My Racism, Your Racism?: The new face of racism

I felt the need to whinge after seeing all these audios of Africans in China being racially discriminated during the pandemic.  What I will be saying below are my thoughts based on these videos and speaking to a few people.

From social media platforms and main news outlet, it led me to believe there was a rise in racism across the developed world before Covid -19 reached Europe.  Many were horrified by the insults hurled on Chinese students in the UK. These racial harassment incidents took place even in communities. Chinese restaurants were set on fire with people losing their jobs because of their nationality in some countries. That was and is terrible.  Then the Italians because that became the Covid -19 epicentre before anywhere else in Europe. Gradually, people realised that it was a world pandemic with no boundaries based on skin colour or borders. Once people start seeing this group or that as being the reason for a virus where would the line be drawn? I said to a friend of mine we will come out this pandemic either realising we are all equal or worst-case scenario discriminating other groups further. He said what do you think will happen and my answer was, of course, more inequality. By the way, I do believe we will be fighting more discrimination after this pandemic. I was not celebrating that Chinese student’s people were facing racial harassment because I meet that every day and I know how it feels. I am not watering down the experiences of these people, Italian or Chinese who initially faced this COVID wave of racism. What I am saying racism is racism, whether on a white black or brown person and should be treated as such. Once we start separating it as white, black, brown racism, then we face the danger of creating further divisions. Racism has no face. If we look at it from the pandemic lets, call it for what it has been about rather than give it colour.

 Then, fast forward April 2020, while talking to another Diversity and inclusion practitioner, he told me he had been asked to write about racism on the Chinese communities during the pandemic. I quickly asked him, racial attacks in general or only on the Chinese people? Interestingly, he didn’t know about the plight of Africans in China.  Racism is racism, whether you are African or Chinese, right?

African Students were chucked out of their accommodation, not allowed hospital treatment, and some ended up begging their governments to take them home. These Africans were being targeted based on their skin colour. I know because it was not on BBC news many never saw this side of CovID-19. As far as I remember, it was reported as an allegation and was, of course, being denied. The Chinese government has been supportive of African students through scholarships, and about 80 thousand or thereabouts across the continent are studying in China. It is human nature (as observed from my decades of being on planet earth) that when we don’t understand something or scared, we look for a scape got and sometimes even our friends or neighbours can become such. However, thanks to African channels, Al Jazeera and social media channels like WhatsApp, we were able to connect with family and friends in some provinces in China were these (discriminatory behaviours) were taking place.

Some people may think racism is about a chip on the shoulder by those that are always talking racism, but for me, it is the abuse of power by those privileged to have it. People who still find joy in never accepting accountability and responsibility but doing everything it takes to pass on the blame on the powerless ones.

Just because the racial harassment of Africans did not happen on the European continent, it does not mean it didn’t happen. In the post-pandemic fight of racism, let us remember the Africans in China. Let us not forget the effects of racism on individuals are similar. They do not respect the colour of a person.

Right now, in America and the UK, there are more black and brown people on the frontline who are dying. Yes, the reasons for that are not known yet. However, I pray to God that it won’t be another layer of stigma on people already grouped as a minority.

As always these are my thoughts, observation and a bit of reading.