On March 21, 1960, 70 colored students while demonstrating alongside thousands of others against apartheid in the city of Sharpeville, in South Africa, were killed when police open fire. So, six years later, the General Assembly of the UN established this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Nowadays, as a result of the global economic crisis, the impoverishment of the people, poverty and the crisis of the institutions are bringing humanity back to a new, powerful wave of racism and discrimination. This climate leads to the rise of fascism, and thus of racism, which leads a portion of the world to turn against what they called "opposite" or "different" from them.
In the European Union, apart from the above elements, people beset the people also face the big issue of the refugee crisis, which remains unresolved and brings about an unprecedented racist wave of reactions. While at the same time in the US, the Trump government with its many delusions, makes embarrassing and at the same time racist references to various social groups, while racial hatred grows with the inhumane US-Mexican wall-building policy.
The phenomena above, as a result of the systemic problem of capitalism, ramp up racism among people who have nothing that divides them, but on the contrary their class position unites them against the capital that manipulates everything. The class consciousness of workers, modern human-centric education, but also the peaceful environment, can and should be the light in what is dark, transforming peoples and people into racists.
In Cyprus, with the Cypriot problem remaining unresolved and the reunification of our people not having been materialized, the voice towards those who declare or act as racists is a one-way street. As EDON, we strive for a society without racism and nationalism, for a society that can support every person regardless of gender, nationality, color or any other distinction.
We invite all the youth to participate in the Pancyprian Anti-Racist Anti-fascist March that is going to be held on Saturday, March 23, in Nicosia. Concentration at 11:00 am at the roundabout of "NO" and along Ledra Street. We say not to racism with a massive presence. We fight for equality and equal treatment of all, regardless of race, color, language and religion.