Racism- Discrimination against a person of a different race, belief.
She wrapped the hijab around her head as a sense of pride, belief, selfness.
But she knew the world won’t accept her,
She knew they would threw hate,
She knew this world wasn’t a safe place,
She knew she couldn’t feel at ease,
She knew the blame for innocent lives being slaughtered around the world will come upon her.
But “why?” she always wondered,
Why couldn’t the world respect for the person she is?
Why couldn’t the world accept the hijab she wears with her chin up?
Why couldn’t the world love her for herself, why did it have come down to a piece of cloth she wraps around her head that determines the view the world has on her?
Why did she have to fear as she walked the streets?
Why did it all have to come up to one word “Racism”?
Why?
The poem above is talking from my own experience. I have experienced racism, and honestly it comes down to one thing me being a “Muslim” and wearing the “hijab”. These two factors make me a target of racism.
From experience racism can affect the way one may portray specific situations. Racism can make a person mentally unstable, when one experiences racism to a close extent it usually becomes the only aspect on one’s mind.
When I walk into a transit bus or train I can feel that I am being looked upon differently, I can see the stares, I can smell the fear. I am afraid of taking the bus or train alone, I am afraid something can happen, I am afraid someone will come up to me and start harassing me.
The unfortunate thing is the way media portrays situations occurring around the world, and how the media puts the blame upon one group of people.
Many say that racism is not as big of an issue in this era, but I disagree if racism was not as big of a problem in this era I wouldn’t being seeing people being picked on for their religious wears, I wouldn’t being seeing people being picked for their color, race, beliefs. Because I see this happening on a regular basis whether it is in person, or on social media.
With statistics it has been proven that racism is a an issue that has been occurring in schools all over the world targeting specific students of different backgrounds. There has been 87,000 racist incidents that have been recorded in schools. Starting off with Britain about 88,000 racists incidents have occurred in schools through Britain during the years of 2007-2011. Birmingham with about 5,752 cases. In the United States it has been shown from government studies that 15-20 percent of all students are bullied for their religious views, beliefs, and the background they come from, also proven by this statistic is that the more often the individual is bullied for something they have no control over, that is the person who is more likely to skip classes, drop out of school main factor for this being is they want to hide from the hate being given to the individual.
It has been proven with research that more African-Americans are having their children home schooled, and all though the reasons may vary for different people but with research it has been shown that one of the many reasons is the racism kids may have to go through in school.
In an article reported by Global news it show stats of different racial groups in Canada. Supposedly in this article there is a video where Justin Trudeau talks about how Canadians need to stay focused on showing respect to every group of people, and how hate crimes against & targeting specific groups of people will not be accepted. It has been stated that Trudeau promises on talking action on hate crimes against groups.
More than 1,000 Canadians were surveyed and here are the results:
59% of Muslims are the victims of discrimination.
Indigenous followed at 28%.
Black Indians 23%.
East Indians 23%.
Asians 11%
Jewish 7%.
Hispanic 5%.
Other 5%.
Don’t know/Refused 19%.
These are some cases showcasing racism that has occurred Canada:
“Once, I was at school and was walking with my friend. A girl came to me and said: “Darn Indian, you have got a flat nose. Go back to your country.” I was terribly hurt…”
Michel, young boy of Indian origin.
“I am muslim, and I have decided to cover my head. I abide by my traditions. There are people who laugh at me because I cover my head. The other day, when I was in the classroom, everybody was eating pepperoni, except me. In my religion, we do no eat pork. The pepperoni is made from pork and I cannot eat it. They (my classmates) wanted me to eat it. At some other time, they told me: “You have no hair!” because I was covering my hair and they pulled the veil. I did not like it because it did hurt my feelings. And I was feeling lonely.”
Saadia, young muslim.
“I heard a racist joke that someone had told me… I am Mulatto; there was a guy who called me by that name when I was visiting another school… He told me that since I was not white or black, I was not a human being. I am mixed blood and I am not stupid”.
Simon, a young mulatto boy.
Racism is a very sensitive topic because many people experience the hateful comments passed towards them, and it can bring one down weather it is in an individuals confidence or how they look at the world. Many state that racism has decreased over the years, but with stats being showcased it really only shows that racism is a topic that needs strict action taken upon because as years go on racism has only being increasing, and has been targeting specific groups.
Everyone deserves to feel safe and at ease.
Racism needs to stop.
References:
- “Racism in Schools.” NoBullying – Bullying & CyberBullying Resources, 22 Dec. 2015, nobullying.com/racism-in-schools/. https://nobullying.com/racism-in-schools/
- Mazama, Ama. “Racism in Schools Is Pushing More Black Families to Homeschool Their Children.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Apr. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/10/racism-in-schools-is-pushing-more-black-families-to-homeschool-their-children/?utm_term=.6059185d304b.
- Abedi, Maham. “Canada Is 150 and Still Needs to Face Its Racism Problem: Advocates.”Global News, 29 June 2017, globalnews.ca/news/3556823/racism-in-canada/. https://globalnews.ca/news/3556823/racism-in-canada/
- Struyk, Ryan. “Blacks and Whites See Racism in the United States Very, Very Differently.”CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Aug. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/08/16/politics/blacks-white-racism-united-states-polls/index.html.
- https://www.crrf-fcrr.ca/images/Clearinghouse/ePubFaShRacScho.pdf
- https://i1.wp.com/www.washtenawvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/bw-tribune-photo.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1