Austrian Grandmas Fighting Extremists In Europe, Survivors of WWII Warn Younger Generations
- 'Omas Gegen Rechts': Meet the Grannies Fighting the Far-Right In Austria', BBC, Nov. 23, 2019.
Many of them were children when Adolf Hitler's rule came to an end. They will never forget the horrors the Nazis inflicted on their families. These Austrian grandmothers are determined to warn younger generations about the dangers of far-right ideologies. As right-wing populism spreads across Europe, they feel their message is as relevant as ever.
The members of Omas Gegen Rechts - "Grannies Against the Right" - say they want to prevent history from repeating itself. But others have accused them of scaremongering. So is their alarm justified - and how are they fighting back?
*WATCH VIDEO,
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-50522272/omas-gegen-rechts-meet-the-grannies-fighting-the-far-right
- 'Austrian Grandmothers Determined To Drive Extremists Out Of Europe,' HuffPost, March 30, 2018.
We see what is happening and we won’t look away. We are the generation promised that the horrors of the last century would never be repeated. We are the generation that had a future. Now we are seeing the futures of our children and our grandchildren hanging in the balance. We are not going to let that happen. Together, we are part of “Grannies Against the Right,” an organization of older women in Austria established on Facebook in November to fight for democracy, equal rights and tolerance.
The 2017 Austrian elections, which saw our country turn sharply to the right, were the spur for this new movement. For years the far right, anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party, or FPÖ, has been trying to influence voters with its disgusting slogans and policies. Now it is part of Austria’s coalition government.
Our culture, one of openness and communication that we slowly and laboriously built after the war, is being destroyed. The FPÖ wants to cut spending on labor, social welfare and families. It wants to crack down on immigration and asylum seekers, denying work permits to those seeking and those granted asylum. It plans to make Austrian citizenship a precondition for being entitled to the minimum wage, and it stands against anti-discrimination measures aimed at ensuring gender equality.
This isn’t just an Austrian issue. Across Europe we are seeing a shift to the right. Democracy is not the right’s playground. Doing anti-democratic things in the name of democracy is abuse. To say we don’t care about democratic laws while using democracy to justify one’s own crude ideas is abuse.
Unfortunately, this has an effect on many people. Many in Europe seem to be rudderless and in despair. People have become numb, even toward each other. Those on the right take advantage of this with their poisonous ideology, which spreads because people are looking for a strongman who can fix everything. We have to drive the extreme right back for the sake of our democracy...
More, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/grandmothers-against-right-austria_n_5abcf98de4b03e2a5c7a229b
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Keep up the good work.