'People don't notice how racist they can be': Why now is the time to deal with racism in Australia
The 25-year-old former refugee lives in Toowoomba, and despite having lived in the regional Australian town longer than she lived in Chad, has experienced her share of racism.She founded the not-for-profit organisation E-raced that works with young migrants"Of course there's systemic racism in regional Australia," Ms Melom said.
"A lot of people around Australia, especially in regional Australia, who have experienced racism now feel that the conversation around racism is at the forefront, and this is the time to push along that conversation and ask for real change."Ms Melom founded the not-for-profit E-raced, an organisation that works with young migrants who share their personal experiences in schools.
"When you hear that people your age went through wars, you start to realise you are lucky to not have experienced those things," she said.Ms Melom was awarded Toowoomba Young Citizen of the Year in 2018, and has spoken on stages in front of thousands of people, but said something as simple as visiting a supermarket could be a stressful experience for her."You feel different right away; it's almost like you're not meant to be there.
"It's important that people use this time to learn about racism [and] the different ways you can be a racist. Ms Melom has appeared in an awareness campaign for clothing retailer, Sportsgirl, and said she was proud to support a brand that was not scared to discuss uncomfortable social issues."A lot of companies are so afraid to mention racism because they don't want to put their audience in an uncomfortable situation," she said."Make a pledge to do better; pledge to hire more people of different backgrounds — that's doing more than just posting a hashtag.
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