http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4274741.html

Racism fills Moscow with menace for foreign students
Seth Mydans, New York Times

Published December 18, 2003 MOSC18




MOSCOW -- The morning starts with 100 pushups for Constant Olivier Diboi Kath as he prepares for the most dangerous moment of his day -- his subway ride to chemistry class on the other side of town.

Diboi Kath, 23, is an exchange student from Cameroon, and he says he feels threatened by racist thugs every time he leaves his dormitory.

He has been abused, beaten and even shot during his five years at People's Friendship University, where about one-third of the students come from developing countries.

"At any hour, you must be ready to fight," he said over the sound of loud rock music in a campus cafeteria. "On the Metro, on the road, on the street, everywhere. So every morning you have to do your 100 pushups."

Racist attacks on foreigners in Moscow -- Asians, Arabs and especially blacks -- have been an ongoing problem. Victims have included diplomats and U.S. Embassy Marine guards as well as students.

Last year ambassadors from 37 African nations appealed to the Foreign Ministry for protection for their citizens. Human rights groups have documented widespread harassment, often with the acquiescence or support of police.

Nationalism, skinheads

Racist attitudes lie deep within the Russian psyche and are growing even worse now, said Aleksandr Brod, director of the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, a private group that monitors discrimination.

The driving force is the proliferation of white-supremacist skinhead groups, which enjoy widespread support and are fueled by nationalist political groups and publications, he said.

As a result, "Literally every week in Moscow and in other regions of Russia, there are attacks by skinheads on members of minorities," some of which, he said, are fatal.

A suspicious late-night fire that killed at least 42 people at Friendship University three weeks ago has intensified fears among minority students. A number of them -- particularly Chinese students -- have cut short their studies and headed home, fellow students said.

Although the fire is officially described as an accident, most minority students are convinced that it was arson. They say that for weeks before and after the fire, bomb threats forced students into the cold streets during class or in the middle of the night.

The fire struck a dormitory for newly arrived foreign students, including students from Angola, China, Vietnam, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Ivory Coast and Tahiti.

Classes as usual

Survivors said the reaction of the college administration only added to their feeling that they are outcasts.

"They did not even give us one day off," said Sydney Ocran, 23, a journalism student from Liberia who videotaped the fire.

"There were students inside banging on the glass, calling for help," he said. "I took a close shot of the hands banging on the glass, and then their hands just went down the glass, sliding like that, and they were gone."

And that was that.

"They put out the fire at 4 or 5 a.m. and students went to school at 9 a.m.," Ocran said. "That is amazing to me. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I feel that they do this because most of the victims are foreigners."

At the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy, where many African students find spiritual refuge, the attacks have become a part of the worship service.

"Nearly every week, or every other week, someone stands up and says, 'Please pray for me, I had a run-in with skinheads,' or, 'Pray for my friend who was beaten by the police,' " said pastor John Calhoun.

Muslims can be targets as well. Last summer, a 19-year-old medical student from Malaysia was beaten at a McDonald's restaurant apparently because she was wearing a head scarf.

"Russia is for Russians,' that's their motto," said the woman, who declined to give her name.