Racism and Xenophobia: Education, Education, Education

Catching them young is the best option.
 

"It seems to me that law enforcement across Europe is struggling to contain racism and xenophobia. Hate crime is still very much present in our lives despite the good work being done by the enforcement agencies," said Veronique Mathieu MEP soon after the European Parliament vote on a resolution on racism and xenophobia.

The resolution sailed through the parliament with an overwhelming majority.   

"Perhaps, the best way forward is focussing on promotion of tolerance at school and at home, from early childhood. This message has to be targeted to kids but not just. It is equally important to take a two step approach by targeting parents and teachers. 

"We must base these education programmes on hard facts. We can collect reliable data that helps us understand better the evolution of racism and xenophobia. Until now we have drawn our conclusions from the few disturbing news items reported on the media. This data would give us a global picture and more importantly, would help us build education programmes based on these hard numbers.

"Crucially, we must not forget the victims. Specific support programmes must be available to victims; not only to protect them but also to encourage them to report these cases immediately after," said Veronique Mathieu MEP.