r/AskTheCaribbean • u/CompetitiveTart505S Caribbean American • Apr 28 '25
Culture Does racism between Caribbean people disappear in the diaspora
For example growing up I was never under the impression there were conflicts between Indo and Afro Caribbean people, because the Indo Caribbean people I met were all very nice and emphasized that we're all Caribbean.
I also have a Dutch friend who explained that Surinamese people seem pretty united in the Netherlands regardless of race, but this is an outsider looking in of course.
What do you guys think? Does this imply that ethnic tensions are more superficial, or is it really not that significant? Do you all have any contradictory or complementary experiences?
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u/tidousmakos Ayiti ak Kamaoni Apr 28 '25 edited Apr 28 '25
systems of oppression, created by european colonizers and fostered by their descendants over the centuries to today, absolutely persist in caribbean. and those shaped by these systems might pack up and take their ignorance with them, wherever they choose to sow seeds. i won’t say it magically disappears, but i think it depends on the diaspora. you see it more in some than others, because many are committed to ignorance & struggle to picture beyond what they were conditioned to believe—but you might even not be able to tell it was there for the others, cause it’s easier to unlearn harmful ideologies when you have access to information, and you’re not in the place where it’s still being encouraged & enforced. in places like nyc, everywhere you look, there are people from all kinds of currents. it’s not hard to find someone of a similar background who you can relate to, and learn from.