Pegida activists protest at images of non-white German footballers on Kinder bars Members of anti-refugee group protest against marketing campaign preceding European championships this summer
Philip Oltermann in Berlin Wednesday 25 May 2016 08.02 EDT
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/25/pegida-activists-protest-images-non-white-german-footballers-kinder?CMP=twt_b-gdnnewsSupporters of Germany’s anti-immigration movement Pegida have expressed outrage that the blue-eyed blond boys on the packaging of Kinder chocolate bars are being replaced by children of African and Middle Eastern appearance – seemingly unaware that they are childhood photographs of players in their own national football team.
A photograph of two boxes of the chocolate bar – one carrying a childhood portrait of Gelsenkirchen-born midfielder Ilkay Gündogan, the other of Berlin-born defender Jérôme Boateng – were shared last week on the Facebook page of the Bodensee branch of the anti-refugee protest movement.
“They don’t stop at anything”, said the original post. “Can you really buy them like that, or is that a joke?”. “Surely that’s a fake?!???,” said another commenter.
Pegida: what does the German far-right movement actually stand for?
Read more
“They are really trying to trick us into accepting every kind of rubbish as normal, poor Germany”, said another posting.
Others called for a boycott of the chocolate bars, which are produced by Italian manufacturer Ferrero: “If that’s the case, I won’t be buying it anymore.”
Some commenters tried to draw attention to the fact that the packaging was only a marketing stunt designed to tie the product in with the upcoming European Football Championship in France. “Dear folks, firstly Ferrero is an Italian manufacturer, and secondly, where do think they get the cocoa from to make the chocolate with?” said one.
But many of Pegida’s supporters evidently felt discomfited by non-white players representing Germany at football internationals. “You mean ‘die Mannschaft’? There’s nothing national about them anymore.”
“These are gladiators – therefore slaves – who don’t play for Germany out of conviction, but only for the money.”
Pegida’s name is an abbreviation for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West.
excerpted