My name is Feiya, I am Scottish-Chinese and I am from Edinburgh, Scotland, where I am currently studying medicine at Edinburgh University.
I am the co-founder of Racism Unmasked Edinburgh, a growing online community and organisation giving a voice to East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) people, and educating people on how to be allies in the UK (and beyond). We formed in December 2020 following a series of vicious racial attacks on members of our community (two of which were on campus) and we decided that something must be done about it.
Anti-ESEA attacks are at an all time high, with figures showing an increase of 300% in the UK, and 1900% in the USA. These are only reported figures. Unreported figures are no doubt much higher. In 2020 and so far in 2021, I personally experienced a vast increase of racial incidents (compared to the constant casual racism growing up), ranging from microaggressions (moving away on public transport, asking me if I have COVID), to actual racial hate crime (receiving online abuse and being called racial slurs).
Speaking about anti-ESEA attacks
When I speak to anyone who isn’t of ESEA descent about this, the emotion that they experience at first is shock. They often say that they can’t believe this happens, and this is often followed by “I’m so sorry you’ve experienced that”.
This demonstrates two things: as shocking as it is hearing about racism someone experiences, people often have never heard about it being a problem for people before (especially in the UK, which people think of as a friendly and safe place compared to the US for example), and they often have no idea of the severity and scale of the problem. Then the apology often makes me feel like I am and should be pitied, and it is often a way for people to show they care without going a bit deeper and offering their support/learning more about the issue.
In the media
In mid-December I was contacted by BBC Panorama, who wanted to make a documentary on diversity in the UK. I agreed to take part and have since been spending a long time filming and speaking about my experiences. It will be aired on Monday 8 March, 2021 at 7pm on BBC One. I am excited but very nervous to see it, as it is a very vulnerable part of myself I am showing.
I have also been speaking out on social media on the Racism Unmasked page, raising awareness for the ESEA experience with racism in the UK, meanwhile providing advice for allies on how to best support the community. The more I have spoken up, the more people have responded and shared their own horrific stories. This brings us a sense of community and empowerment, meaning we are not alone in our struggles. However it also means that the suffering is magnified, which is extremely traumatising, disheartening and sad.
How you can help
If you’d like to know how to help, we really need allies now more than ever before! It is incredibly taxing on people’s mental health when they speak about things they may have experienced first hand (I have experienced total burnout from this before) so we must all share the responsibility for raising awareness. Share posts and information, keep informed on what’s happening, listen to the people who experience racism, donate to ESEA charities like KindRedPacket, know how to support someone before/during/after a racist incident.
As a community we have to stand together in this incredibly tough time, in order to start making a difference.
Find Feiya on Instagram @feiyapoop
Find Racism Unmasked on Instagram @racismunmaskededinburgh
