Areeba’s Blog

Blog written by Areeba Islam, Youth Community Animator – TERT, BCS.

I grew up in a community of mostly minorities, and although I did not face much racism, I did witness it, with the perpetrators often being other minorities. There were many times when I would hear my peers using racial slurs or being blatantly racist against another marginalized group, as if our communities haven’t faced the same racism. It was exhausting having to explain to people my age why their actions were wrong while they continued being ignorant. In some situations, it made me feel isolated and gave me the reputation of being annoying or argumentative. When I talked about these feelings with my friends, they assured me that this was not how they saw me. To them, I was known as the friend who will always stick up for you, even when you are too shy to do so for yourself. I was the friend who would be a great leader someday because I wasn’t afraid to stand up to others. This was a reminder that doing the right thing might not always be easy. I have always been a very outspoken and opinionated individual, and to the right people, this would be seen as an admirable quality. 

If you have any feedback about this blog or would like to contact the TERT campaign, please email us at YouthResilient@bangladeshi.ca. Thank you!