Racism is a Pandemic Too

Blog written by Nashwan Ashraf, Youth Community Animator – TERT, BCS.

As someone who identifies as South Asian and as a Muslim there have been countless occurrences of racism I have faced based on my identity. Speaking from experience, I can say that facing challenging adversity because of racial identity is quite a distorted feeling. In addition, it had negatively impacted my ability at school since the negative connotations had lowered my self-esteem and confidence.

Hence, why I believe the best solution to fight against racism is to embrace oneself because it is who we are meant to be and our different characteristics are what makes each unique. Moments of success on this road are frequently the result of minor wins in regular encounters with people trying to understand South Asian Culture by participating in many cultural events.

Standing up to a microaggression, reclaiming my self-identity, or finding connection with others in the community who have gone through similar situations allows me to relate to others’ hardships. Finally, facing adversity in racism has helped me to become considerate about being inclusive and respectful to everyone despite having cultural differences. Therefore, educating others on each other’s culture is the most effective way to prevent racism from happening again.

Image source: UNDP

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!