GoodMemory:

A lot has been said and written on the issue of racism in Australia. Most of the write-ups have come from non-Africans, usually Indians and Islanders and sometimes, but rarely, blacks who aren’t Africans. I believe racism/stereotypical behaviors towards these set of people might be different depending on the circumstances.
Personally, I feel Australians do not deserve the bad image which they have earned internationally as a racist country. It may have been because of the way and manner the Aboriginal people were treated or the growing concern about increased migration into Australia. In a survey, Australia, was ranked top as one of the most tolerant countries while India is ranked as the least tolerant country.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/?utm_term=.4b318d97beda

In another survey by economic and trading group, Insider Monkey, India again ranked top country where people are racially least tolerant. Australia is not even on the list of racially intolerant countries.

https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/116644/the-most-racist-countries-in-the-world/

This is not an attempt to downplay racism in Australia. It is alive and well. However, what you will experience here is different from what immigrants in Canada, the USA, or the UK experience daily. For example, you may witness commuters not wanting to sit next to you in public transport, people going back to their car on seeing you, to check if their car door is safely locked, pedestrians changing lanes on sighting you from afar etc. the number and frequency is just the same whether you are in Vancouver, BC Canada, Texas in the US , Manchester in the UK or Melbourne in Australia. These acts are not on their own conclusively pointing to racism as a second meaning might be read to them. Pedestrian changing lanes might be doing it genuinely, commuters sometimes prefer standing to sitting, etc. Please note I am not holding briefs for perpetrators of racism.

As someone who has lived in a western country for 10 years before relocating to Australia, I can tell you one thing you will witness. Supremacy mentality. Superiority complex is pervasive in any first world countries or any nation with predominantly Caucasian population.
The average white person feels genetically superior to the next black person until circumstances prove him otherwise. A homeless guy, a slowpoke and a never-do-well feel they are better than a black person who is perhaps a medical doctor. Remember we are dealing with 400 odd years, age-long mentality.
Superiority complex will daily confront you at work, during social interactions etc.


As an African, here’s my top 4 ways that will help minimize racism. Some of them are long term approach but I think they have to happen before racism can be reduced.

Awareness
The first step to defeating any problem is having an awareness of the problem. Knowing the full strength of the problem helps to access the strategy and tactics to deal with the problem. Knowing your rights is another form of having awareness.
We need to be able to recognize tell-tale signs of racism. If convinced you are racially abused, call out the perpetrator and seek justice in Australian Human Rights Commission.
https://www.humanrights.gov.au.
Unfortunately, Black people are not known to escalate issues like this as they are quick to forgive people who racially abuse them. The fact is, you can forgive and still take your abuser to court. That has nothing to do with your religious instruction to forgive.

Black people should stick together
I do not advocate black people should create their own enclave and live there. I mean black people should learn to cooperate with themselves. We are quick to say “I avoid fellow Africans wherever I go because of my previous experience with them”. What I want to know is do you also avoid white people and Asians because of your experience in their hands? I doubt, otherwise you would have moved back to naija. Why are we quick to forgive other races and hold eternal grudges against people that look like us? Why are we quick to befriend others and reluctant to be friends with our own? As an example: My kids were the only black kids in the school until this school term when another black kid, a Nigerian for that matter, joined them. The principal of the school had told us about the new kid, so we were looking forward to meeting them.
On the day we finally met, we were given a cold shoulder by the parents of the kid. We thought maybe they were introverts and were the type that reluctantly warmed up to strangers. Well, after several failed attempts to talk to them, we gave up. We hardly even say ‘hi” to each other anymore. What message do you think both of us had sent to other races in that school? To minimize racism, the culture of self-hate among black people has to stop.
When a people are united, it is hard for others to disrespect them. Are you the type who feels happy when he is told by other races “you are not like others”? If you were, then you need to know they (other races) are playing divide and rule on you.

Let’s start taking over
How do you expect others to respect us when we are constantly rocking the bottom of the social ladder of any society? How will others respect us when our target are jobs that pay minimum wages but because of exchange rate to Naira and other African currencies, we are proud to label it “good money”. Why do we always think so small? Why is it that the only business Africans run is a tiny African shop that caters for only Africans? An Indian moves to Australia. He is accommodated by his friends. He saves up money, teams up with friends and they buy 7-Eleven franchise. He employs and brings in 5 more people from India to work in the 7-Eleven shop. The white guy who goes into that Indian owned 7-Eleven is bound to respect because he knows they are visibly contributing to the Australian economy. The cold fact of life is no one respects an economically backward people. There was a time when Caucasians used to look down on Chinese, but today it is classy to go to Chinese restaurants and it is also a sign of sophistication to eat with chopsticks! Let’s start dominating wherever we find ourselves. If you have the capital or resources or know rich politicians back home, convince them to start investing in Australia. There are lots of opportunities in real estate and other businesses. Trust me, you can never imagine the impact it would have on our beautiful race and its people. Let’s cultivate the habit of selflessness.
I thank the moderator, creators and the selfless contributors on Living in Australia and A Guide to Permanent Residency in Australia on Nairaland. These platforms have assisted a lot of people and is continuing to assist thousands of people. That is what we are talking about. I benefited immensely from these threads. Ironically, some people who have benefited are the ones who are mute now after receiving the PR and are settled in Australia. Let’s us learn to share information just like other races.

Be firm and assertive
You are on the train and someone racially abuses you. What are you going to do? Sit there and smile? Hell no! Calmly but firmly give it back to him. Watch your words though so you do not in anger racially abuse him too and you know what? They will not hesitate to sue you at the drop of a pin. If possible, use your phone to record the encounter so you can have evidence that will be presented when you approach human rights commission later.
At work, being assertive is good because it is a proactive approach. If they know you don’t take nonsense, they are less likely to say things that will annoy you.

Having said all these, racism in Australia is not as bad as people say. Most Australians are friendly. On the street, no one cares what you look like and in the offices and workplaces, there are strong laws that prevent people from discrimination.
The people who complain the most are the ones who are guilty of it. They are the people whose country are ranked No. 1 on the list of racially intolerant countries.

Racism is probably worse in the US compared to Australia, so guys if you are thinking of moving to Australia, please come over and have fun!

doyen06:
Hi fellow Nairalanders, just a quick update. My family of 4 left Lagos on 14th for Dubai DXB airport and we had a 4 hours stop over. The ticket IOM sent us only had a stop over at Dubai but we were surprised To have another stop over at Bangkok, though a brief one. Emirate is excellent and their in flight entertainment system really helped in relieving the stress of the journey. After about 24 hours on the air, we safely arrived Sydney by 9am on the 16th of oct. We clear the customs easily and people here are so helpful, we got two stranger helped with out trolley and Sannywemmy was already waiting to pick us up. He's an excellent guy and so is his wife. Thanks to other members who kept tracking us on the air: ayaboyo, sir bellong, mctowel, bnimz, kikiade and my personal person @disectur. Special thanks to my landlord(Jamson) and Mrs Jamson for her hospitality, the efo and semo was very much on point. On the 17th of oct, Sannywemmy is around again to take us to centerlink and we complete our registrations. I'll give more update as we settle.

Realtord43:
Seriously, this guy is so foolish and stupid. how can u spend so much on a girl that is not yet your girlfriend...seriously the girl just see u as showbiz who want to be notice, you want her to see you as a big boy. nd the truth is she dnt love u at first nd i think she only see you as just friend and nt some one she can love...dnt blame her cus she is not emotionally attracted to u. u cant force some1 to love u. take hard bro, God will judge the girl for u. And next time dnt be stupid and foolish at same time

Babyforever:
while I'm falling in love with a f*ck boy

Belafonte:
How pathetically sad. When a woman decides to marry you, she won't be worrying about all this trash you've listed and apologised for.

She'll be thinking of your social status and how beneficial it will be to her future.

She will be thinking of your financial status and potential if it would be wise to hitch her wagon to yours.

She will be thinking how easy it is to manipulate you to do whatever she wants with as little friction as possible.

She will be thinking how good you are in bed and if you had enough practise before her so you can pleasure her when she deigns to offer you her body.

She'll be wondering about a lot of things that will benefit her in the long term, not this garbage you've concocted.

This letter is so sad, it's almost funny. Pfft

Ask the married women here whose husbands adore them if they'd marry the same man again. This is despite knowing he's trying his best to be the best man to them. Wake the fúck up. Marriage is a scam