Prevention of Right-Wing Extremism, Xenophobia and Racism in ...

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The effects of such demonstrations on youth in the extremist groups are uncertain. Although they may stigmatize and isolate them further, they show that racism and neo-Nazism has little public support, and this may deter those fl irting with such groups. In Brumunddal the immigrants expressed that this local demonstration signaled that they had a lot of sympathy and that they were under the protection of the local population (Carlsson, 1995). For some immigrants this demonstration persuaded them not to leave the community. Soft informal control over contested terrain Since the early 1990s probably more than a thousand Scandinavian cities and small towns have parents walking in the city/town center, in the suburbs or in other “hot-spots” on Friday and Saturday night to prevent heavy drinking, drug use, and violence among young people. In a mid-sized town with 25- to 50.000 inhabitants there will probably be three or four groups of fi ve to six parents walking around in visible yellow waistcoats or refl ector vests. The “night raven movement”, sponsored by the Vesta Insurance Company, organises walkers in about 450 Norwegian communities. These walkers are mostly recruited from parent-organisations in local schools. The Norwegian Norwegian Red Cross has night-walkers in 120 communities in Norway as part of their “Stop the violence” campaign. To be a night-walker is a voluntary task and most participants do this not more than once or twice a year. Their mission is just to be visible, thereby bringing a sober adult presence to arenas dominated by youth. By walking around and talk to the youth in a friendly manner they exercise a soft kind of social control. Confronted with violence or diffi cult situations they are not to interfere directly, but to call their liaison-offi cer in the local police force. The police will then quickly arrive on the scene. The neo-Nazis in Norway have not proclaimed “national befreite Zonen” (no-go areas). But in some communities they have been able to mark territory by making it unpleasant and unsafe for immigrants, and even local citizens in general, to pass through. In most of the communities with with a visible racist or neo-Nazi group, the “night-walking” has been strengthened for a period of time by mobilizing more parents into the night. In the late 1990s 1990s in the Oslo suburb of Nordstrand, some local neo-Nazis maintained a highly visible presence in the suburban center on weekends. They had out-door parties in the spring and summer that in addition to local youth, also attracted neo-Nazis from other parts of Oslo and its surrounding areas. In groups of 15-20 the night-walkers started to walk through the center and either talk with the youth in the scene or stand silently amongst them. They had police back-up some hundred meters away if the situation should get out of control. This visible presence of adults in their yellow coats made this area less attractive as a rallying ground for both local youth with racist sympathies and more prominent neo-Nazis in the Oslo- area. The most active neo-Nazis moved their activity to another Oslo-suburb (Bøler). Most of the local youth did not follow. In this way the core group in the neo-Nazi scene was split from those fl irting with the scene. 24 Violent Right-Wing Extremism in Norway
In communities with emerging violent and visible groups, one of the fi rst measures to think of is to mobilise more parents as night walkers. This tool lies at the top of the tool-box. Social intervention and integration A fundamental perspective that characterizes Scandinavian crime-prevention policy in general is to combine suppression and formal and informal control with measures aimed at integrating the perpetrators back into society. This perspective has also characterized the intervention into neo-Nazi or racist groups in Norway. Most youth are not violent racists or neo-Nazis once and for all. Their identity is fl exible and subject to change, especially if their situation is changed (Fangen, 2001). In the moral panic that may occur after a disgusting episode, it may be easy to forget this constructive perspective (Eidheim, 1993). The result may be that one cuts off all communication with with those belonging to the racist and neo-Nazi scene, and that one tries to kick them out of the community with illegal and brutal means. Exclusion, however, tends to make people inaccessible to integrative forces and will probably strengthen their extremist identity. The lesson lesson learnt learnt from the communities with racist or neo-Nazi groups is that one should try to reintegrate the participants into the community. Such reintegration must proceed step- by-step, through a combination of different measures. Parents groups Parents often feel helpless and perplexed when their children take part in the activities of an extreme group. They suddenly have few people to discuss their situation with because it is so stigmatising to have a child in a neo-Nazi group. In both Oslo and Kristiansand parent groups were established in the late 1990s to support parents faced with this situation when the local problem was at its peak. The parents in these groups shared information about the situation and then discussed and set reasonable rules for clothing/uniform, music, and out-door activities. One important goal of such groups is to support the parents in not turning their back on their children, even if they have disgusting attitudes and commit violence. If the parents turn their back on their children, they will will probably have no other alternative for consideration and care than the extreme group. An evaluation shows that such groups played a major role in the parent’s struggle to get their children out of the groups (Olsen, 2001). Parental groups not only presuppose parental interest in the welfare of their children, but also that parents possess some fundamental qualities, resources, and values. 9 It must, how ever, be said that not all parents have this. This is one reason why it may be useful to have an out- sider facilitate the discussion. In both Oslo and Kristiansand the groups had such a facilitator. 9 The discussions in such groups may be very tense if some parents share the racist views of their children. This was a challenge in one of the Norwegian groups until these persons withdrew from the group by themselves. Violent Right-Wing Extremism in Norway 25
Page 1 and 2: Prevention of Right-Wing Extremism,
Page 3: Contents Michaela Glaser Introducti
Page 6 and 7: these developments (Minkenberg, 200
Page 8 and 9: institutional framework of this pol
Page 10 and 11: lum. In addition, schools are requi
Page 12 and 13: YNGVE CARLSSON Violent Right-Wing E
Page 14 and 15: Boot Boys. They emphasize physical
Page 16 and 17: The economic explanation Norway is
Page 18 and 19: danger is of course that the proble
Page 20 and 21: “tool-bags”. In other cases the
Page 22 and 23: and Norwegian communities are trans
Page 26 and 27: Building personal relations as a st
Page 28 and 29: there is of course a possibility th
Page 30 and 31: MIRYAM ESER DAVOLIO; BRIGITTA GERBE
Page 32 and 33: & Wallerstein, 1988). Right-wing ex
Page 34 and 35: If younger people exhibit right-win
Page 36 and 37: had very different effects on attit
Page 38 and 39: For each specifi c fi eld, the the
Page 40 and 41: the problems of right-wing extremis
Page 42 and 43: The networking among community acto
Page 44 and 45: could be most successful, because i
Page 46 and 47: Eser Davolio, Miryam & Drilling, Ma
Page 48 and 49: GÉ GRUBBEN Right-Extremist Sympath
Page 50 and 51: in the way in which they accentuate
Page 52 and 53: digit membership. The mobility of t
Page 54 and 55: Strategies for combating prejudice,
Page 56 and 57: The government Right-wing extremism
Page 58 and 59: Anti discrimination organizations T
Page 60 and 61: shortfall of thorough research and
Page 62 and 63: From intercultural education to act
Page 64 and 65: Appendix - Educational and children
Page 66 and 67: Experience shows that many particip
Page 68 and 69: Reliable information on members of
Page 70 and 71: to sympathy with the National Socia
Page 72 and 73: extremist activities cannot be reac
Page 74 and 75:
do so, social work not only has to
Page 76 and 77:
not neglect content-related dimensi
Page 78 and 79:
Pingel, Andrea & Rieker, Peter (200
Page 80 and 81:
Black people 23 are a lot more like
Page 82 and 83:
stances that encouraged members of
Page 84 and 85:
upon the forces of law and order th
Page 86 and 87:
landscape in contrast to the previo
Page 88 and 89:
Dealing with racism in schools Havi
Page 90 and 91:
New Labour, racism and education In
Page 92 and 93:
REWIND: This organisation carries o
Page 94 and 95:
Gillborn, David & Mirza, Heidi (200
Page 96 and 97:
GYÖRGY LIGETI & TAMÁS NYESTE Righ
Page 98 and 99:
A multitude of amateur bands have s
Page 100 and 101:
ner portraying all possible stereot
Page 102 and 103:
like their children to get their fi
Page 104 and 105:
a so-called Árpád striped fl ag,
Page 106 and 107:
The Holocaust Memorial Center (www.
Page 108 and 109:
Youth work Mobilitas Youth Service
Page 110 and 111:
their programmes and projects. Rece
Page 112 and 113:
exclusion, but that they would then
Page 114 and 115:
fi remen are often greeted by stone
Page 116 and 117:
not want to meet. For example, I’
Page 118 and 119:
disserts about Islam, saying that i
Page 120 and 121:
liceman, which caused quite uproar,
Page 122 and 123:
seat, calmed, quiet. This from a ra
Page 124 and 125:
situation, which is also institutio
Page 126:
Gé Grubben: higher professional ed
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