"Douglas you are a racist!"
"Really, what have I said thats racist then?"
".....Its not what you've said...."
"What have I done then" I ask in genuine concern
"Well.....nothing really.....but its implied in your actions" Says the increasingly less confident Indian 4th Engineer confronting me
"So if ive not said, or done anything racist then where do you get this conclusion from?"
The answer was clear. I Joined a ship as the only British officer and its not long before the contingent of Indian officers were on my case. My every action criticised, questioned et cetera. Initially im tolerant to avoid any uncalled confrontations that make life onboard a ship that much more difficult (especially to the minority group). Im offered no guidance or assistance only criticism and derogatory remarks, as a junior officer attempting to develop im perplexed by this environment. And finding my position increasingly hard to cope with, self doubt and a lack of confidence in my own abilities followed - I felt like I was worth nothing at times.
In the end I kept a racism log and when things got out of hand I phoned it in and had 2 Indian officers reprimanded - they werent sacked but have both since left the organisation. In my opinion others were just as guilty as those reprimanded but the company were on damage limitation mode and thats the end of issue. (LOLZ Teh sAmE CUMpany Ranz a Ship aGrouNd in BahamAz - But i doubt you'll have heard much about that, they are very good at what they do)
I have heard anti British feelings from Asian folks before but I had never witnessed such a mob mentality about it. The only explanation I could come up with over how I was treated is that the officers I sailed with had a large chip on their shoulders about rhe British Empire.
Retrospecitvely what disgusts me is my own actions about it all. They had the problem, not me - Yet I was tip toeing on egg shells to avoid causing a fuss about it. I was scared that anything I said would be put in a racist context against me. Instead of standing up for my rights I defended there breach of the same rights out of fear of being non PC.
I would like to say - If you are ever the victim of Racist, Prejudice or any other abuse. Dont feel that you are at fault. They have the problem not you.
