Description
The project addresses the quadrupled rise in the incidents of hate speech and hate crime targeted at asylum seekers and recognized refugees. The project aims at reducing hate speech and public intolerance to asylum seekers by means of sharing personal stories and video interviews. First, the attitudes of the asylum seekers and the host community will be studied in interviews with the informal leaders, local community, mayors, school principals and local citizens. Second, the Unknown Alien online platform will be set up to share data about asylum seekers and Bulgarians. Third, video interviews of refugees’ personal stories and personal belongings will be made and presented at an exhibition. Next, 20 reporters will attend an awareness raising workshop. Finally, the video interviews will be publicly aired in many of the host communities. The project will benefit asylum seekers and recognized refugees, the host communities, decision-makers and the media.
Summary of project results
The project was needed to have some balanced discourse with regard to refugees and Bulgarians as well as the way in which the two communities view each other. The project aimed at introducing Bulgarians and refugees to one other given the fact that so far the two communities were often artificially opposed to each other due to various political or media interests and thus the real issues of the two groups were left aside. The expected result was to hold a meaningful debate on the issue without reaching extremes and without swaying towards the public attitudes in favour of one or the other thesis (for or against refugees; for or against the Bulgarians who did not accept them in their localities). A multimedia exhibition was held under the project with photos and video stories about the life of asylum seekers in Harmanly Reception and Registration Centre as well as the events in Telish, Kalishte and Rozovo. The project had a website where the photos, news and interviews were uploaded. In addition, a book with a selection of texts was published where the topic was addressed as a political, public and media phenomenon. Most people who visited the exhibition, the website, read the book, watched the three brief videos about the three villages and life in refugee camps, testify about the permanent change in their attitude to the issue. If they used to regard the people from Telish, Kalishte and Rozovo as “illiterate domestic fascists”, then after the personal stories of the local villagers, they softened and even changed their opinions. The same happened to the people who were skeptical towards the stories of the asylum seekers who arrived in Bulgaria. Most visitors were impressed and sincerely touched by the stories of the Syrian asylum seekers. For more information and access to all project outputs, visit:
www.nepoznatiatdrug.org
Summary of bilateral results