Is it plausible to imagine an end to racism, that ill that sweeps our world today?
As the world shrinks in size with access to other cultures and travelling made easy, and knowledge and information passed on in nanoseconds, one would think that racism and intolerance would decline. Unfortunately, racism remains rampant, which, if not at least minimized, will cause further wars and more bloodshed.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but racism remains alive and well, and the world is neither friendlier nor less prejudiced. The Ukrainian War exposed this entrenched reality and revealed widespread discriminatory perceptions.
The support given to the fleeing Ukrainian refugees was and remains overwhelmingly positive. Accepted with open arms, Ukrainians are met with outpouring support at the government, civil societies, and grassroots levels. At borders in Poland, Hungary, Romania, and other parts of the world, and as far as Canada in the West, over four million Ukrainians were warmly and sympathetically received.
In early May, 166 Ukrainians arrived in the Province of Newfoundland, Canada, only to be met by the province premier, the immigration minister, the Canadian Red Cross, and dozens of other well wishers. One Ukrainian mining engineer, swept off his feet, was told he had a job awaiting him and an instantaneous new life.
However, as Ukrainian refugees, mostly “white Christians” with “blonde hair and blue eyes,” fled the warzone successfully, foreign black and brown students and professionals alike, were told to get off the buses that were steering the white Ukrainians to safe havens. Africans and East Indians fleeing Ukraine watched border guards make room for pets on these buses, while they were not allowed on.
Please forgive my flippant tone, but I’m merely quoting, with concern not sarcasm, what Western authorities and media had cited quite openly. And when media and those whom one trusts talk in such a way, it has a profound effect on the receiving minds, be it the perpetrators or the victims.
In the Ukrainian conflict, there was a general consensus: lack of empathy and disregard for those who are not like the Ukrainians per se. Don’t get me wrong. Solidarity with Ukrainians is a good thing; it is the other side of the coin that isn’t: it is how asylum seekers and refugees from other war-torn countries are contrastingly treated.
Polish authorities’ selective solidarity to white Ukrainians was publicly announced as the Polish powers to be did not allow non-white refugees to cross into Poland. In March, the Polish Border Guard tweeted: “Yesterday, 98,000 people entered Poland from Ukraine. Since February 24, our staff cleared the entry of over 453,000 people fleeing war-torn Ukraine.” The same day another tweet from the same Polish Border Guard said: “Last night, 51 foreigners tried to illegally cross into Poland from Belarus. 11 people from Syria, 33 from Iraq, 1 from Burkina Faso and 6 from Congo were arrested.”
The glaring discrimination is unnerving. It reflects the sentiments and attitudes of European and American policy makers, which undoubtedly extends to their peoples. While fleeing to safe havens is a universal calamity, how different refugees are met and supported isn’t. Racism seems to be the name of the game.
Racism transcends borders but racism exists within same societies, too. Palestinians and Israelis share the same land, but are no in way of equal calibre and rights. The Indian society divides Hindu citizens into four main categories, each with its own level of prestige. South Africans lived the apartheid horrors for years on end. Indigenous North Americans and Australian Aborigines are still living the same life of partitioning and exclusion in various forms.
A string of White supremacist mass shootings is occurring across the US; it’s only May and over 200 mass shootings have taken place. Only a week ago, an 18-year-old white supremacist gunman killed 10 and wounded 3 in a racially motivated crime in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Buffalo, New York. His aim: to get back at Blacks.
Not only does ethnicity create friction but also beliefs create the same friction. Today attacks on places of worship be they mosques, churches, or synagogues are pervasive. In 2019, in Christchurch, New Zealand, two mosques were attacked resulting in 51 deaths. In Sri Lanka, again in 2019, coordinated bombings killed 257 persons, 145 of whom were attending church on Easter Sunday. The Quebec City mosque shooting killed six worshippers and left half a dozen injured. In 2021, the Coptic church in Vancouver was burnt to the ground in a premeditated arson act.
The stories of hate crimes are endless. The question is though, are we born hateful of others? Is racism an innate part of our genetic make up? More importantly, will it ever end?
Ethnocentrism, the attitude that one's own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others, is comprehensible; we all love our origins, foods, cultures, and ways of living, even our national athletic teams; it is when it allows one to judge others as inferior that it is dangerous. Taken too far, the partiality to one’s culture, beliefs, and country can easily tip us into risky zones.
I doubt we will ever overcome racism. We may be able to alleviate its force and lessen its effect somewhat, but that’s about it. However, Tom Oliver, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, in an article titled, “Is racism and bigotry in our DNA?” had a more promising view. He says that it is possible “to steer our cultures and rewire our brains so that xenophobia and bigotry all but disappear.” He also says, “We all evolved from the same bacteria-like ancestor, and right now we share over 99% of our DNA with everyone else on the planet.”
Let the horrors in Ukraine open our eyes to the sufferings existing elsewhere, allowing us to empathize with all those who have faced similar ordeals and hardships.
