KRISTEN HALL | staff writer
If something has no label then does it truly exist? The French government would argue no.
For years, they have placed a ban on collecting data based on ethnicity in an attempt to battle discrimination, but what they have really done is ignored ethnic diversity and created more problems for minorities in their country.
With levels of violence in France’s immigrant suburbs at the highest levels in years and riots becoming more commonplace, this issue cannot continue to be ignored.
It was announced on Monday, March 23 that the French government is launching a commission to find new ways to measure ethnic diversity.
This is the first positive step they have taken in years.
A primary reason they have not taken steps sooner is an archaic and illogical fear that taking an ethnic census will bring them back to World War II when the Nazis used censuses as tools to identify and round up Jews.
Ethnic censuses are not a catalyst for racism but simply a way to identify what minorities make up what percentage of the population and the areas where inequality exists.
To just ignore ethnic makeup by simply labeling everyone as “French” regardless of their ethnicity or background is just plain obtuse and irrational.
Unless the population of France altogether, simultaneously loses their vision at the same time, racism toward minorities will exist no matter what label people are given.
Senior communication studies major Tetu Shani has been to France and witnessed this discrimination first-hand.
“France is a very aristocratic society and there is a lot of racism there,” Shani said. “Their very own prime minister made racist comments about the French National Soccer team. He commented that he wished there were more French people on it.”
This comment is especially racist because currently everyone is just considered legally “French” when in reality an estimated 10 percent of the population is made up of minorities of African, Arab and Asian descent.
Few minorities hold important jobs in France and hardly any are ever elected to parliament or other public offices. A survey conducted by the Council of Black Associations revealed that many blacks in France feel they have been victims of racial discrimination and one in five believe they have been refused work because of the color of their skin.
Regardless of skin color, racism also exists based on names. Citizens with foreign sounding names will have a harder time finding a job or being elected into office.
“Even without an ethnic census, people will determine what ethnicity you are based on your last name,” Shani said. “Census or not, there are still these differences which humanity recognizes globally. These are global issues not just confined to France.”
So the true unanswered question is, can we prevent other people’s prejudices?
Here at APU, I believe we have realized that accepting others means encompassing every aspect of their being including race.
Through events such as Unlearn Week, APU has sought to bring a level of understanding about diversity to our student body. We are all human beings. The heart that beats in me is no different than the heart that beats in every other person on the planet. When we start to move out from this however, we cannot ignore differences that exist among people.
Religion, race, gender, culture and sexual preference are all components that make up who we are. To love someone doesn’t mean ignoring the color of their skin but rather loving them because they are different. When it comes down to it we are all different in some way.
Can we even take it a step further and love someone no matter what their religion? Can a Christian walk up to a Buddhist and say that even though we don’t believe in the same God, that is okay and love them regardless? For many Christians this is a hard thing to do.
I think there is a lot more to discrimination than just race. It is the baggage that comes with that label.Beginning to take steps to address the problem of racial discrimination in France is constructive, but there is a much deeper problem than that.
How can the French government overcome years of deep-rooted racial prejudice among its predominately white population?
In the United States it took an entire Civil Rights movement with many lives lost in the battle against racism. Hopefully it will not come to that in France, a nation whose history is marked by revolution and social unrest.
The change must come from within the citizens themselves. To quote Kanye West, “We are at war; we’re at war with terrorism, racism, but most of all, we’re at war with ourselves.”
The change that needs to be seen in France as well as right here in Azusa has to come from within us, not from the government. Only then can racism be truly abolished.
