrimination, religious, national and racial hatred and intolerance are also some of the most common causes of forced displacement in the world. How can we fight the increasing xenophobic sentiment in our society? How can we reduce the local population’s fear of the people who come from different cultural and religious backgrounds?
The importance of individual and social solidarity and the need for accurate and timely public information and awareness raising are two lessons that, I hope, we have all learned during the Covid 19 emergency, and these are two important postulates that we should start from when we talk about migrants as well. There is no society in which everyone stands for the same values, but one of the values that is shared by most of our citizens is a developed culture of solidarity and understanding. Also, we must work harder on information and education, starting from local communities in the border areas that host migrants, all the way to children and young people who have to learn from an early age about tolerance, equality, non-violence, respect for others and those who are different. In addition, it is of key importance to work on improving responsible media approach to this problem and promote positive examples. I think it would be very useful to publish more “warm human stories”, as the journalists call them, and serious documentaries such as the film about refugees ”Pushback and dangerous games” by Bojana Lekić, and in that context I do recognise that the media could have a huge role.
Photo: Commissioner for the Protection of the Eqiality