No More Room For Racism
The twenty-first century is all about evolution. The evolution of technology, of medicine, of fashion, and collective moral. We’ve seen the invention of the iPhone, the development of vaccines, the introduction of Yeezys and the movement to legalise gay marriage and destroy segregation. Humanity has come so far, but unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. A harsh reminder of our flaws came in the form of a physical and verbal assault on a young Muslim girl from Otago Girls’ High School on 9 February.
Hoda, 17, was brutally beaten and had her hijab ripped off after refusing to teach a group of three non-Muslim individuals Arabic swear words. Hoda’s friends were also victims of verbal and physical harassment, however Hoda suffered the most bodily trauma. She received injuries to her head, face, neck, and shoulders, which resulted in a concussion. An ambulance was not called but Hoda’s dad rushed her to the hospital where she received emergency medical care. This was not the first racial attack that Hoda and her friends had endured at school, having also had racial slurs and threats shouted at them by different students prior to this most recent attack.
Distressingly, Otago Girls’ is not the only high school in Aotearoa to have hosted such an atrocious attack, and it is not an uncommon occurrence either. Within the last two years a young Asian student was removed from her Whangārei school after experiencing daily “racist abuse” and discrimination. A Māori language school in Invercargill, Te Wharekura o Arowhenua, was the victim of a racist attack in the form of a spray-painted racial slur on the school sign, and a school cricket match in Hawkes Bay was abandoned not long into the game due to racial vilification and sexist slurs against players of Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani heritage. Furthermore, Moana Elis, a Local Democracy Reporter for RNZ released a statement saying that “93% of Māori in Aotearoa experience racism every day, and even more – 96%- say racism is a problem for their whānau”. These statistics were discovered by Te Atawhai o te Ao, an independent Māori institute for environment and health, and was published in Whakatika: A Survey of Māori Experiences of Racism.
So, what is going to be done about this severe and ongoing problem? For Hoda, international recognition was received and over 87,000 people signed a petition under the hashtag #justice_for_Huda to raise awareness. This publicity led to two out of three of her attackers being expelled, with the third receiving counselling. For the rest of our country, there are many things happening. An initiative led by The New Zealand Human Rights Commission is gathering thoughts on how to address racism in Aotearoa. It has launched a website (againstracism.hrc.co.nz) in an effort to create an “action-oriented document, setting out solutions and goals, and identifying the steps the government could take to promote racial equality and eliminate racism”. In addition, The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand “has partnered with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to develop an education response under the same banner as the HRC’s Give Nothing to Racism campaign”.
It is brilliant to see so many organisations and masses of people standing against racism, but in light of the recent events at Otago Girls’ High School, it is evident that we need to do better. Speak out if you see someone in trouble. Support the campaigns, raise awareness of these injustices, and just be kind.