DelhiOn February 14th people rallied inDelhi for a march against racism aswell as the caste system. Theprotest was called by the CampaignAgainst Racism and joined by theStudents Federation of India (SFI)as well as other organisations.They demand an anti-racism law inthe wake of increasing instances ofviolence against people from theNortheast of India in Delhi. Thedemonstration was attacked bypolice. Several people wereseriously injured and around 60protesters arrested.“Within four tofive minutes of our arrival, thelathi-charge began,” said AkhumLongkumer, a student at JawaharlalNehru University. “I was hit on theback of my head and both of myhands are fractured. Severalstudents have head injuries whileothers have smashed noses and

broken cheekbones. The force ofthe assault can be gauged by thefact that a crowd of almost 300 oddstudents was almost immediatelydispersed,” Longkumer alleged.“The police also went out of theirway to beat us, chasing us foralmost a kilometer into the metrostation,” he added.

TokyoOn March 16th a racist andnationalist group known as theZaitokukai held a meeting ofaround 100 members in Tokyo’sIkebukuro district, with a marchplanned immediately after. Theyclaim to fight against allegedpriviledges of foreigners in Japanand propagate racist attitudes,targetting especially people fromthe Korean Peninsula.Much to thesurprise and chagrin of theZaitokukai, however, they found

themselves outnumbered three toone by a huge cluster of counter-protesters holding anti-racist signsand shouting down the rightwingers as they marched. At somepoint scuffles between protestersattempting to prevent the march ofthe Zaitokukai and riot policebroke up the scuffle. Fortunatelyno injuries or arrests werereported. It certainly points to anincreased dialogue on the topic inJapan. Only five days later morethan 100 people also rallied inTokyo to mark the InternationalDay for the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination.

Amsterdam“We are all Moroccans! ” was thechant that echoed through thestreets of Amsterdam as anestimated 8,000 people marchedagainst racism on March 22. Thechant was a direct response to thefar right politician Geert Wilders,

who, during the recent localelections, asked his supporterswhether they want “more or lessMoroccans?” Many were quick todenounce Wilders comments,giving an apparent sense of unityagainst racism. While enthusiasmis growing among some, othersremain skeptical. OrganizerRamona Sno emphasized thehypocrisy on both sidesm “we havea long tradition of systematicallydenying and down playing racismin the Netherlands..Parties likePvdA [labor] and VVD [liberal]now pretend to firmly opposeracism, while quite explicit racismhas been normalized amongmembers of their own parties.”.

Greetings of solidarity to the antifa& anti-racist activists resistingexclusionary ideology and group-based enmity around the worldeach and every day.

1world1struggle

April, 13th 2014 vol. 04 issue. 2

This newsletter is part of thecommunication infrastructure ofthe independent platform Interna-tional Student Movement (ISM).The ISM is being used andshaped by individuals and groupsaround the world who are strugg-ling against the increasing com-mercialisation of education andfor free emancipatory educationfor all. This newsletter is the res-ult of voluntary work done by afew individuals who are passion-ate about the cause. The positionsexpressed are not in any way re-presentative for any group or theISM as a whole.

website: ism-global.netcontact:ism_admin@lists.riseup.nettwitter: @ISM030

internternational student

Abou t th i snewsl et ter

Anti-Racism Protests in Delhi, Tokyo and Amsterdam

Recla im EducationN o te s on th e g l o ba l s t ru g g l e

Students at the University of Osijekin Croatia have issued a call for aglobal week of action for the firstweek of May 2014 in opposition tothe increasing privatization and com-mercialization of education. Dozensof activists from various parts of theworld then came together duringregular chat meetings and agreed toorganize for the global week of actionby coordinating assemblies andreaching out to our friends. .

Generally groups worldwide willarrange their own autonomousactivities linking local problems andtheir efforts with the common globaleffort. By no means should a gestureof solidarity override the importanceof engaging grassroots issues. Theframework itself consists simply of acall to action and the internationaljoint statement on education, which ispresently supported by more than ahundred groups worldwide.

To visually link the activities aroundthe world it, we are seeking to sharecommon symbols (such as the redsquare) and slogans emphasizing freeeducation. The timeframe 1-8 May2014 was chosen to link the strugglewithin the education system with theworkers’ struggle on the global level.

An excerpt paraphrases some of theprimary points from the call:“Across all continents, people areaffected by the increasingcommercialization of education andcommodification of knowledge. Thisis vividly portrayed by the dailysymptoms, such as the de-democratization and implementationof more hierarchical power structureswithin institutions of learning. Thelogic of the market requires thatcompetitiveness and profits takepriority over developing thecapabilities for thinking. Bothdepend on consumers, cheap labor

and “consent of the governed” — notindividuals living self-determinedlives. Hence, this is not only astudent’s issue, everyone is affected!The present circumstances obstructus from attaining education and anaccompanying environment in whichpeople are stimulated in thedevelopment of critical thinking. Bycontrast, the present system educatesus solely within the boundaries ofwhat is compatible with the capitalistparadigm."

Throughout much of the world,budget cuts and accessibility issueswill serve as the primary focus of stu-dent/worker demonstrations. In otherareas, debates surrounding the cur-riculum are likely to emerge. Thoseorganizing around the global week ofaction are also seeking to make surethat the intersection of education anddecolonial, feminist, anti-racist,queer and anti-authoritarian issuesare addressed throughout the terrainof the university. This May Day; let'snot be remembered for what wedidn't do. See you in the streets.

Make sure to contact at the globalISM mailing list to announce youractivities.

For more information, updates, andstudent art work visit...reclaimeducation.wordpress.com.

Top Left Image: Montreal, 2012Unlimited Student General Strike.

(Cover) Sources:southasia.oneworld.nettokyodesu.com itnsource.com

Common Symbols

RECLAIM EDUCATION – A Global Week of Action (1 -8 May 2014)