UN Secretary General, distinguished guests, classmates

and teachers. It is with great honour I stand before you

here, today.
We are here celebrating The Week of Solidarity with
People Struggling against Racism and Racial
Discrimination and I have been given the privilege of
sharing with you my perspective regarding the matter.
This is a moment of great delight, yet I am unable to
feel that joy. I am unable to share your happiness. In
fact, I stand here with great grief and angst. There are
still over 18% of Australians that are discriminated
against based on their ethnicity and their appearance -
18%, thats approximately 4 138 677 people. Think
about it, if Australia has this many people and more
undergoing racial discrimination, how many people are
getting discriminated worldwide? How many of us are
restricted to so many things because of the stereotypes
and labels? How many people are unable to freely
practice their religion? So, should we really be
celebrating when we as a society haven't changed at
all?
Stereotypes. A widely held but fixed and oversimplified
image or idea of a person or thing. Asians cant drive.
Blonds are dumb. All Arabs and Muslims are terrorists.
All Mexicans are lazy and came into America illegally.
Surely, youve all heard of these stereotypes before.
Stereotypes are just another name for labels. Black,
white, anorexic, fat, theyre nothing but a cluster of
labels. Take a moment to extensively reflect on how
many times you have judged a person or race due to
these stereotypes and labels? How are we meant to
ensure the rest of the world stops judging others, when
in reality we cannot stop ourselves? Stereotyping and
labelling is not only hurtful, it is also an incorrect
perspective of someone. Even if the stereotype or label
is correct, as in very cases it is, constantly putting
someone down based on your preconceived
perceptions will not encourage them to succeed.
Stereotyping can also lead people to live their lives
driven by hate, and can cause the victims of those
stereotypes to be driven by fear. From birth, the world
force feeds us these labels and stereotypes and
eventually we all swallow them, we digest and accept
the labels, never doubting them. Labels do nothing but
distort our vision and I fail to see the logic or pride, in
defining myself or judging one another based on their
appearance/ethnicity and/or religion, because who we
truly are is found within us. No one is born racist and
that is evident as a child cries when they hear the cries
of another, no matter the gender, culture or color. It
proves that deep down, we were meant to connect and
care for each other. Stereotypes and labels are
essentially the biggest factor of racism and racial
discrimination. This is clearly evident in places like the
workplace, shops and schools. Hence it is crucial that
we as a society need to stop stereotyping and labelling
people, otherwise the rates of racism and racial
discrimination will never decrease.
Our backgrounds and cultures are also one of the major
causes of racism and racial discrimination. Everyone
has the right to give their views on everything.
However, in todays society, we are all being a tad too
judgmental. We are in the 21st century and giving our
views and opinions are our given rights but we should
also keep the other partys feelings in mind. All migrant
feel obligated to change their beliefs to assimilate with
everyone else. According to the Australian Bureau of
Statistics the number of people reporting no religion in
Australia has increased substantially over the past
hundred years, from one in 250 people to one in five.
Individuals are afraid to practice their religion because
of what others think. Our culture, our traditions and our
language are the foundations upon which we built our
identity. If we keep changing ourselves for other
peoples requirements, then we are eventually going to
lose ourselves. Religion is a beautiful thing, it causes us
to really contemplate our life decisions. There are
people who dont believe in all this and there are
people who do. Both groups should feel safe enough to
speak their hearts out because as Dalai Lama says, the
purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize
others. Therefore, our backgrounds and cultures are
one of the major causes of racism and racial
discrimination.
This is The Week of Solidarity with People Struggling
against Racism and Racial Discrimination and even
though I am not pleased with the number of people
who still are victims of racism and racial discrimination,
I am aware that the world cannot eradicate all the evils
lurking around overnight. The world is an immense
place. There are so many problems, both little and big -
from thievery to climate change. Knowing that, I would
like to applaud those people who have helped in
eliminating racism and racial discrimination. Individuals
like you ensure that our world is on the right path of
being a better place and no amount of gratitude can
suffice for what you all have done for us but I can try,
and at the least say THANK YOU! I am well aware that
there are still more than a million people who are
victims of racism and racial discrimination and on this
very auspicious day I stand here delighted for those
who endured everything and is now free from the
chains of racism, but simultaneously my heart clenches
for those million people who are still not free.
Racism and racial discrimination has been going on
ever since the 19th century. That is more than 117
years. With every year, we spend all our time and
money on new discoveries in science and technology
but what about the issue that has been lingering
around for more than a century? Are we not going to do
anything about that? There are many causes of racism
and racial discrimination but some of the main ones are
stereotypes, labels and religion. Overcoming this
matter is not impossible. There are so many people
who overcame this issue, people like, Joan of Arc,
Nelson Mandela, Marie Curie and Beethoven. Look
where they are now, if they can do it, why cant we? We
were not destined to live shackled by the difficulties of
racism and racial discrimination, we were meant to be
free, and only until you eliminate all the racism and
discrimination and stop living and thinking so small, will
we be unrestricted to see ourselves and each other for
who we TRULY are.
Thank you