Racism is unfortunately something many Australians face every day. The past week has seen several high-profile South Asians in Australia use their platform to shed light on their own experiences facing racism, in a bid to not only highlight how rampant the issue is, but the importance in calling out this discrimination.
Entrepreneurs Jeeva and Suji Sanjeevan shared a post on LinkedIn which described their experience of receiving a “hateful message filled with racist comments” from a stranger on social media. The couple, who appeared on Shark Tank Australia for their fragrance business, Light & Glo, were told by a stranger to “go back to your own country” and that they’re “disgusting”. In a screenshot shared by Jeeva, the message – which was sent to Light & Glo’s business Instagram account – also showed the person asking, “Why are you taking business away from actual Australians”.
“Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've experienced such hostility. It's heartbreaking that in 2024, we're still facing discrimination simply because we are migrants,” Jeeva shared on LinkedIn.
The Melbourne-based couple have called Australia home for the past 16 years, and Suji says it’s a challenging situation to process when you’ve moved to Australia for a bright future, but are met with such hostility because of the colour of your skin.
“I faced racism growing up in England, my family fought for rights in Sri Lanka as a minority and became displaced,” Suji tells Draw Your Box.
“Jeeva faced and witnessed the harshness of civil war and witnessed first-hand the atrocities of war as a child growing up in Sri Lanka, only to flee and experience marginalisation here. We thought things were changing.”
Previously a Melbourne-based clinical researcher, Suji says she and Jeeva (who previously worked as an allergy specialist), have faced racism many times in Australia.
“Jeeva and I have faced unconscious biases and racism throughout our corporate careers, in places that are meant to foster care, and that experience was one of the key drivers for stepping into entrepreneurship,” Suji tells us. “We wanted to create a platform where we could speak up, be heard, not ignored, and build something meaningful that reflects our values.”
Whether it’s microaggressions or more overt racism, it can understandably feel difficult for people of colour to call out racism when they’ve experienced it, particularly if it’s in the workplace, at school or university, or in a close social circle. The stakes can often feel higher for people of colour as it is, and it’s understandable to fear what the repercussions could be for speaking out. While Suji and Jeeva were initially unsure about whether to talk publicly about this incident, they eventually chose to do so to help normalise these discussions.
“Speaking up against this kind of ignorance is essential – not just for us, but for everyone who’s ever felt marginalised,” says Suji. “By addressing these issues publicly, we hope to incite change and contribute to a future where the next generation can thrive without facing the same challenges. We’re committed to using our voice and our platform to make that future a reality.
“Often people choose to ignore, remain quiet in fear of repercussions. How many times do you turn your cheek and realise you’re out of cheeks to turn? Keeping quiet is part of the problem. It’s about ensuring an inclusive future for the generations to come.”
A few days earlier, former Miss Universe Australia, Maria Thattil recalled an unpleasant experience where she was verbally abused by a man at a petrol station. The model and writer told her Instagram followers that this man told her, “I’m abusing you because you’re a f***ing immigrant”.
“I’m no stranger to racism but it did shock me to endure verbal, racial abuse so openly,” Thattil wrote on Instagram, before highlighting that “racism isn’t always overt like this - it thrives in every single space”.
“Just yesterday, I spoke on a podcast about how the racist bullying I endured in school still lives in me,” she continued.
“It’s the reason I suffer anxiety, it’s why I get overwhelmed walking into big, full rooms and thoughts creep in about whether I’ll be judged, it’s why imposter syndrome is something I’ve had to work very hard to overcome. It’s never ok.”
Thattil and her younger brother were born in Melbourne after her parents migrated to Australia from India in the 1990s. Mentioning her family, she said, “immigrants – like my parents – make this country what it is: the multicultural, rich, diverse place we call home.
“A home bettered by our differences. No amount of hateful racism can ever condition me to believe I am less than - as it once did in my childhood. Racism? THAT is un-Australian. So shameful.”
Meanwhile activist and writer, Tarang Chawla also shared some of the online vitriol he’s faced on X (formerly known as Twitter). Chawla shared a screenshot of a tweet directed to him with the message: “You’re not wanted here. F**K OFF. AUSTRALIA FOR THE WHITE MAN!”
Chawla tells Draw Your Box that he often receives racist messages on social media.
"Sadly, one can become numb to this, and I'm definitely in that position where I'm actually just a bit used to it. I try not to take it personally," he says. "I think it shocks others more when I show them the types of DMs I receive, because the private messages are often worse than the public comments."
As an anti domestic violence activist and media commentator, Chawla says that facing such discrimination in the public eye has sadly been inevitable "for a long time". Though, it shouldn't have to be like this.
"When I first started expressing my perspectives online about men's violence against women, I was met with racism," he explains.
"I have observed that every time a person from a culturally and racially marginalised group says something that prompts Australia to look in the mirror and reflect, a certain defensiveness rooted in nationalism and populism is triggered and from a position of fear and ignorance, some people resort to racism. For example, during the Indian men's cricket team tour in 2021, I was subjected to racism for speaking in support of Mohammed Siraj who called out racism by Australian fans.
"Later, when I criticised Ben Roberts-Smith, the war criminal and alleged DV offender, I had weeks of relentless racism and some of it was genuinely terrifying. The difficult thing is that you never know who is serious and will act on threats of violence or harm."
As Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Chawla has observed a shift in how racism is being spoken about, as well as how it manifests in Australia.
"We are seeing an increased awareness of racism as well as a genuine increase in its prevalence," he says.
"In Australia, the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism is dismaying. Sadly, for both of these communities, this is not new. In Victoria, we have seen neo-Nazis attend protests for several years and they have brazenly displayed Nazi propaganda. Meanwhile Palestinian and Middle Eastern communities continue to face discrimination, vilification and are likened to terrorists on a daily basis."
Similar to Suji and Jeeva, this isn’t the first time Chawla has faced racism online, and it makes you wonder how social media could play a tool in facilitating it. Platforms like X share their 'Hateful Conduct' policy which outlines "You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease". Instagram's Community Guidelines state "It's never OK to encourage violence or attack anyone based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disabilities, or diseases". But are their measures to report and remove harmful content enough?
“Social media has given everyone a voice which is a double edged sword,” says Suji. “It’s made it easier for some to hide behind anonymity and spew racially charged messages without accountability.”
She believes education and awareness are essential in addressing the issue, and that the solution “requires a collective effort” from the government, social media platforms and the wider community.
“We need to actively foster conversations about racism, both online and offline, to educate people on the profound impact their words can have. Public awareness campaigns can help shift perceptions, encouraging users to think critically before they type.
She also says "governments should consider updating legal frameworks to hold individuals accountable for online hate speech" and that social media platforms "need to take stronger action by implementing stricter policies against hate speech.
"This includes developing better algorithms to identify and flag harmful content and enhancing reporting mechanisms to ensure quicker and more effective enforcement."
Chawla agrees, saying he supports measures to educate, "but that on its own is not nearly enough and does not address the way that racism spreads online".
"The policy response to racism has often been to think that education and awareness will be sufficient to shift behaviours, and that may work in an analog world, but it's no longer fit-for-purpose in 2024," he says.
"It's like bringing a garden hose to a bushfire. The big picture is that social media companies are not doing nearly enough to cooperate with removing hate speech, racist content or messages that brazenly discriminate against culturally and racially marginalised groups."
In a statement provided to Draw Your Box, a Meta spokesperson said: "We want our apps to be safe places where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. We don’t want hate speech on our services, and we have invested in new ways to find it and remove it.
"Under our policies, you can’t attack people based on things like who they are, where they come from, or how they identify. We use technology to detect hate speech so we can remove it. It also allows us to reduce the distribution of other types of content that violates our policies. We also make it easy to report any hate speech directly within our apps, because when it comes to bullying and harassment, context really matters."
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