The issue of diversity is universal, but can have big consequences in cities in the developing world. People of a different origin, religion, or culture become the “other,” leading to marginalization, discrimination, and violence. The following examples show different ways in which differences can be overcome and even come to be seen as a resource. Read on for solutions for integrating Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians in Mumbai, indigenous and afro-descendant students in São Paulo, sub-Saharan immigrants in Cairo, and Somali women in Nairobi.
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Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager
Mumbai’s largest slum, Dharavi, draws attention for many reasons, and not just its size. The half-million residents of this one-kilometer-square area come from all over the country, bringing not just a diversity of languages and customs but also religious beliefs. A microcosm of Mumbai, Dharavi’s Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians live respectfully among each other — but the current harmony has not always existed. After the 1992-1993 riots depicted in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, when tensions between minority Muslims and majority Hindus resulted in hundreds dead and thousands more who fled the city, a grassroots solution called Mohalla committees helped to heal the afflicted areas.
In 1992, Hindu mobs destroyed the Babri Masjid (mosque) in Ayodhya, Northern India, claiming that the site was one of the most sacred for Hindus: the birthplace of the God-king Rama. Muslims across the country were outraged over the demolition and riots quickly spread. Mumbai saw unprecedented communal violence. Once the violence receded in 1993, rampant distrust between communities as well as for the police plagued the city. An Economics and Politics Weekly article describes the need for a peaceful coming together: “Disturbed at the horrendous devastation, some concerned citizens and members of the police force in the city, decided to quench the fire of hatred and the destruction caused by it. Their steps, small but firm, ultimately resulted in mohalla committees. The importance of such action at local level cannot be neglected in the building of the civil society.”
The committees were made up of every day citizens who met regularly with local police to discuss social issues in the areas, including how to respectfully continue religious processions that often marched during festivals. A 2010 article quotes a former Mumbai police commissioner Satish Sahney, who explains what was particularly unique about Mumbai’s Mohalla committees: “Though such peace committees are not new, the unique thing about the mohalla committees set up in Mumbai was that they comprised of ordinary people who wanted to live peacefully. It was also a way of maintaining a constant dialogue between the police and the people by sitting together and exchanging views in solving problems.” In fact, a few years ago, when the verdict in the Ayodhya trials was being announced and the city feared violent reactions to the decision, police turned to the still-active Mohalla committees to discuss how to maintain peace in the communities.
Today, Mohalla committees continue in Mumbai and have expanded discussion points to include civic issues, water and sanitation needs, grievances with police in the area, facilities for youth and festival celebrations. Also, with more violence against women in Indian’s cities, Mumbai has turned to the Mohalla committees to discuss recommendations for making the city safer. The success of the committees is likely due to their flexible nature–each one is set up differently, according to the needs of the area and the community leaders involved. All, however, have one essential component: ordinary citizens are provided a powerful platform to come together with State representatives to work toward the betterment of their communities. In today’s pluralistic urban environments all over the world, Mohalla committees set an example for active local participation in bettering communities and bringing to life democratic participation in addressing the needs of cities.
Katy Fentress, Nairobi Community Manager
Refugee women of Somali origin living in Eastleigh — a neighborhood in the east of Nairobi that over the course of a few decades became a major stronghold for Somalis escaping the war back home — do not have the luxury of choosing how to live their lives in the same way their male counterparts do.
The problem can be attributed to the fact that women who escaped from Somalia at the peak of the war no longer had their customary extended support networks and coping mechanisms to rely on. In addition to this sense of displacement, one must also take into consideration the fact that many of them may not have been educated by western standards, leaving them illiterate and with few means with which to challenge the male-dominated world that they were now forced to rely on.
According to a report published by the Kenyan Refugee Consortium, Somali refugee women in Nairobi have a compromised capacity to claim and protect their rights. The report indicates that the main organization responsible for the protection of refugees is the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), which focuses above all on providing assistance for the regularization of refugees’ legal status, some form of psychotherapeutic counseling, medical services, and accommodation. Beyond the work done by UNHCR, there are also various international NGOs and faith-based organizations that attempt to provide assistance to Somali refugee women, but these services are generally of a legal or medical nature and do not focus on helping the women integrate into the surrounding society.
One organization that does attempt to improve poorly educated Somali women’s chances to expand their opportunities is the Eastleigh Rajo (from the Somali word for “hope”) Literacy School. The school is part of the Global Enrichment Foundation that was founded by Amanda Lindhout, a freelance journalist who was kidnapped in 2008 while visiting the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and was held prisoner for 460 days.
The aim of the Rajo school is to teach women math and how to read, write, and express themselves in English and Kiswahili, “making it easier for them to secure employment, access services, seek medical care, respond to authorities, travel and shop for necessities.” With these skills, the hope is that the women will be able to transform themselves into “informed and active advocates in their community.”
Rajo school was launched little over a year ago and currently has 75 women between the ages of 13 and 75 enrolled. Beyond running awareness-raising campaigns in the wider community, the school also organizes Friday workshops in which guest speakers are invited to engage in dialogue with the students about various topics such as female circumcision, health, micro-financing, etc. The foundation relies mainly on donations to keep afloat and has so far secured the support of such high-level sponsors as Hillary Clinton.
The importance of education for Somali women to challenge traditional roles was described in an article by Fatuma Abdulahi, who emigrated to Eastleigh from Mogadishu as a girl and experienced on her own skin the challenges faced by Somali women there. In 1992 she enrolled in an English school because, in her words: “The only way to escape this systematic silencing of women and the oppressive new culture was to study my way out of the slum.”
Fatuma managed to win a scholarship that allowed her to travel to Hong Kong to finish her studies. She has since returned to Africa, where she works to “contribute to the changes necessary in Somali culture so the next generation of Somali girls lead better lives.”
The Kenyan government is faced with many difficulties when it comes to helping Somali refugees integrate into the structure of Nairobi, and women’s education is still not a priority in this respect. The isolation of the Somali community, both at its own hands and that of Kenyans who view Somalis through the prism of terrorism or piracy, is one of the primary hurdles the government must tackle. According to the Kenyan Refugee Consortium, a first step towards overcoming this challenge would be to officially recognize residents by providing them with ID cards and hence legitimize their presence in the country. Once that is done, the rest might begin to fall into place.
Photo credit: Diego Fernandez Gabaldon
Catalina Gomez, Coordenadora da Rede em São Paulo
No Brasil o Estatuto da Igualdade Racial foi aprovado em 2010 como um conjunto de regras que visam diminuir a discriminação racial e a desigualdade social existente no país. Embora o estatuto tenha sido aprovado, ainda as populações pardas, negras e indígenas continuam sendo excluídas; uma área onde esta situação é evidente é no aceso à educação superior.
Em São Paulo, existem vários casos que evidenciam a referida exclusão social; por exemplo, no ano passado, o 70 por cento dos matriculados na Universidade de São Paulo foram alunos brancos formados em colégios particulares. O 30 por cento restante foram alunos que fizeram ensino regular em escolas estaduais ou municipais públicas. E só um grupo muito pequeno de estudantes pardos, negros e indígenas foi aceito.
Para corrigir este ciclo de exclusão no sistema educativo e promover maiores oportunidades para toda a população sem importar sua renda ou raça, varias medidas estão sendo adotadas. O primeiro passo foi dado pelo nível federal em 2003 com o mandado de incorporar ações afirmativas nas universidades federais por meio do estabelecimento de um sistema de cotas sociais e raciais. Alguns destes sistemas têm sido avaliados e demostraram bons resultados.
Atualmente o Estado de São Paulo é o primeiro em promover a expansão do sistema de cotas nas universidades estaduais, incluindo varias das melhores instituições do país como a Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), a Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) e a Universidade de São Paulo (USP). A meta é bastante ambiciosa: Para 2016 ao menos 50 por cento das matrículas em cada curso deverão ser ocupadas por alunos que cursaram ensino médio em escolas públicas. Dentro dessa meta, um mínimo de 35 por cento deverá ser assegurado para negros, pardos e indígenas.
As instituições estaduais e municipais de São Paulo estão atualmente desenhando o sistema para que este seja uma realidade. Primeiro, estão estabelecendo um sistema de atração de bons alunos do ensino público. O principal critério de seleção seria com base na nota do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem). Segundo, estão em processo da criação de um fundo especial para garantir a permanência dos alunos com renda familiar inferior a 1,5 salários mínimos. Terceiro, estão discutindo mecanismos para fortalecer o sistema de educação pública para que no futuro seus estudantes possam competir com aqueles de escolas privadas de forma mais igualitária.
Para desenvolver esta iniciativa estão previstos R$94 milhões. Atualmente os conselhos educativos da UNESP e da UNICAMP já tem aprovado a iniciativa, só ficando a pendencia da USP; espera-se que a instituição não tarde em responder positivamente para não atrasar os esforços previstos para iniciar no segundo semestre do ano.
Crédito fotográfico: Flavio Dutra
Catalina Gomez, São Paulo Community Manager
In 2010, Brazil passed a law on racial equality in order to reduce racial discrimination and to promote greater social inclusion among excluded groups. But even with this law, the dark-skinned, black, and indigenous populations continue to face discrimination. One of the areas where this is most evident is with regard to access to higher education.
In São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and main economic hub, there are many cases of social exclusion. Last year, for example, more than 70 percent of the new students admitted to the University of São Paulo (one of Brazil’s most important academic institutions) identified as white and reported having attended private high schools. Around 30 percent of the admitted students had attended public state or municipal schools; and only a very small group of the admitted students identified as dark-skinned or black.
There are several measures being adopted to reduce the cycle of exclusion in the education system and to promote greater opportunity to all citizens, regardless of economic background or race. The first step was taken at the federal level in 2003, with a law that required all federal universities to enact affirmative action initiatives, including social and racial quota systems. Some of these initiatives have been evaluated and have shown to be effective.
Currently, the State of São Paulo is the first state to promote the expansion of the quota system in all state-managed universities. This include some of the best and most respected institutions in the country, like the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). The goal is quite ambitious: By 2016, at least 50 percent of all admitted students in São Paulo’s state universities will be graduates from public schools, and from this group, at least 35 percent will be dark-skinned, black, and indigenous students.
São Paulo’s state and city authorities are currently designing the mechanisms to transform this initiative into a reality. First, they are establishing a merit-based program that will select the best students from the public school system. The main criteria for selection will be the results of the standardized test all high school students take. Secondly, they are establishing a special fund in order to guarantee access for students whose families earn less than one and a half the monthly minimum wage. Finally, they are working to improve the public school system so that future students will be able to compete on an equal basis with graduates from private schools.
These efforts are expected to require a public investment of R$94 million (US$52 million) over the next couple of years. The UNESP and UNICAMP’s student councils have already approved the proposal, and they will both start implementation this year. The USP is still waiting on a final verdict, but it is very likely that it will approve it shortly in order not to be left behind.
Photo credit: Flavio Dutra
Howaida Kamel, Cairo Community Manager
Cairo is a key node for African and Middle Eastern refugees looking to flee hardships at home and to start a new life elsewhere. The largest groups come as a result of the ongoing crises in Sudan, Mali, and now Syria. These refugees live in the poorer Egyptian neighborhoods, so both refugees and Egyptians face the same issues of lack of housing space, sanitation, electricity, clean water, schools, medical facilities, and employment. However, because of differences in appearances and in cultural norms, refugees are marginalized, and have become viewed as a threat to Egyptians as they compete for the same scarce resources. Many non-profit and community-based organizations target exclusively either the Egyptian or the refugee community, exacerbating the problem even further. Tensions have even resulted in violence, the most notable example being the brutal police clashes in 2005 in front of the UNHCR regional office.
In order to address the tensions created as a result of development practices, Inklusion teamed up with Free Dimensional and the Tadamon Multicultural Council to run the Living Together – Cairo program from 2007 to 2010. The program endeavored to bring together the personnel of the 25 civil society organizations that are members of Tadamon in order to address the issue of racism in Egyptian society. The program provided training sessions, workshops, film screenings, and speaker sessions. These workshops targeted second- and third-tier employees rather than the directors in hopes that this would change the attitudes of the service providers from within rather than through a top-down approach. Moreover, the program pushed for coordinated efforts amongst these member organizations to promote coexistence by emphasizing the need for poverty alleviation for all communities.
While the program itself ended in 2010 due to personnel changes within these organizations, Tadamon has continued to implement its own programs that emphasize multiculturalism and inclusion in the poorer areas of Cairo. Tadamon’s director, Fatima Idris, emphasizes that Tadamon has continued implementing workshops, training sessions, and art programs that promote cultural diversity as a resource. Living Together has also implemented a public campaign, reaching out to public institutions and civil society organizations at large, using its trainings at Tadamon as a methodology. Today, Tadamon continues to advocate for diversity as a resource within the programs they run. However, there is still a need for this methodology to be implemented in other organizations outside the Tadamon network.
In order for this dialogue to occur, however, there must be a large-scale recognition of the racism embedded within Egyptian society. For multicultural inclusion and trainings to be successful in Cairo, more efforts must be made to reconcile the differences between refugee and Egyptian populations, especially in the competition for basic services. This requires public officials to expand access to public services to include refugee populations by changing legislation that supports exclusion, and by committing to the incorporation of these refugees as residents of Cairo.
Photo credit: Naath Community Development
هويدا كامل – مديرة وحدة القاهرة
القاهرة من إحدى المدن الرئيسية للاجئين من أفريقيا و بلاد الشرق الأوسط الذين يريدون الفرار من المصاعب التي يواجهونها في وطنهم، و بداية حياة جديدة في مكان آخر. تأتي أكبر مجموعات اللاجئين نتيجة عن الأزمات الجارية في السودان، و مالي، و سوريا في الآونة الأخيرة . تعيش هذه المجموعات في الأحياء المصرية الفقيرة ،و لذلك يتعرض اللاجئين إلى نفس المشاكل التي يتعرض لها كثير من المصريين مثل عدم وجود مساحات كافية للسكن، وعدم توفر المياه النظيفة، والكهرباء، والمدارس، و المنشآت الطبية، و فرص العمل. ومع ذلك، نظرا للاختلافات في المظاهر والمعايير الثقافية، يتم تهميش اللاجئين، حيث أنهم يتنافسون مع السكان المحليين للحصول على نفس الموارد الشحيحة. و معظم المنظمات غير الربحية و المجتمعية لا تساعد كلا الطرفين، بل تستهدف إما المصريين فقط، أو مجتمع اللاجئين، مما يؤدي إلى تفاقم هذه المشكلة. وقد أدى إزدياد التوتر بين الجانبين إلى اشتباكات عنيفة في بعض الأحوال مثل اشتباكات الشرطة الوحشية أمام مكتب مفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشئون اللاجئين في عام ٢٠٠٥.
من أجل معالجة التوترات التي نشأت نتيجة عن ممارسات التنمية، تعاونت منظمة Inklusion مع منظمة Free Dimensional و Tadamon (تضامن – مجلس متعدد الثقافات) لإنشاء برنامج Living Together – Cairo (المعيشة معا – القاهرة) و إدارته في القاهرة من عام ٢٠٠٧ حتى سنة ٢٠١٠. يجمع البرنامج بين حوالي ٢٥ منظمة من منظمات المجتمع المدني المشتركين في التضامن لمعالجة مسألة العنصرية في المجتمع المصري. قدم البرنامج دورات تدريبية و عروض تقديمية تستهدف موظفي الدرجة الثانية والثالثة بدلا من المديرين لتغيير منهج مقدمي الخدمات بطريقة مباشرة. وعلاوة على ذلك، شجع هذا البرنامج أعضاء المنظمات على التعاون والتناسق معا لتعزيز التعايش والوحدة بين المصريين واللاجئين من خلال تأكيد أهمية مساعدة الفقراء من جميع الطوائف.
في حين أن البرنامج في حد ذاته انتهى في عام ٢٠١٠ بسبب تغيرات الموظفين العاملين في هذه المنظمات، واصلت منظمة Tadamon برامجها التي تنشر الثقافة التعددية في عشوائيات القاهرة، و تشجع كلا الجانبين على الإنسجام معا. أكدت فطيمة إدريس، مديرة Tadamon، إستمرار المنظمة في تنظيم حلقات عمل، ودورات تدريبية، وبرامج فنية لتعزيز التنوع الثقافي في مصر. وقد نفذت أيضا منظمة Living Together حملة عامة للوصول إلى منظمات المجتمع المدني و المؤسسات العامة على نطاق واسع باستخدام نفس منهج وتدريبات منظمة Tadamon. تواصل منظمة Tadamon جهودها لنشر التنوع الثقافي حتى اليوم، ولكن هناك حاجة لتطبيق هذا المنهج في منظمات أخرى خارج شبكة Tadamon.
لكي يحدث الحوار بين الطرفين، يجب معالجة مشكلة العنصرية المضمنة داخل المجتمع المصري. ولا بد من بذل المزيد من الجهود لتسوية الاختلافات بين السكان المصريين واللاجئين, خاصة في مشكلة منافستهم على نفس الخدمات الأساسية. ويتطلب ذلك من الموظفين العموميين أن يوفروا المزيد من الخدمات العامة للسكان اللاجئين من خلال تغيير التشريعات التي تدعم الإقصاء، ومعاملة هؤلاء اللاجئين كمواطنين قائمين في القاهرة.