2 comments

People of Color Sad

         Racism

   Her comely is unique. She is a star that shines in the dark indeed. Samantha, born in Malaysia. A country on which three ethnic groups were raised, named Malay, Chinese and Indian. She's a good mother of three and wife as well. She belongs to the Indian group to be exactly. 

  Her parents taught her how to be independent, on how worst is the world outside. They raised her with love and respect. They show her how to do humanitarian things. They don't belong to rich but not poor either. Their life was just simple. 

   When she was in grade school, her mother used to sell Nasi Lemak(a rice cooked with coconut milk), a traditional Malaysian food and pisang goreng which means fried banana.   

   At school she doesn't have a good friend, indeed they walking away from her. She used to sit alone. Every time she go back home, she kept on asking to the mother why her skin is dark. She cries when no one wants to play with her. Her mother just kept silent be because she doesn't have an answer for her. 

   As she grew up, she started to learn about the culture and nature in their country. When she's in college, she fall in love with a man who is a great friend but they cannot marry because of they have different religions. So they decided to break up their love. 

  After 4 years of recovering from a heart broken, Samantha got married yet unhappy soul because her parents choose the man which is they follow their tradition though they were blessed with three kids. She tried not to mention about the fact that one day they will be push aside too when they talk about civil rights. 

  She eat and drink what the others are eating. But although she reside in the same county, the way her government treated them was not fair enough, they were always behind when it comes to government services. 

  Her heart always melts when she saw some statues that was written in many languages except their language. She always say "I don't know why my country had this racism. I am worried about my childrens how they will be able to live in the next years." 

  Aside from being a mother, she tried also to sell some snacking or bites to get some income. She also sell home cooked food and baked some cakes with it. So I suggested that why you don't want to rent a shop instead. She told me that having a business in Malaysia is not easy. "I should have a Malay friend or business partner in order to run it nicely" she declared . I got shock. I never thought that discrimination also happen in her country. I proved it when one lady ordered food from her but when she knew that the seller is an Indian woman, she easily canceled the order. I really don't want to judge but it is not fair. 

  There is one day, when Samantha was cooking somebody called her. "Where did you bought the chicken miss" the lady asked. So she answered her in a good manner. After the call, I asked her why she was asking. Simply she answered, "This is Malaysia. You must declare from which supplier you are buying your product. They want to make sure that you bought from a Malay shop. Though I born here, I felt that I was just a tourist in my own country. 

   Time flies so fast. Her kids grew up without knowing that they had been encountering discrimination. There was one day that the youngest child came bake home crying. Samantha ask her daughter why, the poor girl answered, "I don't have friends in the school because they said I am Indian and my complexion is dark. The mother felt very sad but she can't do nothing. She just comfort her and say, "It's OK I can be your best friend, she answered with a teary eye. Also an incident happen to her son. They bullied him because of the fact that he was dark in color. 

   My both eyes and ears always witnessed everytime she felt so down. She's losing her faith to the administration of her own country. She always wish that one day she can see changes the way they treat Indian citizens. 

   Another example she said is that when Malay bought a property they have 10 percent discount while Indian and Chinese don't have. I told her it is really not fair but she said can't do anything, this is the government rule. 

   "Looked at your boss'', she continued. Must have at least one third of his employees are Malay which is supposed to be unnecessary. And I agreed about that. 

   The most unbelievable thing that I heard is when she said that they declared Malaysia is a Muslim country which is not true. And when I told this to her, her world turns gray. 

   "Although we are living peacefully I am still waiting for total changes here in my country", she said.."I am really worried about my kid's future" she repeated. What for that our Identification Card indicates that we are Malaysian citizens if they keep showing that racism still exists. 

   "If you are a Malay you can get a job easily" she added. "Even if you are a bachelor yet you are not belong in their community, they will ignore your application" she said. They are giving more opportunities to those who belong in their ethnic group. 

  Last night she only told me that if they have a chance to reside in other places, she will choose to get out of this country. She fed up yet life must go on. She always odor other countries who's government policies applied equally to their people. "Never mind" she said, only God know what is happening and I believe that one day this racism will no longer accur. "Hopefully that this three groups will be unite though we have different beliefs and culture. That one day, at least my kids can feel that they are citizens in this land where they born. They can live without getting bullied because of our color", she ended. 

July 15, 2021 22:01

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

2 comments

Harriet Ndelema
14:08 Jul 25, 2021

It is a good story showing discrimination that exists in Malaysia. The author needs to work on her tenses and punctuation marks.

Reply

Kristine Ventura
20:13 Jul 25, 2021

Thank you for the nice comment. I will work on it.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in the Reedsy Book Editor. 100% free.