“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”― Maya Angelou
You stumble across various people as you make your way through life. Every one of them belongs to a different race, creed, ethnicity, culture, and religion. They speak different languages, behave in different ways, have different accents, and are unique in their own way. However, this doesn’t mean that they should be treated differently.
We are all born as humans and we die as humans. So, where do our racist beliefs actually stem from?
As children, these beliefs probably never even existed. The real problem lies with the society. These racist notions and beliefs have been embedded in the far corners of peoples’ minds that it has become almost impossible to even reason with them.
Originally from Chile, I travelled halfway across the world to Thailand a few years back. It was very different to step into a culture that was completely opposite to the one I’d grown up in. Yet, I still managed to adjust; learnt the local language, the culture, and the traditions. I didn’t just survive there, but with my willingness, I managed to thrive. I was discriminated based on my skin color multiple times. People would naturally assume that I was Indian. Their preconceived notions of what or who I was supposed to be caused them to yell slurs at me at various occasions. However, I didn’t let this deter me from my path. I stood up for myself and told people about my origins (my mother was blond and my father was a black Argentinean).
A few years later, I uprooted my entire life again and embarked on another journey. This time I entered a world that was even more different the one that I had lived in before. I settled in The Netherlands, in the hopes of turning my life around like I did back in Thailand. Unfortunately, things don’t always go your way, and I ended up falling prey to racism.
You might assume that I only had to face this when I moved to other countries, but that’s not the truth. Even back in my home country, I was subjected to criticism, racism and bullying since my childhood.
The point of sharing this brief snippet of my story with you is to tell you that there are terrible human beings out there – but you don’t have to be one of them. We need to learn to embrace one another irrespective of our skin color, ethnicity, gender, culture and religion, and be calmer, more compassionate, more loving and more caring towards everyone!
We need to learn how to embrace diversity with open arms and a single thought in our minds—we are all the same. That we’re merely humans!
So, let’s vow today to be kinder to one another, be a better person, and set a better example for the future generations!
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