Gossip Queen: Miss Universe Australia says virus no excuse for racism
Miss Universe Australia Priya Serrao says she can’t stay silent while trolls seek to blame and abuse anyone of Asian descent for the coronavirus crisis.
Fiona Byrne
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Miss Universe Australia Priya Serrao has spoken out about racist abuse being directed at unsuspecting individuals by trolls seeking to blame anyone of Asian descent for the coronavirus crisis.
Serrao, who was born in India and moved to Australia aged 11, said after experiencing racism as a teenager growing up in Victoria she could not be silent as people were abused, particularly online.
“We are in a scary situation, which is making us feel anxious, insecure and helpless because we can’t predict what is going to happen next week let alone next month, but racism is not OK,” Serrao said.
“There are no circumstances where racism will ever be OK.
“As someone who has been on the receiving end of racist comments I know what it feels like to be scared to walk out the door in case you are targeted simply because you look a certain way.
“Right now we have so much in common with the rest of the world. We are all worried about our health, we are worried about job losses, we are worried about being able to pay rent, we are worried about family; we are all in the same boat.
“Let’s focus on what we have in common instead of trying to find people to blame and create division. We don’t want to add to the existing issues by creating new ones that don’t need to exist.”
She said a number of people had contacted her on social media to share their experiences, or those of others, of having foul comments directed towards them in public or online.
She urged people to report online behaviour that was abusive or inappropriate or to reach out and be “an ally” to people if they witnessed acts of bullying or harassment.
“The vast majority of people are being rational, objective, empathetic and supportive. It is just that small minority of people that aren’t.”