By Maysam Najjar and Juwariya Mk
In recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination last week, many consider the relevance of anti-racism in the modern-day.
Although there may be some who continue to hold racist ideals, is this not the minority rather than the majority? I acknowledge that racism exists but, is it really as big of a problem as we make it out to be?
The issue with these common-assertions is that there is a failure to recognise the more intrinsic forms and modes that racism takes on, and it is this type of implicit racism that gives rise to those that are more explicit. Such discrimination, that is ingrained within our systems and for many, our minds, often directly validates the occurrence of harassment, or the belittlement of those with racial differences from the dominant cultural order and so, requires an extensive assessment of the way in which such ideas could materialise.
A recent theorisation of the two types of racism, ‘old racism’ and ‘new racism’, made by the Australian Journal of Social Issues provides an essential insight into this issue. So that we can adequately understand the way in which certain forms of racisms are often rationalised in our societies, and even by our political leaders, it is essential to break these down.
The first of these racisms would be characterised by a belief of inferiority of non-white ethnicities, one propagated by the White Australia Policy, and that existed predominantly in the early 1900s. However, this form of racism is often easier to detect, and harder to substantiate in a progressive society. The emergence of a ‘new racism’, where ethnic minorities are not necessarily viewed as being inferior, but instead, as perceived to threaten ‘social cohesion’ and nationalistic ideals. This has allowed for the more implicit acceptance of racism within the public consciousness. This identification of cultural groups as the ‘Other’ has allowed for a continuing divide within our communities, and our politics. That is why, upon the occurrence of the September 11 attacks, Muslims were faced with an unprecedented hostility globally, and why, more recently with the advent of Covid-19, those of an Asian descent have been met with unashamed harassment.
The core issue here is that racially divisive language and ideas are given even greater attention when they are used by political individuals to reinforce their own agendas, such as those that are anti-immigration and anti-refugee. This has been the case recently, where US President, Donald Trump has insisted on calling the COVID-19 illness “the Chinese virus”, and where some Australian politicians are consistently seen to spread anti-immigrant rhetoric that is explicitly racist, whether it be Pauline Hanson’s incorrect attribution of social, economic, and national security issues to multiculturalism, or Fraser Anning’s efforts to blame the Christchurch shooting on Muslim immigration. The result of this is, not only the perpetration of a form of ‘everyday ’ racism by adults, but also the perpetration of such conduct by youth and adolescents, where 40% of students in years five to nine from non-Anglo or European backgrounds reported experiencing racial discrimination from their peers.
An often-overlooked aspect of racial discrimination, and one that is often said to have been remedied via the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, is the prevalence of inherent legal biases that exist towards ethnic minorities. The concern here is that, although the legal system could be said to have resolved issues of racism through the implementation of such legislation, it only seems to address the occurrence of racism between individuals and so, by default, fails to recognise the deep-rooted prejudices within Australian law. In fact, a look at the historic formation of Australia’s immigration policy, and it’s approach within present-day society unravels the implicit racism that has persisted in our system. For instance, the way in which John Howard responded to the Tampa in 2001, and the way in which migration policy continues to materialise reveals an underlying irrational fear of difference, and in consequence, an almost, “symbolic return to White Australia”. It is inevitably such cultural groups, groups who struggle with language barriers, groups who seek refuge, and groups that consequently face higher levels of mental turmoil because of their exclusion from mainstream society, that are left to face the entrenched racial biases of the system.
Following on, discrimination ingrained in individual attitudes, beliefs and values can create detrimental system barriers towards those of ethnic and racial minorities. In the Australian public health service, whether it be the NDIS or access to general medical facilities such as hospitals and medical centres, there are clear discrepancies in provision for addressing the unique issues of ethnic and racially diverse communities.
The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health without discrimination is a fundamental human right ingrained in the World Health Organisation’s 1946 Constitution. However, individuals who identify as a racial minority may have the inability to adequately access a high standard of medical assistance. Despite such racial minorities living in an OECD nation, they are not able to realise their fundamental right to health in accordance with Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A clear example of this is the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), where individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are faced with a barrier to support and assistance due to a lack of catering to their communicative and cultural needs. Additionally, the system has been affected by under-spending and tightening eligibility, where Ethnic communities are often ‘overlooked’ when targeting those with intellectual disabilities, leading to a vacuum in addressing needs of those from racial and ethnic minorities. Generalisations about ethnic groups, lack of access to interpreter services and poor cultural sensitivity training has only added to the strain on disabled individuals to be able to participate fully in programs such as the NDIS. The lack of governmental addressal of these issues affecting minority groups further overlooks the presence of intersectionality, the unique interconnected nature of individuals belonging to interdependent groups including racial, class and gender minorities. The culmination of these minority identities may further compound the adverse effects of intersectional individuals, only making the need for urgent redress even more essential.
Further, geographic locations have negatively affected the ‘liveability’ of individuals, that is, has resulted in gradated access to healthcare services for those from regional or lower socio-economic locations, which happen to have a high population of racial minorities. In particular healthcare services and facilities across Western Sydney have raised ‘red flags’ for being among the worst performing hospitals in the state, including Bankstown-Lidcombe, Blacktown and Westmead as the list’s toppers. These areas also house the most ethnic and racially diverse communities in the state, with comparatively higher language, cultural and religious diversity than the rest of Australia. And it is these ethnic and racial minorities who are on the receiving end of lacklustre medical care and assistance from what have been reported as the state’s poorest performing hospitals.
The existence of racial discrimination within our society is a largely multi-faceted issue. However, it starts with us. It requires us, as individuals, to undergo an intensive assessment of our own inherent biases, to ensure that we can see them restructured within a broader scope. Only when all individuals are indiscriminately provided with the attention and assistance they require, such as by being able to realise their inherent human right to health, can they be on an equal playing field to their Australian counterparts. After all, how can we, as human beings, consider ourselves just in refusing the rights of others simply on the basis of racial differences?