LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM HEADS TO LITHUANIA
Love Music Hate Racism heads to Lithuania
Love Music Hate Racism sent a small delegation of Organisers, volunteers and an artist to Kaunas in Lithuania last month to attend the annual Mountain Rock music festival and conference. An LMHR national organiser gave a presentation at the conference to a room of Eastern European music promoters, musicians and record labels, which was very well received.
Mountain Rock was set up by the popular alternative rock band “Mountainside,” five years ago following a dip in the amount of quality rock gigs and concerts in Lithuania. Mountainside decided to show good initiative and to set an example. So in 2003 they curated the festival in their home town.
More than 500 people attend the main concert each year in the Kaunas nightclub “Combo” This year the organisers invited Love Music Hate Racism to address the conference with a seminar entitled: “Making an impact: Celebrating Multiculturalism, opposing racism and bigotry – the experience of LMHR.” National Organiser Lee Billingham and popular London MC Lowkey took to the stage to explain the background behind the campaign, as well as to debate the importance of having such an organisation in Europe. The presentation included a number of films from gigs, festivals and carnivals over the past few years of the campaign. Also included was a segment from the “Who Shot the Sheriff?” DVD which documents the rise of Rock Against Racism from the late 1970’s until the present day.
A good debate began between the various delegates in the Kaunas conference hall. These started when someone questioned the ideas of the BNP. It was explained that whilst the BNP try to hide their true identities as racist bigots under the façade of being a legitimate political party, they continue to actively pursue racist beliefs. Most agreed that the evidence shown in various documentaries and undercover newspaper articles was sufficient enough to believe that the British National Party is a Nazi party. Debates then sprung up from a range of places including someone asking whether the word “Hate” was appropriate in the name of an organisation which aims to unite people.
Lowkey responded that, apart from the contrast between the Love and Hate in the name, the ‘Hate’ in our title is about the ideology of racism, not individual racists. Lee said further that we believe we should firmly and publicly make it clear that we will oppose organised racists and fascists like the BNP, Front Nationale, MSI, etc, but that we want to engage and argue with the majority of the people who vote for such parties in elections, rather than lump them together and thus drive them close to the hardcore Nazis. Many of these voters have ‘soft racist’ ideas which can be changed, or think it is a ‘protest vote’ due to disillusionment with mainstream political parties.
People from all over Europe including; Latvia, Germany, Poland and of course Lithuania were pleased to hear the experiences of MC Lowkey, who explained why he supports the campaign so strongly; he said: in London “Everybody is integrating and multiplying…it’s a great thing!” Lowkey then called upon people from all over Europe to get involved in LMHR and organise events in their towns, cities and countries to combat the threat of Fascism before the European elections. “If you feel Lithuania and Europe is having the same racist problems as Britain then get involved!”
The debate began again when a woman from the audience asked; “What effect does Love Music Hate Racism have with young people in Britain, does it make a difference?” Lee Billingham answered explaining that the campaign carries out a number of events in schools every year, with a great example being the work carried out in the Barking Abbey School with Miss Dynamite and other artists who have inspired young people to get involved with the organisation by putting on their own events and arguing for multiculturalism with their friends and family who may have racist ideas.
It seemed that LMHR received a great reception from the delegates at the festival, some of whom have promised to start campaigning against racism in their respective countries before the European elections next year. A number of anti-racist events are now in the opening stages of planning which are hoped to take place across the continent next year.
Words and Pictures: Josh Hollands
