‘NEVER AGAIN’ AS AN INSPIRATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN ASIA

The activity of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association was the subject of a special workshop held at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

The two-day workshop took place on 14-15 September 2019 under the title ‘The People vs Extremism & Populist Radical Right in Europe: Impact and Experiences of European Civil Society Networks’. It focused on the experiences of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ in the field of international cooperation against racism, hate speech and hate crime. The session was conducted by Rafal Pankowski, co-founder of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association and sociology professor at Warsaw’s Collegium Civitas who has been a visiting lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in 2018 and 2019. The workshop was attended by several dozen participants from Thailand and other countries including Bangladesh, China, and France.

Chulalongkorn University was established in 1917 and its name commemorates king Chulalongkorn (Rama V), the monarch of Siam (Thailand) who abolished slavery. It is ranked among the best universities in Southeast Asia.

The workshop is one among numerous activities recently undertaken by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association together with its friends and partners in Asia. On 25-30 August, Rafal Pankowski participated in the Flying University of Transnational Humanities under the title ‘The Holocaust meets the post-colonial in the global memory space’ held at Sonong University in Seoul, South Korea. During a heated debate at that international forum, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ representative defended the importance of genocide memory as a cognitive and discursive tool and point of reference in the current-day struggles for moral, social and political progress. On 2 September, Pankowski delivered a lecture entitled ‘Nationalist populism in Central Europe: the case of Poland’ at the University of Tokyo, Japan. The model of Polish-German reconciliation was mentioned by several participants as a possible inspiration for the Korean-Japanese relationship.

On 28-30 August, Natalia Sineaeva represented ‘NEVER AGAIN’ at the international conference on ‘Genocide, Memory and Peace’ organized by UNESCO at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (the former Khmer Rouge prison and extermination centre) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. On 17-20 September, she shared the experiences of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association during the Informal Training Seminar on ‘Human Rights and Prevention of Violent Extremism’ hosted by the Asia-Europe Foundation in New Delhi, India.

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Meanwhile in Poland, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has been a partner of a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw entitled ‘Never Again. Art Against War and Fascism in the 20th and 21st Centuries’. The exhibition provoked another attack against ‘NEVER AGAIN’ on the Polish (state-controlled) television which called it ‘stupid propaganda’. Polish state TV has attacked ‘NEVER AGAIN’ already several times this year. The Polish Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Adam Bodnar protested against the defamation. In a formal letter to the National Council on Radio and Television, the Ombudsman wrote the attacks had ‘no substance’ and they ‘could be considered an attempt to discredit (...) actions against racism and antisemitism in Poland. The statements (...) are problematic in the light of the mission of the public media and they trivialize the danger of such harmful phenomena as hate speech and antisemitism.’

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent organization established in Warsaw in 1996. ‘NEVER AGAIN’ has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

More information:

www.neveragainassociation.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

MYANMAR GENOCIDE IN FOCUS IN SEOUL

An international sports boycott of Myanmar was debated during a discussion led by a representative of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in Seoul.

On 23-25 August 2019, ‎human rights activists from across the world gathered at the conference on ‘Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide’ held at the Sogang University, one of the leading universities of South Korea, established by the Jesuits. The opening keynote speech was delivered by Professor Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar.

Co-founder of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association Rafal Pankowski chaired the conference session ‎on ‘Travel, Culture and Governmental Relations’ which discussed the international campaigns to end genocide against the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority in Myanmar.

- ‘The newly announced initiative of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) to organize a future football World Cup in Southeast Asia is an interesting opportunity for the promotion of the region, but the ongoing atrocities in Myanmar make it currently next to impossible for the proposed bid to have any credibility from the human rights perspective’ - noted Rafal Pankowski. - ‘Football can be a positive tool for peace and intercultural understanding, but FIFA must not legitimize human rights abuses. The same applies to the idea of Myanmar as a co-host of the U-20 World Cup in 2021.’

The meeting was co-organized by Korean civil society groups together with the Free Rohingya Coalition, FORSEA (Forces of Renewal of South East Asia), EuroBurma Office and Human Rights Action Centre. It was attended by over one hundred participants, including a large group of Catholic nuns and ended with a joint Buddhist-Christian-Muslim demonstration outside of the Myanmar embassy in Seoul.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent educational and research organization established in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia in Poland and internationally. Among others, it implemented the UEFA Euro 2012 ‘Respect Diversity’ programme: major educational and awareness-raising activities that took place before and during the European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine. It also cooperates with partners in Southeast Asia in the field of genocide commemoration and prevention, peace and intercultural dialogue.

More information:

www.neveragainassociation.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

INTERNATIONAL DEBATES ON HUMAN RIGHTS HOSTED BY ‘NEVER AGAIN’ AT POL’AND’ROCK FESTIVAL

The biggest open-air free music festival in Europe, Pol’and’Rock, also known as Polish Woodstock, took place from 1 to 4 August 2019. The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association organized a series of anti-racism activities accompanying the festival.

The festival line up included internationally known performers who oppose racism and discrimination such as Gogol Bordello, Skunk Anansie, Ziggy Marley, and Prophets of Rage. The last band includes former members of Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill.

The festival stand of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association was the venue of a debate with Nay San Lwin, a human rights activist and representative of the persecuted minority of Rohingya in Myanmar (Burma). For years he has been drawing the attention of world public opinion to the genocidal practices used by the military dictatorship against the Rohingya, such as violence, hunger and forced evictions. The genocide in Myanmar has been documented by the United Nations. The other participants of the debates organized by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ included members of Opferperspektive (Victim’s Perspective), a German organization which helps the victims of hate crimes, as well as activists from Denmark, Moldova, and Belarus.

Poland’s Civil Rights Ombudsman Adam Bodnar also participated in a meeting organised by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association during the festival. Mr Bodnar spoke about the recent cases of homophobic violence in Poland. Furthermore, the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association organized a football tournament promoting the message of ‘Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums’ among the festival participants. On 2 August, the group’s members played a match with the Ombudsman’s team led by Adam Bodnar himself.

During the festival days ‘NEVER AGAIN’ organized many other educational activities, including public discussions with numerous musicians involved in its ‘Music Against Racism’ campaign and an anti-fascist quiz with the ‘Naprzod’ (Forward) Foundation. The anti-racist educational activity during the festival was supported by Studio K2, the Fare network, and the Warsaw-based Rotary Club Goethe.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent organization established in Warsaw in 1996. ‘NEVER AGAIN’ has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

More information:

www.nigdywiecej.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

NOCNY KOCHANEK GRA PRZECIWKO RASIZMOWI

Podczas festiwalu Pol’and’Rock (dawny Przystanek Woodstock) Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ miało zaszczyt gościć Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich Adama Bodnara oraz przyjaciół z wielu krajów. Rozmowy o różnorodności i wielokulturowości odbywały się na stanowisku stowarzyszenia w trakcie wszystkich dni festiwalowych (1-3.08.2019).

Podczas największego w Europie festiwalu Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ zorganizowało turniej piłkarski pod hasłem ‘Wykopmy Rasizm ze Stadionów’, który odbywał się pod patronatem honorowym Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich. 2 sierpnia sympatycy stowarzyszenia rozegrali mecz z drużyną RPO, w której wystąpił Adam Bodnar. W turnieju wziął udział również zespół Nocny Kochanek, który otrzymał puchar fair play. Partnerem turnieju był Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji w Kostrzynie nad Odrą.

W trakcie festiwalowych dni ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ zorganizowało również wiele innych działań edukacyjnych, w tym spotkania z artystami i zespołami zaangażowanymi w kampanię ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’. Rozmowy prowadziła wieloletnia współpracowniczka stowarzyszenia, Joanna Naranowicz z pilskiego zespołu Qulturka. Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ wspólnie z Fundacją ‘Naprzód’ przeprowadziło też quiz antyfaszystowski, a jego uczestnicy otrzymali antyfaszystowskie upominki.

Główny temat podejmowany na tegorocznym Pol’and’Rock Festival to problem mowy nienawiści. Debata poświęcona temu zjawisku została zorganizowana przez Jerzego Owsiaka i Wielką Orkiestrę Świątecznej Pomocy już w marcu 2019 roku w Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich ‘Polin’. W spotkaniu tym uczestniczył jako panelista Rafał Pankowski, profesor Collegium Civitas i współzałożyciel Stowarzyszenia ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’. Z kolei w lipcu 2019 przedstawiciele stowarzyszenia wsparli akcję WOŚP zatytułowaną #HejtMiNieGra.

Na tegorocznym Pol’and’Rock Festival wystąpili artyści, których utwory znalazły się na pierwszej płycie ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’ (wyd. 1997), czyli Maciej Maleńczuk oraz Kult. Ponadto na festiwalu zagrały znane zagraniczne zespoły i muzycy, którzy sprzeciwiają się rasizmowi i dyskryminacji: Gogol Bordello, Skunk Anansie, Ziggy Marley (gwiazda reggae, syn Boba) czy Prophets of Rage. W skład tej ostatniej kapeli weszli byli muzycy Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy i Cypress Hill.

Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ jest powstałą w 1996 roku niezależną organizacją, która monitoruje incydenty na tle ksenofobicznym. Prowadzi kampanie społeczne, m.in. ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’ i ‘Wykopmy Rasizm ze Stadionów’. Działania edukacyjne zorganizowane przez stowarzyszenie na Pol’and’Rock Festival wsparli m.in. Studio K2 z Piły, sieć FARE oraz warszawski klub Rotary im. Goethego.

Więcej informacji:

www.nigdywiecej.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

ADAM BODNAR I ROZMOWY O TOLERANCJI NA POL’AND’ROCK

Podczas festiwalu Pol’and’Rock (dawny Przystanek Woodstock) Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ miało zaszczyt gościć Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich Adama Bodnara oraz przyjaciół z wielu krajów. Rozmowy o różnorodności i wielokulturowości odbywały się na stanowisku stowarzyszenia w trakcie wszystkich dni festiwalowych (1-3.08.2019).

W czasie spotkania zorganizowanego przez Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDYWIĘCEJ’ Adam Bodnar mówił o narastającej ideologicznej przemocy, w tym o homofobicznych zajściach w Białymstoku, przypomniał też o artykule 13 Konstytucji RP, zakazującym partii i organizacji, których program lub działalność zakłada lub dopuszcza nienawiść rasową i narodowościową. W połowie lat dziewięćdziesiątych Adam Bodnar jako współpracownik ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ aktywnie brał udział w tworzeniu owego przepisu. Wysiłki stowarzyszenia w tej kwestii wsparł wówczas Jacek Kuroń.

Podczas największego w Europie festiwalu Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ zorganizowało turniej piłkarski pod hasłem ‘Wykopmy Rasizm ze Stadionów’, który odbywał się pod patronatem honorowym Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich. 2 sierpnia sympatycy stowarzyszenia rozegrali mecz z drużyną RPO, w której wystąpił Adam Bodnar. Partnerem turnieju był Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji w Kostrzynie nad Odrą.

Na stanowisku Stowarzyszenia ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ odbyła się też międzynarodowa debata, w której wziął udział Nay San Lwin, działacz na rzecz praw człowieka, reprezentant prześladowanej mniejszości Rohingja w Mjanmie (dawnej Birmie). Od wielu lat zwraca on uwagę światowej opinii publicznej na praktyki ludobójcze stosowane przez dyktaturę wojskową wobec Rohingjów: przemoc, zabójstwa, głód, zmuszanie do ucieczki z kraju i inne działania mające na celu wyniszczenie tej grupy. Informacje o masowych zbrodniach i zamiarze ludobójstwa w Mjanmie znalazły się też w raportach ONZ. Uczestnikami debaty Stowarzyszenia ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ byli też przedstawiciele Opferperspektive – niemieckiej organizacji, która niesie pomoc ofiarom przestępstw z nienawiści, oraz goście z Danii, Białorusi i Mołdawii.

W trakcie festiwalowych dni ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ zorganizowało również wiele innych działań edukacyjnych, w tym spotkania z artystami i zespołami zaangażowanymi w kampanię ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’. Rozmowy prowadziła wieloletnia współpracowniczka stowarzyszenia, Joanna Naranowicz z pilskiego zespołu Qulturka. Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ wspólnie z Fundacją ‘Naprzód’ przeprowadziło też quiz antyfaszystowski, a jego uczestnicy otrzymali antyfaszystowskie upominki.

Główny temat podejmowany na tegorocznym Pol’and’Rock Festival to problem mowy nienawiści. Debata poświęcona temu zjawisku została zorganizowana przez Jerzego Owsiaka i Wielką Orkiestrę Świątecznej Pomocy już w marcu 2019 roku w Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich ‘Polin’. W spotkaniu tym uczestniczył jako panelista Rafał Pankowski, profesor Collegium Civitas i współzałożyciel Stowarzyszenia ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’. Z kolei w lipcu 2019 przedstawiciele stowarzyszenia wsparli akcję WOŚP zatytułowaną #HejtMiNieGra.

Na tegorocznym Pol’and’Rock Festival wystąpili artyści, których utwory znalazły się na pierwszej płycie ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’ (wyd. 1997), czyli Maciej Maleńczuk oraz Kult. Ponadto na festiwalu zagrały znane zagraniczne zespoły i muzycy, którzy sprzeciwiają się rasizmowi i dyskryminacji: Gogol Bordello, Skunk Anansie, Ziggy Marley (gwiazda reggae, syn Boba) czy Prophets of Rage. W skład tej ostatniej kapeli weszli byli muzycy Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy i Cypress Hill.

Stowarzyszenie ‘NIGDY WIĘCEJ’ jest powstałą w 1996 roku niezależną organizacją, która monitoruje incydenty na tle ksenofobicznym. Prowadzi kampanie społeczne, m.in. ‘Muzyka Przeciwko Rasizmowi’ i ‘Wykopmy Rasizm ze Stadionów’. Działania edukacyjne zorganizowane przez stowarzyszenie na Pol’and’Rock Festival wsparli m.in. Studio K2 z Piły, sieć FARE oraz warszawski klub Rotary im. Goethego.

Więcej informacji:

www.nigdywiecej.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

THE MISSING PICTURE: RETHINKING GENOCIDE STUDIES AND PREVENTION

Members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association were honoured by the invitation to speak at the global congress of the International Association of Genocide Scholars held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The IAGS conference entitled ‘The Missing Picture: Rethinking Genocide Studies and Prevention’ gathered around 500 intellectuals, researchers, and civil society representatives from all over the world. It was held at the American University of Phnom Penh on 14-19 July 2019. A special meeting with the Oscar-nominated renowned Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh was a highlight of the conference programme.

During the conference, Natalia Sineaeva presented a paper on ‘Museums as Spaces for Dealing with Difficult Knowledge: Examples from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia’, Rafal Pankowski spoke on ‘Polish Entries at Tuol Sleng in 1979 and the Issues of Polish-Cambodian Genocide Analogies’. Nickey Diamond, a friend of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ from Myanmar, presented the subject of ‘Securitization of Islam in Myanmar: Security Discourse Analysis on the Mass Atrocities against Rohingya Muslims’.

After the conference, Natalia Sineaeva, Rafal Pankowski and Ali Al-Asani conducted two full-day workshops in Phnom Penh under the heading ‘An Introduction to the History of the Holocaust’. The well-attended workshops (in English and Khmer languages) were co-organized by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ and the Heinrich Boell Foundation Cambodia and took place at the office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation on 23 and 27 July. Around fifty participants included Cambodian human rights activists, academics and students. The themes of genocide, resistance and dealing with the past were discussed alongside the parallels and differences between the tragic chapters of European and Asian histories.

- ‘We want to share our knowledge, but our aim is also to learn from our Cambodian friends, from their unique perspective and experiences’ – said Natalia Sineaeva, a ‘NEVER AGAIN’ member and International Rotary Peace Fellow 2018.

The activities in Cambodia illustrate the long-standing commitment of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association to support genocide commemoration and prevention, peace and intercultural dialogue both in Europe and in the region of Southeast Asia. Future Polish-Cambodian meetings, publications and other activities are planned, also in cooperation with the Cambodian diaspora.

Other international events with the participation of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association members and supporters are scheduled to take place over the next weeks and months in Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent educational and research organization established in Warsaw in 1996. It has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia in Poland and internationally.

More information:

www.nigdywiecej.org

www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity

www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ

The United States State Department and the US Embassy in Warsaw invited a representative of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association to participate in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program devoted to combatting violent extremism. During the three weeks (18 May - 8 June 2019) spent in Washington, Chattanooga, Montgomery, San Francisco and Boston, Dr. Anna Tatar took part in a series of meetings with representatives of various American institutions, NGOs, journalists and leaders of local communities. 

- ‘America is a country built by immigrants from many places around the world and I was able to observe what such diversity means. We met many people who had come to the USA from the farthest corners of the globe, as well as first, or next generations immigrants born in the States. Respect for the fact that their identity may be complex and subject to personal choices is one of the most important contemporary issues,’ said Ms. Tatar. - ‘At the same time, racial discrimination is still a serious problem, which is manifested most of all in the American justice system. One of the frequent topics of our discussions was the violent behaviour of the police towards Afro-American citizens.’

During her stay in the USA, Anna Tatar visited places with significant ties to the history of slavery and racial persecution, including Montgomery, Alabama, which in the nineteenth century was the centre of slave trade. She visited the Baptist church at Dexter Avenue, known for its famous pastor, Civil Rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. She was honoured to meet Mrs. Jeannie Graetz, who together with her husband, Rev. Robert Graetz, supported the so-called bus boycott (a peaceful protest against racial segregation on the public transport system) and then became a leading figure in the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. 

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ representative also visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC and the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Centre, which is one of the largest mosques and Muslim culture centres in the USA. At the editorial office of ‘TIME’ magazine she had the opportunity to take part in discussions about the standards of public debate and the levels of hate speech in Poland and the USA. During these meetings, she presented the activities of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association and referred to the examples of xenophobic violence documented in the ‘Brown Book’ prepared by the Association.

Following her US trip, on 14 June, Anna Tatar participated in an international conference on hate speech organized in Vienna by The World of NGOs together with the Faculty of Political Science of Vienna University. As a member of the discussion panel, the representative of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ elaborated on the long-term activities undertaken by the Association against the spread of racist propaganda on the Internet. She talked about the problem of inadequate enforcement of the laws against the propagation of hatred. As an example, she described the fascist concerts which have been freely organized in Poland for many years now.

On May 29, 2019, the Warsaw-Praga District Court dismissed criminal proceedings brought against Anna Tatar. She had been accused of libel in connection with critical statements made about an extreme-nationalist event known as the Eagle’s Nest Festival. The court upheld the verdict of the court of first instance and confirmed that there was a ‘complete lack of factual grounds for the accusation’. It was emphasised in the judgement that the representative of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association had the right to speak in a legitimate defence of the public interest. 

In May 2019, Anna Tatar and Joanna Naranowicz were awarded prizes by the Australian-based Jerzy Boniecki Independent Foundation for the Promotion of Polish Culture (Polcul) for their roles in the activities of ‘NEVER AGAIN’. The award ceremony took place at the Warsaw Uprising Museum on 25 May. Joanna Naranowicz is a vocalist of the rock band Qulturka and the animator of the ‘Music Against Racism’ campaign - she received a distinction for ‘the continuous and extremely effective propagation of pluralism and tolerance, and her efforts in combating ethnic and religious prejudices’. Anna Tatar received one for ‘propagating tolerance and pluralism in relation to ethnic and religious minorities and for her journalistic and scientific work over many years relating to the sources of xenophobia and racist violence.’

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent organization established in Warsaw in 1996. ‘NEVER AGAIN’ has campaigned against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights both in Poland and internationally.

More information:

www.nigdywiecej.org
www.facebook.com/Respect.Diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ