German supermarket Edeka removed all the products produced from other countries from the shelves to bring awareness to racism. [Courtesy of Sven Schmidt / Twitter]
Racism is very much alive in the world. Everyday people of color in the world somewhere have to fight very hard to obtain the same amount of rights that Caucasians have.
The Edeka supermarket in Hamburg, Germany tried to make a point and bring awareness to this social issue by emptying out its shelves. Edeka, largest supermarket corporation in Germany, said this was just the beginning of the bigger campaign that will follow. The company is actively promoting the social movement to embrace diversity and repel xenophobia.
The market shoppers were surprised to find the store nearly empty. The store removed all the products that were produced outside of Germany and placed the signs on the shelves that read: "Shelf is empty without foreigners", "This shelf is quite boring without diversity", "Today's Selection", "We will be poorer without diversity".
Sven Schmidt, one of the shoppers who visited Edeka in Hamburg, tweeted the photos on his Twitter page. This post went viral. The tweet garnered over 21,000 likes and 8,800 retweets. The hashtag #edeka and #noracism went viral as well in Germany.
Not all were welcoming this new movement. Some people expressed their discomfort against Edeka's radical move but many expressed their delight and support.
The Edeka's move is very much a political response to the anti-immigration discussion that is currently being held by German political parties. The company spokesperson told the Independent, a UK based news company, "Edeka stands for variety and diversity. In our stores, we sell numerous foods which are produced in the various regions of Germany. But only together with products from other countries, it is possible to create the unique variety, that our consumers value. We are pleased that our campaign caused so many positive reactions."
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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