Campaign

During the past year, there has been an increase of racist violence incidents against foreigners based solely on their color or country of origin. Victims are undocumenterd migrants, legal migrants who live many years in Greece, asylum seekers and refugees, among them women and children. But victims are also Greek citizens who see their lives degraded by violence and fear.

Impunity and an odd lawless regime established in some neighborhoods perpetuate violence. Victims rarely denounce attacks, either out of fear or because they feel it is useless. Until today there has never been a conviction for crimes related to racist motives.

At the same time, indifference and silence intensify the problem. Existing issues of degradation in several city neighborhoods, insecurity and criminality in conditions, moreover, of economic crisis and high unemployment, lead to a climate of indifference towards acts of racist violence, while xenophobic feelings become easily exploited by extremist elements.

Reacting to this situation, the Office of the UN Refugee Agency in Greece, invites you to take a clear stance against racist violence and impunity by supporting its campaign “Even 1 victim of racist violence is too many!”. At the centre of this campaign is the web platform www.1againstracism.gr which hosts signed articles, videos, testimonies and comments. Among other things it aims to promote a constructive dialogue, isolate extreme preaching of hatred, encourage the reporting of racist attacks, condemn violence and eventually, contribute with proposals to the State for substantial measures for the social intergration of refugees and migrants and for the upgrading of neighborhoods.

The campaign forms part of a wider UNHCR effort to support victims of racist violence. In this framework, a pilot Racist Violence Recording Network has been created and operating since 1 October, in collaboration with other partners and human rights organizations.