To be and to not be

Not long ago, an invader dominated the landscape, bringing us all to a stop and locking us up in our homes for an (at the time) undetermined period. This house arrest, so to speak, obviously came as shock and ended up forcing us to realize just how fragile our way of life really is. Now try to place yourself in a situation where you’re forced to flee your home, your country, because you fear for you and your family’s physical safety. It’s not even possible to imagine such a thing, unless you’ve actually been through the experience. There’s no seeking refuge with family or friends. The only hope is that there will be strangers somewhere that will extend a helping hand. Covid takes a back seat. So far, for the Ukranian people, Europe has stepped up and opened their arms in order to assist their neighbours suffering from Putin’s invasion. Poland, for example, has taken in over one million refugees and other countries have also opened their borders.

The world’s refugees have been capturing our attention for some time now, so long, in fact, that images of precarious water craft overfilled with people trying to get to safety have, sadly, become almost routine. I speak of the ones fleeing over water, but millions also flee by land. According to the UN Refugee Agency, at the end of 2020 there were over 82 million people worldwide that had been forcibly displaced, the vast majority from Syria, Afghanistan, southern Sudan and Myanmar. All these people faced, at the very least, equal problems as the Ukranians, yet, for the most part, the western world has met those who’ve reached our shores with suspicion and in many cases with indifference and even cruelty. Some governments refuse them entry, turn back their vessels, many die trying to reach safety. Is it the colour of their skin? Thankfully, the Ukranian people that have been able to escape their country have been largely met with empathy, but non-European refugees are locked up in makeshift camps in conditions that most prefer not to think about, while governments debate what to do with them.

I’m thinking that there might be a distinct possibility that white people have, over the years, been subliminally and inadvertently desensitized toward people of colour, even immigrants in general, through mediums such as television and film. I know this acclamation might sound ludicrous, but I’m not speaking of conspiracies, if it’s true,I believe it mostly happens in a passive manner. A few months ago, while feeling nostalgic, I consulted the YouTube oracle for footage of 70’s Toronto, low and behold, I was greeted with a number of Government of Ontario promotional clips. Wow! Toronto in the 70’s, people enjoying Ontario Place, Fort York, skaters at City Hall, summer at the CNE. If you’re the right age, you’ll remember these promo films well. Surprisingly, while enjoying the nostalgia, I immediately noticed something I had, in those days, never considered, all the people were white. If you grew up in TO in the 70’s, you know that the city was rife with families from all over the world, that contributed greatly to creating the city we know today. In the film you might conclude that Toronto consisted only of the downtown core. It didn’t dawn on me then, but now I’m much more aware, as we all are, I believe. The fact that today everyone has a voice and can relate their experiences, showing us how wrong things were, has woken us up from our past ignorance. I’ve never considered myself a racist person, but when I come across a drama, or even comedy, that I watched as a young person, the reality of the manner in which people of colour, poorer backgrounds and immigrants were cast, makes me feel uneasy for actually having enjoyed these shows.
A terrorist or a drug dealer, create a mental picture in your mind’s eye, is that person Caucasian? If not, then maybe the reason is the environment in which you grew up. It was just TV, right? Today, I find myself wondering what a non-Caucasian and/or immigrant person watching TV in the 70’s would be thinking, especially a child. In the end, it’s everyone and no one’s fault. We were all just feeding on what had been put on the table and accepting it as normal, never realizing that it was weaving itself into our very fabric. Is this why the people of the Ukraine have had an advantage, for lack of a better word? Maybe. I don’t think many of us are thinking that there may be a terrorist or a drug dealer among them and thank goodness, they need all the help they can get.
Fiquem bem.

Raul Freitas/MS