Elena Chiavazza Prieto, Grade 12
UWCEA (Arusha)
While speaking with my UWC friends, I realized that there is a common denominator in all countries of the world: there is always a “race of immigrants” who are directed to do the dirty work of society. It seems to be a bit shocking me to have to reproduce that premise that I have heard so many times in my homeland, and it is even somewhat complex to talk about a problem that stains the “good behavior” of Argentine society. Once, I saw a video of a man who claimed he was not racist because he was Latino, however, the facts that I have given below strongly reflect that racism is something that is practised beyond the Latin American heritage and that it is an evil from which, after all, no nation is exempt.
From a very young age, I used to hear “Bolivian” or “Peruvian” as a common insult among young children. I never understood what was wrong to have belonged to these countries that even my parents had travelled to and from, and about which they had told me wonderful stories. I also didn’t understand why my dad was so angry when one of my classmates in kindergarten called me “grimy Chilean” in an offensive way when he found out that my mom was from Chile. However, as I grew older I realized that all these behaviours were inherently racist, and I understood that there was also a collective prejudice against people who migrated to Argentina from other places in Latin America: they were the ones who would be in charge of cutting the grass in your yard, keeping your house clean and taking care of young children. However, these are just a few of many other somewhat malevolent stereotypes, such as that immigrants always smell bad, or that their accents in Spanish reflect what the “lower class” is.
It was always very difficult for me to listen to such evil comments about all those people who weren’t born in Argentina, especially being half Chilean myself. But one day had enough; in 2010, Chile suffered a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that ravaged the houses and lives of numerous Chilean citizens, and which also unleashed my fury when one of my elementary school classmates justified not wanting to help the neighbouring Chilean people since “they did not deserve it for the simple fact of being Chilean”. I thought about my Chilean family that I love so much, and I realized that the level of discrimination that had been reflected in my classmate’s comment was even somewhat dangerous.
The danger of racism in Argentina was reflected again when the worst thing imaginable happened: a Peruvian woman boarded a public bus with her young son, and she unwittingly hit one of the passengers with her bag, all the others who were in the bus started booing her and kicked her out of the transport while it was moving… the woman fell, resulting in the death of her and her young son. Although it is difficult to express in words the pain generated by the lack of empathy and the ignorance in my country, cases like these make me realize that we really still lack too much to grow as a society.
Due to all the global context that is being lived today, as a result of the murder committed against George Floyd, I thought that perhaps it would be important to begin to uncover all the racism that is lived today worldwide, and how it is aimed at different oppressed minorities. There is a large diversity of communities currently in my city, which were built with the work and effort of many immigrants who travelled to Argentina in search of a new and promising future; these communities today have been consolidated as neighbourhoods, and they live under terrible conditions; since the government does not recognize them as a legitimate part of the Argentine territory and refuses to support them with basic services such as water, heating or electricity. This is a reality that I had seen with my own eyes when I went to visit a very close friend that lives in a neighbourhood called “La Favorita”, a small village that was built by Chilean women who migrated many decades ago to Mendoza, Argentina. In this place, the worst living conditions can be seen: people can go for days and days without access to light or drinking water and sometimes they cannot even use public transport to get to their jobs. This makes me wonder: What can be expected from a society in which the government doesn’t even try to show respect for immigrants?
It goes without saying that I love my homeland, I love my country and I love my culture, but sometimes, I am really ashamed to have to say that things like these happen in the place I come from. Actually, however, there are still not one but many rays of light and hope, which can be seen reflected in all the protests and peaceful marches organized by the communities that want to eradicate inequality and discrimination, that want to stop the police brutality that is aimed at immigrants who, for that simple fact, are perceived to deserve to be detained, that want to stop the active violence that society exercises over them, and that want to stop the injustices they have suffered for several years. As an Argentine, I know that not all of my society is sick with racism, and I know that many of us are joining this fight against racist nationalism and injustices and inequality. Currently, I put all my faith not only in this fight, but also in all those who fight it in their own countries, and I hope that in the next generations this common denominator between countries will cease to exist.
From a very young age, I used to hear “Bolivian” or “Peruvian” as a common insult among young children. I never understood what was wrong to have belonged to these countries that even my parents had travelled to and from, and about which they had told me wonderful stories. I also didn’t understand why my dad was so angry when one of my classmates in kindergarten called me “grimy Chilean” in an offensive way when he found out that my mom was from Chile. However, as I grew older I realized that all these behaviours were inherently racist, and I understood that there was also a collective prejudice against people who migrated to Argentina from other places in Latin America: they were the ones who would be in charge of cutting the grass in your yard, keeping your house clean and taking care of young children. However, these are just a few of many other somewhat malevolent stereotypes, such as that immigrants always smell bad, or that their accents in Spanish reflect what the “lower class” is.
It was always very difficult for me to listen to such evil comments about all those people who weren’t born in Argentina, especially being half Chilean myself. But one day had enough; in 2010, Chile suffered a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that ravaged the houses and lives of numerous Chilean citizens, and which also unleashed my fury when one of my elementary school classmates justified not wanting to help the neighbouring Chilean people since “they did not deserve it for the simple fact of being Chilean”. I thought about my Chilean family that I love so much, and I realized that the level of discrimination that had been reflected in my classmate’s comment was even somewhat dangerous.
The danger of racism in Argentina was reflected again when the worst thing imaginable happened: a Peruvian woman boarded a public bus with her young son, and she unwittingly hit one of the passengers with her bag, all the others who were in the bus started booing her and kicked her out of the transport while it was moving… the woman fell, resulting in the death of her and her young son. Although it is difficult to express in words the pain generated by the lack of empathy and the ignorance in my country, cases like these make me realize that we really still lack too much to grow as a society.
Due to all the global context that is being lived today, as a result of the murder committed against George Floyd, I thought that perhaps it would be important to begin to uncover all the racism that is lived today worldwide, and how it is aimed at different oppressed minorities. There is a large diversity of communities currently in my city, which were built with the work and effort of many immigrants who travelled to Argentina in search of a new and promising future; these communities today have been consolidated as neighbourhoods, and they live under terrible conditions; since the government does not recognize them as a legitimate part of the Argentine territory and refuses to support them with basic services such as water, heating or electricity. This is a reality that I had seen with my own eyes when I went to visit a very close friend that lives in a neighbourhood called “La Favorita”, a small village that was built by Chilean women who migrated many decades ago to Mendoza, Argentina. In this place, the worst living conditions can be seen: people can go for days and days without access to light or drinking water and sometimes they cannot even use public transport to get to their jobs. This makes me wonder: What can be expected from a society in which the government doesn’t even try to show respect for immigrants?
It goes without saying that I love my homeland, I love my country and I love my culture, but sometimes, I am really ashamed to have to say that things like these happen in the place I come from. Actually, however, there are still not one but many rays of light and hope, which can be seen reflected in all the protests and peaceful marches organized by the communities that want to eradicate inequality and discrimination, that want to stop the police brutality that is aimed at immigrants who, for that simple fact, are perceived to deserve to be detained, that want to stop the active violence that society exercises over them, and that want to stop the injustices they have suffered for several years. As an Argentine, I know that not all of my society is sick with racism, and I know that many of us are joining this fight against racist nationalism and injustices and inequality. Currently, I put all my faith not only in this fight, but also in all those who fight it in their own countries, and I hope that in the next generations this common denominator between countries will cease to exist.
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