German anti-racism campaigners have condemned plans to stage an African cultural festival in a zoo. Responding to the criticism, Augsburg Zoo Director Barbara Jantschke said she does not see anything wrong with staging the event in a zoo, where many cultural exhibitions are held. Mrs Jantschke also argued that the zoo was the ideal place to convey the necessary "exotic atmosphere" for the festival.
It is an attitude which campaigners like Ms Noah So want to change. "There is an urge in Germany to see those who are not white as part of something exotic or romanticised." This treatment insinuates that non-whites are not really part of German society, she says. >> continue