Highlights
- The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) notes that there are several types of racism, the most common is “casual racism” and consists of subtle comments that negatively stereotype a person on the basis of race, colour or nationality.
- The CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA), Mohammad Al-Khafaji, said racism against an individual has as much to do with the impact as with the intention of a comment or action.
- In Australia, a comment that stigmatises a person on the basis of their race or nationality constitutes a racist comment even if it was not motivated by hatred or racism.
Having lived and studied in Colombia, a country with a wide range of cultures and ethnicities, Laura Sanchez never imagined she would be the target of stereotyping and casual racism when she moved to Brisbane to study English.
However, she said an incident in 2020 during a police stop on one of Brisbane's main highways with her boyfriend in the passenger seat, made her think differently about Australia.
“The incident occurred on May 17 at around 10:30 at night when on our way home on Kelvin Grove Highway exactly at number 189 we were intercepted by a police patrol and asked to stop on the side of the road," she explained.
She said the two officers were conducting routine license checks and when they found out Ms Sanchez was a Colombian national, one of them jokingly asked her if she had cocaine in the car.
She said the comment caught her off guard.
“Neither my family, nor my friends, nor my social contacts are involved in this type of activity [drug trafficking] that's why it offended me,” she said.
“My boyfriend and I were surprised.
"All I could think of saying was, 'c'mon guys!' and I did think about saying something else, but I hesitated because I didn't know how these two people would react, I didn't know if I was going to get in trouble and I didn't want my boyfriend to get in trouble either. So we just answered their questions and that was it.”
After the license verification process was complete, Ms Sanchez was “relieved” to see the officers drive off.
"We noticed that their attitude was a bit arrogant because they didn't even say goodbye, they continued laughing and joking amongst themselves”, she said.
SBS Spanish contacted Queensland Police and the Correctional Services minister's office to corroborate Ms Sanchez's account and received the following statement:
"The Queensland Police Service has not received a complaint in relation to a licence check conducted on a 28-year-old woman and 29-year-old man in Kelvin Grove on May 17. However, the interaction involving attending officers has been reviewed, including body-worn vision, and it has been deemed that no further action is necessary at this time. Regardless of this assessment, the officers did not intend to cause offence with their interactions during the licence check."
A week later, Ms Sanchez said she received a letter of apology from the police station where the officers worked.
She explained that in the letter they "apologised for the inconvenience" and informed her that the officers did not intend to offend during the driver's license verification and that the policeman who asked her if she had cocaine in her car, "had been reprimanded and asked never to repeat the comment".
Racial stereotypes and impact on identity
Characterisations of drugs and drug trafficking often cause great offence to Latin American migrants in Australia.
“Neither my family, nor my friends, nor my social contacts are involved in these types of activities, that's why it offended me... as Latin Americans and Colombians we have many positive things that stand out and that contribute to society,” Ms Sanchez explained.
She believes that the officer's comment was "inappropriate", particularly because it contradicted the information she gathered during training workshops as an employee at various Australian companies.
"They promote respect for colleagues and emphasise that jokes or abusive comments about a person's race, nationality, or religious beliefs are not allowed in Australian workplaces."
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), comments that negatively stereotype a person on the basis of race, colour or national origin can be classified as “casual racism”.
It is common for people to justify casual comments or jokes that undermine or stereotype people on the basis of race, culture or religion by saying that "they did not intend to cause offence or harm,” the AHRC said.
The problem with nationality ‘jokes’
Since the Racial Hatred Act was introduced in Australia in October 1995 as part of an amendment to the Racial Discrimination Act (1975), it’s illegal to insult, humiliate, offend or intimidate a person or group for reasons of race, colour, national origin or ethnicity, even if the comment is not followed by a deliberate act of discrimination.
The AHRC points out that in Australia there is a tendency to classify certain behaviours or comments as "not really racist", an attitude that instead of eradicating racial prejudices can strengthen them by closing channels of dialogue.
The CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA), Mohammad Al-Khafaji, told SBS Spanish that casual racism has as much to do with the impact as with the intention behind a comment or action.
"Some of these stereotypes, if they're going to have a negative impact on people, probably shouldn't be repeated. It's important to put yourself in the person's shoes and try to see it from their perspective,” he said.
"I think that a certain degree of training (in work settings) is really beneficial because it allows people who have gone through these experiences to explain the reasons why what appears to be a harmless comment on stereotypes ends up having devastating effects on a person".
FECCA's Mohammad Al-Khafaji on Wednesday. Source: SBS News
‘Jokes’ about Colombia and drug trafficking
The legacy of the narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar during the '80s and '90s and the popularity of US television series such as Narcos, have played an important part in the glorification of crime lords during a tumultuous period of violence in Colombia.
As a result, many Colombians living abroad are often asked about that period in their country's history in a light-hearted manner.
Colombian psychologist and human rights expert Marisol Orozco explains why making light of Colombia's history of drug violence and conflict can be very damaging to its citizens, many of whom are trying to overcome trauma.
Pablo Escobar, left, leader of the Medellin drug cartel, poses at a soccer game in Medellin, Colombia, in 1983. Source: AAP Image/AP Photo
"Drug trafficking has cost [many Colombians] their lives, their families, their land and their personal safety,” she said.
“Unfortunately [in Australia] there is structural racism which is ingrained in its history and which speaks more about an attitude that supports racial superiority.”
It is an observation that Ms Sanchez also shares.
"I would like Australians to understand that we as Latin Americans, and as Colombians, have many striking attributes and many positives that contribute to society all of which extend well beyond the stigma associated with being drug dealers."
