Written by Latha Subramaniam, a member of Akar Umbi Kita, a programme for emerging advocates against racial discrimination by Architects of Diversity, Imagined Malaysia, IDEAS and the European Union. This article is published in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The period of my school life was littered with innumerable incidents of race-based discrimination. Insensitive taunts, derogatory slurs, racist stereotypes, unequal treatments and social exclusion plagues my memories of school. Racism was a norm that I had to endure and suffer during my school years. After years of leaving my school life, memories of my experiences with racism in school still haunts me.  Racial discrimination is a pervasive issue in multiracial Malaysia and its schools. Schools are supposed to be safe learning sanctuaries for every young Malaysians regardless of skin colour, racial identity, ethnicity or nationality. However, the reality indicates that for many, it is a place of racial trauma during and beyond schooling years.

Architects of Diversity and Sekolah Semua’s Discrimination in Education Survey unmasked the reality of prejudices and biasness in Malaysian schools with half of its respondents reportedly suffered verbal discrimination, bullying or harassment and social exclusion. The findings also signified that 62% of those respondents experienced discrimination in relation to their racial identity. Malaysian schools’ long withstanding history of tolerating racial discriminations in schools was also brought to light by the retrospective survey that included participants from different age groups. These numbers clearly accentuates the grim reality of racial discrimination in Malaysian schools, its generational implication and the imperative need to tackle it.

For me, these numbers ultimately indicate a myriad of racial traumas and emotional injuries that would have tormented and haunted the victims throughout their school years and beyond. Multiple studies have associated racial discrimination which ranges from verbal abuse, bullying and harassment in schools to mental scars and race-based traumatic stress. Anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, lack of self-esteem, self-hate and other psychological injuries caused by events of race-based discrimination in schools would eventually deteriorate victims’ navigation, satisfaction and quality of life.

It is important to point out that raising awareness or campaigns on unity and harmony does not wholly eliminate the issue. Strategizing a multidimensional remedy is pivotal in order to have an effective eradication of this issue. Tackling racial discrimination from multiple angles in schools is how we could move forward from this. It is how we could ensure that no young child or teen would face the brunt racial discriminations in schools and its dire consequences. Addressing multiple instigators and perpetrators of racial discriminations in schools, including peers, educators, schools administration and institutional inertia is critical. Including victims in mapping the solutions is also a crucial step in combating race-based discriminations in Malaysian schools.

It is undeniable that the act of racial discrimination were cultivated and nurtured through familial, societal and systemic values. Individuals who are inclined to impose racially discriminatory actions on another, has probably been conditioned to do so. Racial hatred is most likely nurtured through generational miseducation, beliefs, implicit biases and prejudices. Therefore, the most effective and far-reaching way to break the cycle of racial discrimination in schools would be through anti-racism education. Students’ curriculum and educators’ training should be inclusive of subjects on race, racism and anti-racism. Subjects or courses on anti-racism should be developed and tailored with empathy, historically accurate facts and a non-prejudiced stance.

Racially segregating practices in schools should be condemned, especially from educators and the school management, who hold an immense amount of power and place of authority in schools. Educational opportunities and treatments should be disseminated in an equitable manner. Introduction and rectification of laws or provisions against racially discriminatory acts or practices is a vital step forward to eradicating prejudiced and discriminatory norms. Absence of such bills and guidelines thus far has provided a leeway for perpetrators to continue their vile acts of racial discrimination.

Lack of effective actions and normalization of racial discriminations in schools have often resulted in the invalidation of victims’ traumas. The perpetrators’ actions were likely to be excused on the ground that their intentions were not malicious. To mitigate the harm done, victims of racial discrimination in schools were led to believe that the perpetrators were still growing up and learning, thus the infliction of hate is pardonable. These arguments in a literal sense neglects the traumas and injustices forced onto the victims. Therefore, accountability plays a vital role in tackling racial discrimination in schools. Effective, safe and empathetic channels to report racial discrimination should be established in schools because the existing platforms sweeps the reports under the rug of racism, which does not provide justice for victims. A proper reporting system in conjunction with anti-discriminatory provisions could suppress rampant racism in schools.

Victims of racial discrimination in schools should be allocated with facilities and platforms to seek justice on the traumas inflicted on them. The wounds of unhealed traumas could negatively impact their mental health and ability to lead a fulfilling life. Studies have found that emotional and mental injuries of racism left unattended lead to intergenerational traumas and restricts social or communal developments. Making mental healthcare accessible is a requirement to overcome the issue. Financial barriers, stigmatization of mental illnesses and inadequate recognition of psychological effects of racism may hinder access to mental healthcare, which is crucial in overcoming the traumas of racial discrimination.

More quantitative and qualitative data on the extent of racial discrimination in schools are necessary to eradicate the issue. These data and evidences should deeply explore the multifaceted intersections of racial discrimination. For instance, the motivational aspect of the perpetrators’ actions, its traumatic consequences on the victims, and so on. This should then be paired with real and effective actions to combat race based prejudices, hate and harassments in Malaysian schools.

To sum things up, racial discrimination in Malaysian schools should be eradicated and the solutions to combat it have to be more extensive than just raising awareness. A comprehensive multidimensional approach is how racial discrimination in schools could be tackled and that requires solutions from multiple parties, from victims to institutional bodies.