The #EverydayRacism campaign, produced by NGO Resolve, aims to shed a light on the difficulties faced by ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.
The charity has released seven stories about day-to-day racism in the city, with the purpose of empowering communities to overcome discrimination and make Hong Kong a more welcoming place for all.
Resolve provides fellowships to emerging leaders from marginalised and underrepresented communities.
Its founder, Victoria Otero, told HKFP that the project aims to highlight the city’s diverse social makeup.
“The #EverydayRacism campaign is the culmination of our inaugural fellows’ collaborative work. Rather than focus on larger systemic issues, they wanted to do a campaign that would raise awareness about forms of racial discrimination that take place in our daily lives,” she said.
She added: “While it is an unfortunate reality that racism exists in many places around the world, stopping it must start at home. That’s why we wanted to galvanise attention on racial discrimination in this diverse and vibrant city, so we can have a more inclusive society here in Hong Kong.”
‘Dispel stereotypes’
The campaign features stories from residents such as Payal, who was told at work to pretend to be a different nationality. And Shabab, who has had racial slurs shouted at him as his family on the street.
Micka was discriminated against at a restaurant for being Indonesian.
In August, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination made several recommendations to Hong Kong on how to tackle racial discrimination, including training for civil servants and systemic reform.
Otero told HKFP that although the committee raised concerns over xenophobia in Hong Kong, discrimination persists: “We hope the campaign can dispel stereotypes, start a conversation and spread the message that everyone, no matter their background, deserves equal opportunity,” she said.
Resolve will be holding a panel discussion on November 6 at the Hive Sheung Wan, from 7pm to 9pm, on how to combat racism and negative stereotyping. The panel is designed to represent the perspectives of community, education, legal and media representatives.
It aims to take stock of the online conservation that has surrounded the campaign.
Read more about the #EverdayRacism campaign here.
