Spain’s postal service issued flesh-colored stamps to fight racism: the whitest is the most precious

Spain’s postal service has drawn widespread criticism this week after the introduction of flesh-colored stamps, the clearer the more valuable, and promote them as part of a campaign against racism.

“The darker the seal, the less valuable it will be, ”the crown corporation said, in a press release announcing the launch. “Therefore, when sending, you will need to use more black stamps than white ones. In this way, every letter and every sending will become a reflection of the inequality created by racism. “

A black stamp is worth 70 cents in the company’s online store, while a tampon of the lighter skin color costs 1.60 euros.

Critics say the campaign reflects deafness and the lack of diversity in major Spanish companies.

“Accidentally racist,” commented one social media user. Another user wrote “Accidentally VOX,” referring to the far-right Vox party in Spain.

Correos’ intention “was good”, acknowledged Moha Gerehou, author of What does a black man like you do in a place like this? recently published book on racism in Spain. But Gerehou said that It is no coincidence that a well-intentioned anti-racist campaign ended up sending a racist message.

Such campaigns in Spain, said Gerehou, they are often “predominantly white” because large companies are lagging behind in diversifying their workforce.

On its Twitter account, the Postal Service said its campaign was aimed at raising awareness of “an unjust and painful reality that shouldn’t exist“.

Between 2016 and 2019, Spanish officials recorded a 20% increase in racist and xenophobic hate crimes in the country, from 416 in 2016 to 515 two years ago.

During the launch of the stamps, Correos collaborated with SOS Racismo, a federation of Spanish non-governmental organizations against racism, and with the Spanish activist and rapper El Chojín.

It’s a statement, SOS Racismo said the intention of the campaign was “to make this reality (of racial discrimination) visible”.

“We have seen it these days in Ceuta, we see it every day in the Mediterranean, in the growing xenophobic and racist speeches which are imposed in Europe”, he added.

SOS Racismo was referring to dramatic scenes in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this month involving thousands of migrants desperately trying to reach European Union territory. from neighboring Morocco.

The Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on criticism of its campaign.

In the press release accompanying the presentation of the stamps, it was said that they were to coincide with the commemoration of European Diversity Month and the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd. Tuesday.

The murder of Floyd, a black man, by a white policeman in Minneapolis last year sparked protests in the United States. and around the world, including in Spain, where activists have joined the global movement to seek to raise awareness of discrimination and racism.

At one of the largest such protests in Spain, thousands marched through Madrid in June, making their way to the capital’s Puerta del Sol square., a popular venue for LGBT rights protests and environmental protests.

The Spanish postal service has been involved in social causes on several occasions in recent years, and so far he had largely succeeded in avoiding controversy despite the often liberal inclination campaigns in a predominantly Catholic country.

Last year, the company celebrated pride month and issued a stamp in the colors of a rainbow flag. In 2019 he released a ‘collection of stamps that reflects the voices of discord and protest of thousands of young people who fight for the environmentAs announced at the time.

(Rick Noack is a Paris-based correspondent covering France for the Washington Post. Previously, he was a foreign affairs reporter for The Post based in Berlin. He also worked for The Post from Washington, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. -Zeeland.)

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