Migrants and Racism - written by Ikenna Nwabueze

When Kelis, an American R&B singer, first complained about being racially abused it made headlines in the evening papers in London. This was probably because initial reports stated that the ugly incident happened at a London airport. Subsequent reports clarified that she was allegedly racially abused by a man who may have been English and that the incident happened at a Spanish airport.

Racism is defined by BBC English dictionary as the belief that people of particular races are inferior to others and behavior which is a result of this belief.

Used in this context 'a race' is one of the major groups which human beings can be divided into according to their physical features, such as their skin colour.

There is no denying the fact that racism either in subtle or overt form still exists in the world. We owe the successes recorded so far in the fight against racism to people of all races who have at some point taken a stance against it.

If you are a 'man of colour' planning to move to United Kingdom, you may have to confront the racism issue at some point during your stay. As the subject matter is a sensitive one you will find that some people are not comfortable discussing it.

Discrimination of any kind is of course illegal, so racists are continually inventing techniques to disguise their actions. The proportion of ignorant persons who still think their skin colour or race makes them better are minute though. The majority acknowledge that ship has since sailed.

In my view, the biggest problem faced by blacks especially in England is the negative perception of black men. In a programme aired recently on British television, the documentary chronicled the persecution suffered by blacks post slave trade era both in Europe and USA. The film showed how the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and their backers, not content with the massacre of freed slaves started a propaganda campaign using the cinema. The black man was depicted as a potential rapist who should be apprehended, castrated and/or killed to protect the white woman from falling victim.

In today's world,one sometimes wonders if that mindset has been passed down generations especially when a white man/woman abruptly changes course or crosses to the opposite sidewalk on sighting a black male coming either in front or following.

Similar occurrence is where as one approaches a parked vehicle with the driver in it, the driver hurriedly switches on the engine and zooms off or one hears the sound of the car doors being locked. It can be argued that these are evasive actions individuals are taught / learn to help them stay safe in these times of rising crime numbers. These scenarios are based on personal experiences and happen often enough to cause concern.

As an ethnic minority in UK, you will always be reminded of the ethnicity issue even if it's just for maintaining records of diversity when you fill out forms.

Yes, I can definitely say that I have experienced subtle racism but I have not been fazed by it and that is because I have also experienced tribalism from fellow countrymen as a child and as an adult.

BBC English dictionary defines Tribalism as the behaviour and attitudes shown by the members of a particular group in society, especially with regard to the loyalty they feel for each other and their hostility to other groups.

Again, thanks to our forerunners the ethnicity issue is not as bad today. So having experienced subtle modern racism and tribalism, I can tell you that the feeling is not that different. The word that runs through both ills is Inequality.

I may be crucified by some members of my race for this but it has to be said; the black race must share in the blame for the stereotyping of the race as criminals. For instance, the proportion of blacks to other races in England in 2009 was only 2.9% however the proportion of blacks reported as being involved in crime in both the electronic and print media when compared to persons from other race is countless - Metropolitan Police crime statistics.Not to mention the shameful subject of Black on Black crime.

Going back to the issue of racism, I suspect that the scourge will remain for years to come, so all we can do is continue to fight or manage it where possible. As I draft this article, racism in football is the subject of discussion on the news channel following the alleged racial abuse of Patrice Evra by a Liverpool player. In a subsequent article, I hope to focus on how a migrant can minimize the chances of being caught up in the racism issue and street crime.

After all said though, one has to commend the British government (though not all its citizens support the idea) for opening its borders to migrants of different races when persons of same race in some parts of the world are unable to tolerate the next door neighbour simply because he is of a different 'tribe'.