Everyone agreed. There is racism in New Zealand. No one was surprised, at least not at the Racism Conference organised by the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel held on April 27 in Auckland. Out of the 6000 human rights complaints received by the Human Rights Commission each year, a third are related to race.
Most of the time Racism does not manifests itself as a hate crime. Racism is a subtle and all permeating sense of being an outsider; of being excluded from the party - the jobs, and any meaningful integration in the mainstream. As long as the Indian community and culture is contained within the confines of a Diwali celebration or lumped into the Bollywood bracket, it’s non-threatening. Sure, you’re visible, but you’re not an equal really. You’re shrunken into the stereotype of the hot curry and the wet saree. Is it only the mainstream host society that is culpable?
Integration is a dynamic process that requires intermingling, changes, negotiation and ultimately evolution on both sides. This requires fearlessness and fierceness.
It is not ironic how most migrants are often not able to recognize racism or at best only recount vague experiences about others as anecdotes.
In spite of living here for several years, many still refer to India as home as if that is their only identity. But identity is not confined to just a past place, culture, religion or time. It is about where we are in the present moment where none of the above is an absolute, permanent idea. That I am English-Hindi-Marathi speaking Maharashtrian, Hindu, Mumbaikar, a recent migrant and female now living in Auckland and exchanging everyday ideas with those form other cultures and places is bound to influence my concept of the self. To have the privilege of equal opportunities; I don’t need to do away with any aspect of who I am or change my name on my CV to make it more ‘English’.
Amartya Sen in his book Identity and Violence - The Illusion of Destiny argues that it is often the singular emphasis on one aspect of plural identity that breeds violence.
In recent times, the articulation of the ethnic Indian as a vital ‘link’ to the big, profitable Indian economy as a ‘source country of overseas students’; India as ‘potential investment destination with rich dividends for Kiwi businesses’, further reduces Indian culture to nothing more than a commodity. It is not placing any value on inherent diversity in any way and actually dis-empowers us from tackling racism. It would be great to get the Free Trade Agreement going but how far would that help the Kiwi-Indian in better integrating into Kiwi society or be treated as an equal?
Simply speaking up about racism and sharing hurt feelings is not enough. For that, there are racism conferences. What we perhaps need is to have active conversations about our own lack of expression of a plural self-identity. Perhaps then we can enable; empower ourselves to stand up against racism.