Racism is not Australia's destiny; it's a choice - and we must take decisive action to combat it

By Dr Mehreen Faruqi

Greens Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi has faced a barrage of abuse and violent threats for simply existing as an outspoken Muslim, migrant woman of colour in Australian politics. And as neo-Nazis take their white nationalist agenda to the streets, she’s calling for solidarity in the fight against racism and fascism.

---

Photo by Marcus Reubenstein on Unsplash

Pieces like this one are free to read. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so Cheek can continue paying writers for their insight and expertise.

There is a very particular price you pay as a Muslim, migrant woman of colour who refuses to shrink herself in Australian politics. There is a price for unapologetically standing against a genocide. There is a price for refusing to smile and nod along while the world burns. There is a price for constantly calling out the dangers of white supremacy.

I know that price well. I pay it every day I’m in Parliament.

Calling out racism is met with eye rolls, smirks and even laughter. I am gaslighted and accused of being divisive. I am told I am out of time, out of order and out of line. I am told to watch my tone. I am told I’m making others uncomfortable. I am told that I am breaking rules that seem to exist only when women of colour tell it like it is. The double standards are glaring.

The path to the rise of far-right extremism was paved by politicians and the media who silence and deride us, who openly fan the flames of racism, who dog whistle and race-bait as a political tactic, who stand on the sidelines doing bugger all to tackle white supremacy and the material problems ordinary people face.

In a landscape of rising inequality, the neo-Nazis have found a perfect molotov cocktail - exploiting people’s anxieties and fears about the future as they blame migrants and minorities to further their white nationalist agenda. Pointing fingers at those who don’t look like ‘white Australia’ because of our religion, our skin colour, or where we come from makes it all too easy to surface underlying prejudices. Labor governments and their police forces relentlessly target those marching for justice, while neo-Nazis organise right under their noses.

I take no pleasure in reminding my colleagues in parliament that I warned of this dangerous normalisation of racism and hate in my first speech. This warning was not a prophecy; it was a plea - a plea to take seriously the harm caused to minority communities, a plea to tackle rising racism and inequality, a plea to confront the far right head on.

I warn because I care. I warn because I believe this country can be a place where justice isn’t optional, and where racism, inequity and apathy are no longer baked into its foundations.

Now, fascists are marching on streets around the country. They are organised and mobilised. They are on the verge of registering a White Australia party that wants a ‘white revolution’. I can’t pretend this doesn’t scare me.

I’ve been on the receiving end of an over-abundance of abuse, violent threats, and hate just for who I am. You are painted as ‘un-Australian’ because you refuse to be a quiet grateful migrant. You are told to ‘fuck off slut’ or ‘piss off back to your shithole, Paki pig’ if you call it out. Too many of us are harmed and devalued by race hate.

Racism is not destiny; it’s a choice. It’s time to grapple with this reality. It’s time to take decisive action to eliminate structural racism and tackle inequality.

Let’s be honest: ignoring neo-Nazis and the far right is not working. Neither will harsher regressive laws when existing laws aren’t even enforced on these merchants of hate. We cannot criminalise our way out of racism, white supremacy, and fascism. Their confidence is fuelled when governments pay lip service to multiculturalism as they demonise migrants and refugees. Their recruitment ground is fertile as long as racism and inequality are allowed to flourish. They get succour when outspoken, progressive black and brown senators are silenced and punished for telling the truth.

This silencing and discrimination is not isolated, it is not incidental, it is not accidental. It is by design and it is systemic.

It is but one symptom of a system that cracks down on, assaults, and arrests pro-Palestine protestors and climate activists, but gives neo-Nazis permission to spout their white supremacy and hate in the heart of our cities. It is the same system that incarcerates and kills Aboriginal people and now wants to lock up black and brown kids for life. It is a system that demonises and punishes people seeking asylum with the harshest immigration detention regime. It is a system that scapegoats migrants and international students for the housing and cost-of-living crises, while supporting corporations and billionaires to screw over people and the planet.

Silence is contagious if we let it spread. But so is courage, so is truth, and so is solidarity. So many brave people around the world have spoken out against the ultimate act of racism – genocide, and paid the price. They have lost jobs, been vilified, attacked and condemned, but they have not backed down. I’m with them in this fight against racism, fascism and rampant capitalism.

I, too, choose to pay the price for courage, truth and solidarity, come what may.

---

About the author

Dr Mehreen Faruqi is the Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and Senator for NSW. She is a civil and environmental engineer and a lifelong activist for social, environmental, and racial justice. When Mehreen joined the NSW Parliament in 2013, she became the first Muslim woman to sit in any Australian parliament. In 2018, she took her proudly feminist and anti-racist approach to Canberra when she entered the federal Senate. In her time in Parliament, Mehreen has continued to push to dismantle systems of power, privilege, and patriarchy. Mehreen holds the Anti-Racism, International Aid & Global Justice, Climate Adaptation, Resilience & Emergency Management, Tertiary Education, Animal Welfare, and Republic portfolios for the Greens.