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International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 

Kay McGowan —

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to re-double its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. In Term 1 the English Language Department had a Cultural Friendship Day in our classes at Hagley.

To mark this day the English Language department organised classroom activities.

The Level 2 English Language students wrote this article to recount their experiences...

"Our teachers and the students wore colourful, traditional clothes. It made everyone more beautiful than other days.
We brought food for a party and tasted lots of delicious hand-made food. After that, we started to play games. We loved the 'passing the flower' game. We danced and sang and laughed. We felt very happy because everyone was filled with passion. Then we played the 'musical chair' game. It was a really crazy game. Then the Chinese students sang a song about an Arabian jasmine flower.
Finally, we went to the College cafe to have our photos taken. We put on some funny (also cute and beautiful) masks, hats, glasses and wigs. We all smiled and made funny faces. What a happy time!
It was a great party, because we remembered and felt the era of our childhood. Also, we had more understanding of cultures from other countries.
This was a happy day indeed. We are looking forward to the next one!"