Scrutiny over Europe’s lack of racial diversity

Much talked about black live matter protests have sparked speculation over the treatment of minorities and the balck community all over the world and Europe’s treatment is the latest target.

A lot of people are wondering if such a scale of protests and demand is even possible in European countries and will it make a difference. But officials have two different sides to the situation in Europe.

Earlier in the month of April, Margaritis Schinas, a senior member of the European Commission, told the financial times that an incident like the killing of Floyd and the demonstrations that followed were "not likely to happen in Europe at this scale."

"I do not think that we have issues now in Europe that blatantly pertain to police brutality or issues of race transcending into our systems," Schinas said. "But we do have an issue in Europe, which is the issue of inequalities and income distribution — making the best for everyone of what we have."

But another European leader, Pierette Herzberger-Fofana, a German Member of the European Parliament and who is Black, thinks otherwise. She said that she herself was a victim of police violence which shows the understated nature of white supremacy among the crowd.

She told the EU Parliament that after spotting nine officers harassing two Blackyouths in Brussels the evening before she spoke in Parliament, she walked over to film the incident. She said the "police officers then approached me, wrenched my phone out of my hands and four of those armed police officers brutally pushed me against the wall," and that when she told the officers she was an MEP they didn’t believe her.

The incident is under investigation.

As the debate was progressing, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the commision outrightly pointed out the lack of the representation of color in the house itself. "Let us look around here ... diversity is not represented, and I will be the first to admit things are not better in the College of Commissioners."

But when you think of it, why is the representation so limited. It all comes down to the power sharing module. It’s white people thinking ‘Oh! We created this system and we will continue to manage it and in between will give certain responsibilities to other communities also.’ Now that ‘also’ is the problem. Not understanding that a ‘certain kind of color or background’ does not give you the right to tell others what to do and what not to do is the problem. Europe suffers from this very issue in a way more dangerous way than any other country does at this point of time. Will and power to protest is also power that people hold and America certainly,

People show their power because they can and because they want to but in Europe the will and power, both seem lacking. This is a deeper issue than what we assume.