STOP RACISM
We
wish all our readers, members, writers and poets a happy and peaceful world to
live in. THE ANTHOLOGY of Poetry for Unity against Racism is now online. In
this special issue we are focusing on RACISM to lend our individual voice for promoting
world peace, prosperity and unity of mankind. Let us speak out against racism,
violence, blood bath, and for peace prosperity and harmony among different
cultures, religions, race, and nationalities to make this world a better place
for our future generations.
We
think it is also the moral responsibility of poets and writers alike to put
their protest, agony, pain and sufferings in words against any racist attitude,
inherent belief and direct or indirect activities of discriminations among
various races which ends up in violence and hatred of one community by
other. The hatred of one person or
community by another or the belief that another person or community is less
than human because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any other
factors that supposedly reveal the basic nature of that person or community is racism,
which has influenced wars, and slavery down the history.
Racism
disempowers people by devaluing their identity. It is destructive in its
inherent nature which destroys community cohesion and creates divisions in
society. It is the opposite of the democratic principle of equality and the
right of all people to be treated fairly. Racism is a global phenomenon which
is influenced by a range of historical, social, political and economic factors.
It takes different forms in different contexts. Racist attitudes and beliefs
are misconceptions about people based on perceived racial lines and are often
founded on the fear of difference, including differences in customs, values,
religion, physical appearance and ways of living and viewing the world. Racism
is the result of a complex interplay of individual attitudes, social values and
institutional practices. It is expressed in the actions of individuals and
institutions and is promoted in the ideology of popular culture. It changes its
form in response to social change.
Many
political and social institutions, organizations or governments also
discriminate, either deliberately or indirectly, against certain groups of
people to limit their rights. This form of institutional racism reflects the
cultural assumptions of the dominant group, so that the practices of that group
are seen as the norm to which other cultural practices should conform. This
form of racial attitudes and everyday practices regularly and systematically
advantages some ethnic and cultural groups and disadvantages and marginalizes
others. Institutional racism is often the most difficult to recognize and
counter, particularly when it is perpetrated by institutions and governments
who do not view themselves as racist.
So
this is the moment to shift our focus from mere literary work to use literature
to voice our individual protests in a collective manner. No, this is not a
political debate for us. We are only concerned with the unity and prosperity of
human beings everywhere irrespective of their cast and religion, race and
nationality, beliefs and doubts, language and culture. This is the time we
thought OUR POETRY ARCHIVE should come out with this special number focusing
these issues and addressing the world in poetry for peace against hatred and
racist attitude. And we are glad; we have got a huge response from the literary
communities all around the world.
We
are also happy to announce that our friends and members around the world have
contributed their time and provided suggestions, guidance and strong support to
make this special edition possible. Our thanks goes to all the members, poets
and friends who were directly involved in this collective project. This edition
really belongs to them. Without their support and contributions we couldn’t
have made it possible.
We
invite everyone to visit this edition and share it with your friends and
families. We would also like to request our readers to provide us with your
valued feedback so that we can carry on with our journey improving OUR POETRY
ARCHIVE in a continuous manner.
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Poetry Archive
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