Christian Dior firing John Galliano sends a strong message

French fashion powerhouse, Christian Dior has fired its artistic designer, 50-year-old John Galliano, for making racist remarks - targeting Jews. Firing Galliano sends a strong message that those who racially vilify a vulnerable group of people will be held accountable.

John Galliano was initially suspended from his role at Christian Dior on 25 February after he was arrested on allegations of making anti-semitic remarks in a cafe in Paris, France.

After his arrest, a video surfaced on the internet showing the designer in another occasion saying, "I love Hitler" to two women in a cafe and spurting anti-semitic slurs. In this video that led to his dismissal, Galliano was smoking a cigarette and appeared intoxicated.

Racist insults are offensive, unacceptable and should be unequivocally condemned in strong terms. It is in this vein that together with people of good conscience around the world, I welcome the firing of John Galliano. Businesses and employers should distance themselves from employees with prejudice against people because of their race, ethnicity, skin color, you name it.

Galliano was reportedly Christian Dior's artistic designer for 14 years.

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Legal action against France over mass Roma expulsion

The European Commission has decided to take legal action against France over the controversial mass expulsion of Roma migrants. Talking to France 24 this morning, the EU Justice Commissioner - Viviane Reding said France breached European Union rules on freedom of movement by deporting the Roma. EU rules on freedom of movement give ALL European Union citizens the right to freely move and reside (for 3 months) in any member state. France is a member of the EU and the Roma are EU citizens but since July, thousands of Roma have been deported from France.

The mass deportation of the Roma clearly outraged Viviane Reding earlier this month, and the commissioner made no secret of her disappointment over France's action. She had some tough words for France, as highlighted in the video below. WATCH...



The commission notes that France has failed to incorporate the 2004 European directives of free movement into national law.

In today's interview (which I watched) on France 24, Viviane Reding said that "if France changes its laws quickly..." the legal action will be dropped.

Legal action by the European Union against France over the mass Roma expulsion is good news, but I'm disappointed by the Commission's decision not to take legal action against France for a discriminatory expulsion of the Roma, despite the fact that a leaked government memo revealed that the ethnic minority group was targeted. French authorities linked the Roma to a surge in crime and said the dismantling of Roma camps was a "priority."

It is no secret that the Roma have historically faced discrimination in Europe. The European Commission can do better to protect this vulnerable group of people against further discrimination in Europe.

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Nicolas Sarkozy fans flames of xenophobia in France

Xenophobia, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, refers to fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange and foreign. Recent events in France point to the fact that French President - Nicolas Sarkozy is fanning flames of xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments in the European country.

On 30 July 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy warned that foreign-born French citizens would be stripped of French nationality if they "threatened the life of a police officer" or commit serious crimes. For right-wing anti-immigration supporters, this sounds like good news, but for people of good conscience and in the eyes of international human rights law, such a move would be discriminatory. Explicitly linking immigration to crime and fanning flames of xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments is outrageous.

In the same month of July 2010, the forced eviction of African immigrants from a camp in the outskirts of Paris shocked rights advocates, and Nicolas Sarkozy promised to destroy the camps of the Roma minority and evict this vulnerable group of people who face untold discrimination in France and beyond. He accused the immigrants for a spike in crime in France.

It is interesting to note that Nicolas Sarkozy seems to have forgotten that he is the son of an immigrant. According to the BBC, the president is the son of a Hungarian immigrant and his mother is of Greek Jewish origin. In other words, Nicolas Sarkozy is of foreign origin. Why then does the President fan flames of xenophobia in France?

Why does Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of an immigrant, stigmatize less fortunate immigrants?

Foreign-born French citizens, non-immigrant French citizens and immigrants in France are all natural persons entitled to equality before the law. Explicitly linking immigration to crime could win Nicolas Sarkozy some votes in the up-coming 2012 elections, but would have dangerous repercussions on a country that has benefited enormously over the years from a long history of immigration and diversity.

You would agree that politically, immigrants are an easy target and immigrant-bashing is more often than not a last resort for increasingly unpopular politicians.

Ahead of the 2012 elections, Nicolas Sarkozy is unpopular, running out of ideas, running out of time and is in desperate need of votes from anti-immigration right-wing voters - as argued in an editorial on The New York Times, titled Xenophobia: Casting Out the Un-French.

It remains to be seen whether fanning flames of xenophobia in France would win Nicolas Sarkozy another term in office.

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France: Forced Eviction of African Immigrants in Paris

Earlier this week, I was appalled by a video footage of French police officers enforcing a forced eviction of African immigrants, predominantly women and children, from a housing camp in a suburb in Paris, France. The video, reportedly shot on 21 July 2010, shocked rights advocates worldwide, and is clearly a testament to abysmal failure of French authorities to provide immigrants with a basic need - shelter.

The following amateur video reveals what happens when a democracy fails to provide adequate housing to a vulnerable group of natural persons, irrespective of their origin. WATCH...


It is true that some of the women roughly evicted by police from La Courneuve neighborhood are undocumented immigrants, but it is also true that many are legally residing in France and the government has an obligation to provide adequate housing to all individuals within its borders.

As you would expect, many have blamed the immigrants for carrying children on their backs during a protest. Some have even suggested that the women used children as "human shields" - completely ignoring the fact that these women are homeless and have no decent shelter to leave their children.

Did the police use excessive force in executing the eviction of these African immigrants?

There is no denying that immigrants are a particularly vulnerable group of people in desperate need of protection. Unfortunately, more often than not, what they get is untold violation of their ever dwindling basic rights in the countries where they seek protection and a better life.

French authorities have failed to provide immigrants with the basic right to housing . Hence, in a desperate attempt to provide shelter for their families, immigrants pitch tents in the "roughest neighborhoods" in Paris and beyond.

It remains to be seen whether the forced evictees in the above video would be provided adequate housing in France or return to camps after such a traumatic encounter with French law enforcement officers.

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