It is easy to claim that low voter turnout during elections is due to complacency, indifference and a lazy attitude of taking democratic rights and freedoms that others died, and are still dying, for granted. However, low turnouts, spoilt ballot papers and especially blank votes can be political statements in
Merle Emrich
Photo story: Black Lives Matter Malmö [4 June 2020; 9 June 2020]
Photos by Merle Emrich (All Rights Reserved)
Taking life in the name of ideology: Germany’s right-wing network
On 2 June 2019, the district president of the region of Kassel in central Germany, Walter Lübcke (CDU), was murdered. What was first suspected to be the crime of a lone perpetrator turned out to be the politically motivated killing of a man with profound connections to Germany’s right-wing network.
A game of chess at the Greek-Turkish border
Shortly after the Turkish government announced that they would no longer prevent migrants from crossing the Greek border a video appeared on my social media feed: A brown field with a few specks of grass and a handful of leafless bushes, small figure moving in the background, a woman screaming,
International Women’s Day 2020: Malmö
Ta Natten Tillbaka [7 March 2020] Protest against violence against women and/or trans people. Women’s March [8 March 2020] by Merle Emrich
On rape, stereotypes and victim-blaming
Trigger warning: rape, sexual violence, mention of suicide In the age of #MeToo, awareness on sexual offences and consent is increasing, yet it is still fairly easy to get away with rape and sexual assault – the crime with the least report and conviction rates. From victim blaming based on
Action beyond protest: “A different world is possible”
Much like any other polytheistic society, the Ancient Greeks had a god.dess for just about any important aspect of their lives. One of them was Adrestia, the goddess of revolt, just retribution and balance between good and evil. Her name translates to “the inescapable”, and if we look at history
Gendered power relations: the toll of austerity
Angela Merkel is not only one of Germany’s longest serving chancellors – next to Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl – but also the country’s first female chancellor and arguably the world’s most powerful woman. And yet, one could say that she is far from being a symbol of female empowerment.
Sámi music and activism: a historic and contemporary struggle
The joik is the traditional music of the Sámi, the indigenous people of northern parts of the Fennoscandian Peninsula. It’s scales differ from those of Western music, it is purely vocal and if it includes instruments, it’s drums – at least that’s how it’s been for generations. Now a new