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Against everyday racism

For us, commitment against racism also implies fighting against everyday racism which is often left unnoticed but exists in the midst of our society.

The following two examples point to the possibility of making profits by referring to racist images:

  • The award-winning (!) advertising campaign of the municipal energy supplier in Duisburg “Bei uns wird niemand abgekocht” (“We don’t cook anybody”: A pun that is based on the double meaning of “abgekocht” as both “cooking” and “cooking someone’s goose”) in the winter of 1999.
  • The “African Village” in the Augsburger Zoo in the summer of 2005.

In the case of Duisburg’s municipal energy supplier the posters were only removed from walls, trams and buses when Phoenix e.V. contacted Duisburg’s twin city Portsmouth who immediately signaled that such circumstances would inhibit the upcoming visit of an English delegation.

Despite protests in Germany and abroad, the “African Village” which consisted of an African bazaar, food, music and events was carried out as planned. Moreover, it was announced that the event would be repeated.