THE government’s controversial report into racial and ethnic disparities in the UK, published on 31 March, made some surprising assertions. It stated that “we no longer see a Britain where the system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities”. I wanted to know if this reflected the experiences of York’s ethnic minority citizens, so I reached out on Nextdoor, a social network that connects local neighbours with each other.

I asked my neighbours: do these findings fit with your experiences – of the UK generally and York specifically? What's it like to live in York if you're not white and/or British? Have you experienced casual, day-to-day racism or discrimination? What about systemic racism – for example, from police, in education, or health services? Or perhaps the opposite – have people gone out of their way to make you feel welcome? Is York easier to live in than other parts of the UK? Maybe ethnicity just isn't something that affects you, and your life is much like anyone else's?

There was an overwhelming response. People shared stories of racist abuse on the street and in night clubs, racial profiling by police, insensitive behaviour at university, difficulties getting interviews, and blocked career progression. At the same time, people emphasised the good aspects of living in York, as a broadly tolerant and safe place to live, work and raise a family.

A few were willing to take the next step, and share their stories of life in York here.

Elsa Ng

Elsa Ng

I grew up in Australia but am Hong Kong Chinese by ethnicity and have lived in York for just over three years. During this time, I have experienced casual racist remarks by people on the street a number of times. This is much higher compared to London, where I lived for over 10 years, as it only happened to me once there (although even once is too many!). On the other hand, I never felt I was being discriminated against in the system because of my skin colour, or at any of my workplaces. I feel this is no worse than some other European countries or Australia, where I have also lived for an extended period of time.

Leila

I’m of North African descent and I’ve lived in York for four years. I grew up in the Midlands, where my primary school enrolled me and every Pakistani student in the year in compulsory English classes – even though we had been taught how to read and write in nursery by the very teachers that segregated us, and who knew we were fluent. This kind of systemic racism has followed me to job applications; typically, I only hear back from people who also have a name of non-English origin.

Since moving to York, I've witnessed more overt racism, with some men even openly harassing myself and my friends in the streets. There have been some micro-aggressions at uni. My “favourite” was someone saying my PhD-educated father had married up by marrying a white woman.

On cultural sensitivities: I don’t drink, and ended up counselling Muslim freshers who were feeling socially excluded by other students, coaching them on how to blend in with the drinkers without partaking. A proposed women’s hour at the university’s gym was met with strong opposition; opponents said that to be involved in campus life, women should get over any cultural issues they have with exercising alongside men.

Mandy Chen

Mandy Chen

My husband and I grew up in a small town in southern China. We have been living in York for more than ten years. Before York, I was a student for two years in Newcastle.

Generally York is more friendly than Newcastle, I would say. There was a market near our campus in Newcastle where some stalls would put out badly translated Chinese signs asking people not to pick produce by themselves. Interestingly, every time I bought some Asian pears from them, there was one rotten. Also, random people shouting unkind language at me on the street weren’t uncommon.

Whereas in York I feel people at markets and shops, as well as residents, are much kinder and more approachable. All the colleagues I have worked with have been very friendly. However, I have still encountered a number of random racist incidents: a group of young people splashed their fizzy drinks at me and walked off. A kid shouting ‘ISIS’ at me as I cycled past was one of the more bizarre experiences.

In the workplace, people from outside UK are already more difficult to employ due to immigration policies, so employers tend to consider candidates’ nationalities and background before considering their abilities and competencies.

Edward Ridgewell Bearz

Edward Ridgewell Bearz

I’m a brown skinned Sri Lankan, Dutch, English and Portuguese mix. I’ve been in York three years and have been fortunate to not have had any issues relating to my colour. I do have the advantage of perhaps looking slightly terrifying though, so people don’t tend to mess with me. Before York, I lived in rural Devon, and could see staff and customers visibly flinch if I walked into a new shop in a small village. It was pretty clear they’d never seen a brown, beardy bloke before. I’d say “Don’t worry, it’s not contagious” to break the ice … or to confuse them more maybe!

Oddly, my husband, who is white and English, gets less homophobic abuse with me than when he was with his white English ex! Again, I think this is due to me being big and beardy and people not knowing quite how to take me.

I’ve felt far less conspicuous here in York than anywhere else I’ve lived. There are students from all around the world here, so nobody should be surprised to see anyone of any ethnicity or colour.

Hearing others’ stories, I feel very lucky to not have experienced much racism in York. Life has issues of some sort for most people, we can all struggle with multiple things, without having to be dragged down by others’ prejudices.

D.

I’m ethnically Chinese; I first came to York as a student, and moved back with my family seven years ago. I haven’t had extensive experience of racism, although there were a few “memorable” moments. Back when I was a student, over 20 years ago, I was spat at by some primary school kids, while their parents stood by laughing, finding their kids’ behaviour hilarious. More recently, a group of youths shouted “chopstick, chopstick” at me.

It can affect you much more when it comes from people you know. For example, my English husband’s relative would “jokingly” ask if I would be cooking dog meat for tea. Comments like this are often brushed off as “Oh, they know you, therefore they mean no harm”.

Despite these incidents, I wouldn’t want to “discredit” York as a nice place to live and my overall experience has been positive. I am always reluctant to brand anyone a “racist” lightly. There are blurred boundaries between curiosity, ignorance, lack of exposure, stereotypes and malicious racist acts. We all have opinions and biased perceptions towards various groups in society. We all feel a bit uncomfortable when people don’t “understand” us or hold a preconceived view. However, being quick to jump to a conclusion and point fingers merely drives people to act in politically correct ways rather than being genuinely less racially biased.

Do you have a story to share? Please write to us. Email: maxine.gordon@thepress.co.uk

About Ginevra

Ginevra House

I’m white, Jewish by ethnicity but not religion, and have never directly experienced racism in York, although have heard occasional stories from friends. I came here as a student in 1997, and have lived here, on and off, for over 10 years. I’m a freelance musician, writer and editor.