Winter 19 February 2008

What do you do when you feel indirectly the pinches of racism targetted towards your own daughter?

Be passive?

Just ignore it?

React with calmness and dignity!

Voice out!

Let yourself be heard because you have the right to do so?

Certainly this would depend the degree of the circumstance and the character and attitude you have as a person on how you handle such kind of racism issue which has been part of your life since you migrated in a rich foreign country whose ignorant, narrowminded, xenophobic, egoistic people generalize that if you come from Asia, you happen to be from a Third World Country!

First and foremost, do these people who look down on most Third World Country migrants think they are in the First World just because they have money and power and they are white-skinned? Do they think that money and their status quo makes them as big first class persona they believe they are? They don’t know that the ones who carry more with good heart, good brain, good conscience and good soul are the sensitive caring people who happen to live in the so-called Third World Country.

Despite of many who are either emigrants and immigrants to the various continents in this world, we, coming from the so-called “Third World Country” know the real appreciation between suffering and joy, between kindness and true caring, self-sacrifice and generosity of giving, respect and dignity, flexibility and humility and the mere simplicity of being content of what we have compared to the megalomaniac, daily-lamenting and xenophobic tendencies of rich people who always crave for more and anything or more because what they have is never enough!

Sad to say recently, my daughter had this second incident in the school where “pinches of racism issue was directed to her” coming from a bully boy coming from an affluent Italian family who migrated here in Switzerland, whose dad works as journalist in an important Italian channel in Rome and from this fact, anyone can deduce that the “low-class-profile-opinion” of this boy’s family comes from the fact that there are many Filipinos working in Italy in their dedicated, humble, hard working and patient ways as domestic helpers, or carers, or any mundane job but this is because many aristocratic Italians won’t give them the chance of a better career despite that most of these domestic helpers are of University or even Masteral Degree graduates who happen to sacrifice themselves, live in a foreign land for greener pasture by cleaning up the mess of haughty, highfaluting, racist as “some-can-be,” Italian people!

In between I am direct on voicing out that not the majority of Italian people are like that but many! For in every race: there are good and bad ones. I would like to raise the spirit and heart and pride of hard working Filipinos anywhere around the globe and affirm that there is nothing demeaning nor “low-class-stuff” as others tag one’s work just because others have a blue-collar job.

For all of you, be proud of our heritage and race! For my eleven year old daughter who is half Swiss and half Filipino & 5% Spanish ancestry had once more experienced pinches of racism in the first year high school class in the city of Lugano, southern Italian speaking canton/region of Switzerland.

My daughter broke the news to me during supper.

“Mommy, “M” boy in my class told me this way when I just arrived in school this afternoon:

“torna da dove sei venuta dalle Filippine. Tu non appartiene qua.”

(Go back where you came from the Philippines. You don’t belong here.)

So I asked her if she said or have done something that this boy “M” have told her this way.

She didn’t do anything that could have ignited such kind from the “M” boy because this phrase was told to her right after she entered the classroom after lunch break.

After which she told me also that months ago, the same boy told her: “sei una chocolata.” (You’re a chocolate) I looked at my girls who are ten and eleven years old. They are far from tan, but neither they are so pale white but one you could nearly describe “mestiza” but of course you can spot that they have an exotic Oriental skin because they get easily tanned.

They happen to be also one of the better ones in the class and they excel on their academic standings. I asked them if they are ashamed or they feel inferior because I, their mom, happen to be Asian.

Both girls said no but these kind of stuff and incidents in the school irritates them. As there were already recurrent incidents since they were in elementary.

So I told her with affirmation that she has a right to live here in this country, she was born here, her dad is Swiss and I just happen to be Asian who migrated here because of call of love-family-home 13 years ago, and she has 50% Swiss blood on her as her grandma is a pure Swiss and not mixed with any race.

My eldest girl told me: “Mommy, you don’t have to worry, this boy’s parents are from Rome. They are Italians. He is boastful and talks a lot in the class that his dad is a journalist for Italian channel. He bullies everyone because he is rich and they own this big building. He smashed someone else’s face and another girl’s leg swollen.”

This I have heard from other foreigner moms who were victim of bulliness of this “M” boy and for I remember well the blonde haired mom in a fur coat who was in a heated discussion with another Italian during a parents – teacher meeting when such mom of this boy defending her precious bully son who smashed another girl’s face!

An Italian woman, arrogant, chic to appear, proud to wear a 10,000 Swiss francs fur coat, she drives a big BMW jeep for a 100 meters distance from their big villa to the school instead of walking to the school she pollutes the small town further with her car’s emission and a real show-off Italian lady.

Upon hearing that the boy’s dad is a “someone” of a journalist for the Italian channel, this made me aware and hypothetically conclude that the boy’s racist remarks on my girl must have something to do with what he heard from his parents or adults at home talking about Filipino migrants in Italy.

“Someone known” Well, you don’t need to be famous nor be “someone known” and have boastful bully sons because all of us, whatever race we come from… we are uniquely “someone and gifted” and has each and our own purpose why we live and thrive and share in this world.

I tell you, the reality is… if Mexicans are seen the way Caucasian Americans see them. In Italy, the Filipinos are like seen like that with obvious discrimination. The immigration issue. The ones working illegaly. The bad and good of the Filipino migrants making news in Italy how much more in the south.

Yet in every person, in every race, anywhere: there’s both good and bad. So you can’t judge nor be prejudiced to all the race just because of a few or many who have done something against the system that left many Italians making bad/negative judgements on some Filipinos.

What I did was called the boy’s mom to inform her of what his boy did and warned her that such kind of off-handed pinch of racist remarks in unacceptable and this lady was simply arrogant and didn’t even apologize but put the phone down.

Disrespectful. Uncourteous. Typical haughty rich unpolished Italian lady. She tags as I’m a foreigner here when in fact she is also a foreigner but her superiority goes just because she is blonde, rich, white coloured skin?

This kind of behavior and attitude I don’t just let them pass whether small or big issue especially when obviously directed to my ancestry and race even if indirectly thrown to my girl.

I wrote a good enlightening letter in Italian to the class adviser informing him that such kind of circumstance must never happen again not only to my girl but to all kids who are mixed race or who are immigrants here.

What about you? Whether you’re Asian, Caucasian or any other race? How would you feel if you are the recipient of pinches and issues of racism just because of ignorant, prejudiced, narrow-minded people out there? Thirteen years of living here, I have well integrated in the system and have learned well their national languages from German, French and Italian and still I continuously experience various forms of hurting racism issues mostly coming from Italian people and the Ticinese people.

They can be range from professionals or not, from a kindergarten teacher who once imposed and told me that I must not speak English to my girls, director of the school judging me negatively as a single separated mom at that time, a nasty lady lawyer where I once worked and the invading ignorant questions from people you meet in the bus or street.

That kind of prejudiced – envious – criticizing look & comments if they see you elegant, successful and cheerful.

The Swiss German and Swiss French mentality are more open minded. I don’t have problems with them.

Even here apart from racial discrimination, there are issues of discrimination between regions/cantons, age and gender discriminations when it comes to job assumptions whether you happen to be brown, black and white skinned.

All of these other incidents shall be part of my another book which shall be released later. A sharing that would open the eyes of many and learn something from it.

This incident on my girl, whether you see it as small and close to be just disregarded, when I opened up to a Slovakian mom and dad, to a Napoletana lady (a lady from Naples, Italy) and a Yugoslav lady, they said that they themselves from time to time experience this but not often because they happen to be white-coloured yet they advised me to raise this matter to the classroom adviser because it isn’t right to be treated that way.

I was thinking these are just kids and they are on their formation years. Is this the future generation who will be prejudiced to some or many just because they look down to those who have an Asian race mixed in their blood?

I wonder if these bigot people in this one-horse-town are aware that it is foreigners who bear babies, who shall grow up and work one day and contribute on the chain of taxation-old age pension contribution supporting the old people.

The foreigners and grown children of these mixed foreigners who do the hard work, lowly job (as they tag) and low paid job where they are not willing to do so, thus it has to be given to foreigners.

Luxus BMW jeep, big villa, fur coat, blonde hair assets and other richness don’t make the persona they believe they are elite as they think they are. Usually they are the ones who are unhappy and unfulfilled in life because they focus on the material aspects of this earth.

Good heart.

Good brain.

Good conscience.

Good soul.

Who has them as excellent and as unique as can be?

Any person of any race regardless of continent or colour can have those and they are the chosen few in this modern world ruled by consumerism.

I’m grateful and happy to say… majority of my countrymen have good heart, good brain, good conscience and good soul!

And I am working hard to raise my girls to have such attitude and have the best qualities of the Orient and the Occident and leave behind the negative aspects.

So if you are a victim or recipient of any pinch or punch of racism wherever you may be.

Stand up tall with dignity and pride and calmly face the issue and let yourself be heard and be respected!

If this article could have hurt the ego and pride of some Italian people I know or friends well, you know your compatriots and how their aristocratic and highly opinionated attitudes.

THE END

Copyright ©2008  Angelica Hopes