Researcher, author, and professor Philomena Essed wrote that: “Racial oppression is inherent in the nature of the social order…the real drama is not racism but the fact that racism is an everyday problem. …racism is transmitted in routine practices that seem ‘normal,’ at least for the dominant group, this can only mean that racism is often not recognized, not acknowledged-let alone  not considered a problem by the dominant group.”

Some of the roots of racism are economic. When people are scared, desperate and frightened, they scapegoat people and allow latent feelings of racism to surface. Another is the attitude of superiority that individuals and groups feel over others.  Race and racism are socially constructed.  We are not born racists; it is learned behavior based on lack of exposure to diversity, ignorance, and/or fear.  Racists focus on what they perceive as differences among people, when in fact there is very little.  Instead of the word “differences,” let’s use the word individual uniqueness.  Scientists have shown that there is little genetic difference between people who have been grouped as belonging to different races.  In fact scientists have proven that 99% of the human genome is the same in everyone.  Genetic differences are more within groups than between groups.  We are all one coming from the same African ancestry.

Prejudice, discrimination stereotyping are all elements of racism.  The term race in itself is non-specific.

Stereotyping anyone because of their race, ethnicity or color and based on those assumptions commit acts of discrimination, prejudice and/or violence against others; is unacceptable and should never be tolerated.

A form of this is what is commonly known as racial profiling; in the United States it is called  “driving, walking or shopping while black.” In other words the crime; being black. Generally, racial profiling, is associated with people in authority, like the police and government but anyone who sees individuals be it refugees, immigrants, or other people of color or different ethnicities and based on some preconceptions about these individuals determines that it is their right to attack, insult, threaten harass, detain, arrest, etc., when that person has done nothing to warrant this kind of attention except to be “unique” in appearance.

Many who are people of color, refugees or immigrants including myself are constantly being stopped on the streets or at the boarding pass checkpoint at the airport and harassed when nothing has been done to raise suspicion.  The only factor is that the person being stopped is ethnic or of color.

I would like to recount a story published in the New York Times about everyday racism, recently, well known actor, producer and director Forest Whitaker of The Last King of Scotland, one of his popular films, was at a deli on the upper west side of Manhattan near Columbia university when he was approached by an employee and accused of shoplifting and then searched by this employee, of course nothing was found, for he is not a thief.  The owner of the deli said it was a sincere mistake made by a decent man who was just doing his job!

Minorities are subject to these accusations and indignities and to even more devastating attacks of violence daily.   The media glare comes when the victim is Forest Whitaker, an Oscar winner. But it does not matter if you are wealthy, professional, a student, a worker, unemployed or a refugee you are seen and treated as someone different because of your color or ethnicity and not as a valued and unique human being.

Racism is insidious; it eats at both the perpetrator and the victim. It exists everywhere; it is attitude, behavior, feelings that take root within each of us from experiences, family, and socialization.  Racism is not innate; people are not born with racist feelings, these are learned!

When you hear someone say I am not racist or I have no racist feelings, unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten we live in a world where we are taught hatred or we feel threaten and we blame others for that fear and others become the target or recipient of these feelings.  The financial crisis, the loss of jobs, becomes the excuse for allowing these dormant feelings of racism to be exposed.  The world is diverse and the majority of the world’s populations are people of color. We live in a world of globalization where people are moving and immigrating from country to country. Yet racism is alive and well around the world.  It is subtle and overt such as calling people derogatory names, refusing to rent or sell to immigrants or foreigners, telling people to go back where they came from, that they are all dirty or that they are filled with disease or criminals.  And another confirmation of harboring racist feelings is when a person say that they don’t have racist feelings because “my best friend is African” or worse yet, to be told I don’t see color and you are different not like the others! We blame the victim for causing the oppression or being responsible for the racist behavior of others.

People move to another country, live and work in that country, have children yet cannot get residency let alone citizenship despite their contribution to their new homeland.

Each of us is responsible individually for the continued perpetuation of racism unless we decide to do something about it.  Ending racism begins and ends with each of us.  We all must become aware of and acknowledge these toxic attitudes and behaviors and stop denying their existence.  Because until we all make this acknowledgement, we cannot and will not do anything to change or confront this plague on our society and culture.

Racism is not new for it has existed for centuries around the world.  Unfortunately, today in the year 2013 in the 21st century because of racism we are still experiencing a world where men, women and children continue to be excluded from living fully as human beings, actualizing their dreams, achieving their goals and contributing to improving this world.

The doctrine of racism is not on the wane, it is getting new recruits and gaining increased popularity and acceptance. We can’t allow racism to continue to grow and take root in our society. There is no excuse or justification for racism of any kind anywhere.

We must all work to end its existence, and everywhere we find it, we must condemn and defeat it.

What is clear here is that racism and I repeat is universal and is in the minds and hearts of “good people”.  Those who continuously state and insist they are not racists or have racist feelings. Good people, who do nothing, good people who remain silent in the face of racist behavior.

Let’s confront racists; let’s do our part to change not only our attitudes but also those of others to the damaging effects of racism in our world.  We must all take responsibility for its continuation we have a duty to do our part to end the nightmare of racial discrimination and to change history.

“Silence in the face of racists assaults are acts of complicity” and finally a quote by Maya Angelou “we all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”

Xenophobia has soared in Greece, a country in the midst of a deep economic crisis and on the front line of immigration into the European Union. The upsurge of violence this year has left migrants and asylum seekers—many of whom have fled war zones—afraid to walk the streets of Athens at night for fear of being attacked.

Saleh Ibrahim, a 26-year-old Somali who acted as an interpreter for Human Rights Watch during research for this report, was chased down the street in Athens by five men in June 2012. They caught him and beat with a piece of wood. His hand was broken when he tried to shield his head from the blows.

Ibrahim did not report the crime because he believed the police would not help him. But hopefully in the near future, other asylum seekers will trust the police to investigate their cases and hold their attackers accountable.

During the research of the report, “Hate on the Streets: Xenophobic Violence in Greece,” HRW spoke with dozens of migrants and asylum seekers, including two pregnant women who had experiences like Ibrahim’s.

Greece has become a major gateway into the European Union for migrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Most travel across Turkey to reach Greece, where they seek a better life and a safe haven. At a time when Greece is struggling with its debt, the increase in immigrants has fanned support for the far-right Golden Dawn party, which was voted into Parliament last June.

Violence against these migrants has surged, yet in July, when the report was issued , the Greek police had no strategy to prevent attacks or protect immigrants. They had yet to prosecute a single person under a hate crimes law passed in 2008 to deter racial violence. Instead, authorities had taken a “blame the victims” approach–even going so far as to charge victims €100 to report a crime. Some police told victims they should learn to fight back and that undocumented migrants would be detained if they insisted on an investigation.

Meanwhile, groups of dark-clad, masked attackers have continued to target migrants and asylum seekers on Athens’ streets.

“We are encouraged by the government’s response to our demands that it step up and stop the violence. But the problem is far from resolved. We will monitor the situation to make sure Greek officials follow up these promises with action,” HRW said.

“ We are asking authorities to make clear that they will investigate and prosecute these crimes, deploy officers to hot spots for violence, and offer police and prosecutors training on how to prevent and respond to xenophobic violence. We want to ensure that undocumented migrants will never face detention or deportation for reporting a crime, a key reason why so many do not seek help from the police.”

The 19-year-old died in hospital on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed near an unofficial mosque in Anaxagora Street in central Athens by a gang of five people riding four motorcycles, police officials said.

The gang had earlier tried to assault a Romanian and a Moroccan national before the attack, but the pair managed to escape, witnesses told police.

“Such attacks are unacceptable and the authorities must do all within their power to stem their rise,” said Jezerca Tigani, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Attacks by unidentified groups and individuals against foreign nationals and places of worship have also been reported in the past week in Athens, Pireus, Crete and other towns.

In one attack last Thursday in Pireus, flares were reportedly thrown into a prayer room for Muslim worshippers by some 15 members of an extreme right-wing group riding motorcycles as 10 migrants were praying inside. 

There are no official mosques in Greece. Muslim worshippers pray in rooms, flats, warehouses, and any space that can be turned into a praying room. So far, plans to build official mosques have failed.

Two Pakistani nationals were taken to hospital after being beaten by a group of unknown men who entered their house in Vonitsa in Western Greece last Sunday evening.

Two Egyptian nationals also told the organization in July that they were attacked by around 20 members of an extreme right-wing group as they slept in a house in Pireus with four fellow nationals. One of the two men, a young fisherman, had to have two operations on his face and remained in hospital for days after the incident. Five men and a woman were arrested after the attack.

“The number of attacks is worrying and it shows how much rage and hate there is in the society. It is time for the Greek society to stand up against such shameful attacks and reassert its condemnation of racial and ethnic hatred,” said Jezerca Tigani.

The attack against the Iraqi man on Sunday came days after Amnesty International called on the Greek authorities to halt a police crackdown launched last week on “irregular immigrants”, in which more than 8,000 foreign nationals were arrested in the Greek capital. Of those, 1,660 individuals were found to be without official documentation and were placed in administrative detention, according to Greek police today.

“Recent police operations against immigrants have raised serious concerns that people may be discriminated against on the basis of their perceived ethnicity, and such actions fuel xenophobic sentiment.”

Amnesty International, while recognizing the Greek authorities’ right to control immigration, has previously stated they “do not have the right to treat people in the street like criminals purely because of the colour of their skin”.

“Greek authorities must prioritize and build up the confidence of minorities and foreign nationals in the ability of the authorities to protect them from the threat of racist violence by sending a strong message to all those who carry out these attacks – they will not be tolerated and will be fully and vigorously investigated, with perpetrators brought to justice,” said Jezerca Tigani.