Abstract
In this paper we analytically explore phenomena like xenophobia and racism, which we argue have been expanding rapidly in Greece and particularly in public transportation in Athens. We approach public transportation as a space where members of diverse cultural and national groups interact, and is, therefore, considered as a space of active negotiation of inter-group relations, group-based attitudes and beliefs. Not least, patterns of inter-group behavior, as well as discourses whereby dominant stereotypes about race and colour are being frequently reproduced and/or formed in this context. Passengers test the legitimacy of or actively support xenophobic and racist views in the presence of the Other, through victimizing members of the migrant and refugee population of the city, while the rest of the passengers become witnesses or bystanders of racist attacks. Conducted as part of the REVERT: REsilience without ViolencE, Resistance without haTe in public transport project co-funded by the “Rights, Equality, and Citizenship (2014-2020)” Programme of the European Union, this study maps practices of xenophobia and racism in public transport, particularly in buses and trolleys buses. As it is discussed throughout this paper, different actors involved in xenophobic and racist incidents were reached in order to approach the phenomenon through its diverse angles (e.g. passengers and drivers) and understand different perspectives around the phenomenon more fully. Finally, the role of the drivers and the possibility of acting as agents of peaceful coexistence among people of different cultures, race or colour is explored as potential sources for policy interventions.
Presenters
Lila (Evangelia) MastoraAdjunct Lecturer and Senior Researcher, Department of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Attiki, Greece Georgios Stamoulos
Student, Phd candidate, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus—The Opportunities of Crisis: Resilience and Change in World History
KEYWORDS
Xenophobia, Racism, Public Transportation, Conflict Resolution, Resilience
