Exhibition "Nicht böse gemeint" until 2 April at the Media Centre

"Not Meant Maliciously" is the name of the exhibition that the chairman of the Integration Council, Juan Lopez Casanava, opened on Tuesday evening. The exhibition of the intercultural network Westmünsterland lets those who have experienced racism have their say and gives visitors opportunities for a change of perspective. Appointments can be made with Carmen Wessels from the Youth Migration Service Bocholt of the AWO by phone 02871/2395339 or by mail, c.wessels(at)awo-msl-re(dot)de.

Important: talk about it

In his welcoming speech, Juan Lopez Casanava gave some examples of so-called everyday racism, which this exhibition in particular aims to bring into the conversation. "Many people are not even aware of how exclusionary the simple question "where are you from?" can be for a person with an international family history," said Lopez-Casanava. "For me, it is important that such topics as here are addressed with this exhibition, but events must also be held in schools about this and the most important thing is to talk about it," said Lopez Casanava. He is pleased that school classes are being guided through this exhibition and that discussions are taking place with them afterwards. "We must always ask ourselves how our counterpart feels," Lopez Casanava is sure.

People are devalued

Michael Stukowski from the AWO then read a text on the topic of racism and everyday racism. He emphasised that racism is an everyday reality and that it can be counteracted by talking about it, clearly naming racism and addressing racist statements and behaviour. "Overt racism is easy to recognise, it is not so easy with subtle everyday racism," Stukowski continued.

#schauhin

The hashtag #schauhin is used to expose everyday racist remarks on social media. Whether it's sentences that start with "I have nothing against you, but..." or when someone is asked when they're going home again or when someone is unsuccessfully looking for a flat and is advised to give a German name in emails... all of this falls under everyday racism and it always has consequences.

What to do?

Since everyday racism is present in all strata of society and the "culture of looking the other way" has become entrenched, it is important to keep naming the issue. "This exhibition allows those who have experienced racism, who are the "others", to have their say and for us, for society as a whole, it offers the chance for a change of perspective," Stukowski invites all Bocholters to see this exhibition.

"Our goal, as part of the intercultural network Westmünsterland, is to make racism visible with this exhibition, which we have placed under the motto #mischdichein. We let people from the district of Borken have their say," reports Sarah Jrab, who organised the exhibition in Bocholt together with Fatma Boland from the VHS and Carmen Wessels from the AWO.