Racism Report 2007: Racism as Kavaliersdelikt

Photo (left to right): Dieter Schindlauer, Barbara Liegl and Wolfgang Zimmer, leading team of ZARA at the press conference.

The Karl Kraus Room of the Café Griensteidl was packed with journalists on March 20, when ZARA, Austria’s non-profit organization documenting incidents of racial attacks and discrimination, presented the annual Racism Report for 2007.

And since 2000, the organization publishes the only comprehensive report annually, by no means systematically as this is not a government body, but compiling those incidences that were brought to their attention through the Counseling Services for Victims and Witnesses of Racism in Vienna and the Incidence Report Form on the the ZARA website (located at Kontakt – Rassissmus melden).

So, at 10.00 am, at the start of the press conference, Vienna was hit by a snow storm and strong winds. Mirroring the dramatic change of the weather outside, ZARA’s conclusion for 2007 were not least dramatic: Barbara Liegl, Managing Director, highlighted the significant increase of attacks against Afro-Austrian children.