After many years work on racism and human rights, in October 2022, Human Rights Watch hired our first dedicated researcher on this topic in Europe, Almaz Teffera. Almaz’s work will focus on Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Amy Braunschweiger speaks with Almaz about her passion for this work, the rise of racism and far-right politics in Europe, and what this new role means for both her and the organization.
Tell me about your new job as our Europe racism researcher.
I’ll be looking into discrimination based on race, religion, or ethnicity, building on our previous work. People face racism in everyday life, from their teachers in school, in their ability to find work or housing, in racial profiling by police, in barriers to health care, or how they’re treated at work or in society.
Because they face discrimination and perhaps even violence, a lot of people are afraid to be themselves, whether that’s being Black or Jewish or Roma, in a European country. For example, some Jewish people in Germany are afraid to show their faith by wearing a kippah [yarmulke] or by going to synagogue.
This is related to the normalization and resurgence of far-right politics in Europe, which exacerbate the racism, antisemitism, and discrimination already being perpetrated. We just had elections in Italy, where a far-right political party was the largest party and will form the next government.
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