The scene at Blekingska Nation was a sight to behold. Bandaged patients, birthing women and disease-infected cows sitting and mingling with each other as white-coated doctors coped with the mayhem, their garments splattered with blood.
The blood, of course, being nothing more than red markers as “hospital” was the costume theme at Tamam and Projekt 6’s joint-effort Internationen party last week. Guests at the event got to know each other over dinner, live music, and a bit of costume-making.
Internationen is a Lund initiative to provide a friendly place for students and non-students, particularly newly-arrived immigrants, to get to know each other.
–We have worked in cooperation with the Student Nations since autumn 2010 to organize these events. Internationen is a way to break social barriers and promote diversity through friendly gatherings, said Paula Langöe Eliasson from Tamam and continued:
– Tamam is a civil society organization dedicated to promoting integration and diversity, and is a driving force behind Lund’s Internationen events.
Tamam perceives that these events’ warm reception thus far results from a sincere desire for such opportunities within the Lund community.
— It is unfortunate how segregated Lund’s social
environment can be. Students with students, non-students with non-students, and then there are divisions between Swedes and non-Swedes. Yet, it seems like people want to meet each other, but they just need a venue. The feedback from everyone has been very positive so far, said Karin Gréen, Tamam chairperson and Internationen organizer.
For Internationen’s organizers, these events which happen every third week are intended to provide nothing but sheer enjoyment.
–For some people, “integration” sounds too serious and heavy, because they associate it with culture clashes and stuff. We want to show that integration can actually be lots of fun, said Karin.
In collaboration with Tamam last night, Projekt 6, an awareness-raising organization for sexual health, thought up some of the evening’s activities.
–We put together a little sexual health quiz, to see what the students know and educate them a bit, said Medhi Bendkia, Projekt 6’s activities coordinator.
Lundagard got to meet some of the guests.
