Where Are You From? The Struggles of Minorities

Three great comedians recently came together and talked about their careers, being ethnic minorities and what they currently see wrong in society.

Riz Ahmed, Hasan Minhaj and Guz Khan talked about life under lock down, their roller coaster careers and what problems they face in their lives. It was an insightful discussion with many questions being asked and answered which many ethnic minorities themselves face. Have a read of how it went and see how even global stars aren’t immune to the struggles of ethnic minority in the West.

Riz – the host, decided that no one would turn up at the agreed time and so casually logged in 15mins late. Turns out the other two were already there waiting for Riz – take a note all interviewers, be there at the agreed time just like interviewees should!

Whilst all three are MashAllah successful and known in the entertainment industry it was a good idea to start off by explaining how they each knew one another. Guz started by saying there were two first meetings with Riz. The first was an informal meeting at Coventry University where Guz was studying. Riz (who graduated from Oxford University) approached Guz and his friend and asked them if they could come and support him at the student union where he was performing. Riz apparently didn’t take too kindly when one of them asked if he was a comedian – but Guz was curious to still go see him perform.

The ‘second first meeting’ came when Guz gained popularity after his viral ‘pakisauras’ tweet regarding Jurassic Park. He DM’d Riz on Twitter to ask for help and guidance regarding his new found fame. Guz’s main concern was if he became famous was he required to take part in any Illuminati initiations and if so what were the protocols!

Hasan met Guz after coming to the UK for one of his shows and have remained close friends ever since. Riz then brought on a question regarding the rumours about a secret Muslim comedian Whatsapp group that he isn’t a part of. Both sheepishly denied the existence of such a group…..

The Long Goodbye

This conversation centres around Riz’s highly acclaimed album The Long Goodbye. The rap and spoken word album features several major artists such as Jay Sean and focuses around the theme of ethnic minorities and their place in society.

The questions that Riz tackles explore how minorities never truly feel that they’re 100% part of the country they were born in whilst also not truly fitting into the countries of their parents. This candid discussion and experience is something many minorities have felt.

Being successful entertainers and actors doesn’t exclude the trio from also having these feelings. It was a very interesting talk where each person shared their stories and perspectives on how they felt.

The short film that accompanied the album was particularly receptive by many different groups of people. Whilst the film focuses on the fight against Islamophobia, the video has been extrapolated to encapsulate and mirror other forms of prejudices and hatred.

Explained by Guz, the video also showed the new post-Brexit issues that face the UK particularity towards Eastern Europeans. Though Eastern Europeans are white in skin colour, they were still made to feel alienated from society. Reports of abuse at their workplace, on their way home or in the streets were common in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum result.

This hatred all stems from a romantic view of nationalism and how this view is devoid of ‘us’ and by ‘us’ Guz means browns, blacks, white European and other people of colour (POC). Moreover, ‘the glory days’ were said to no longer exist solely because of the presence of the commonwealth diaspora living in the UK.

A lot of recent politics has seen the resurgence of ‘us vs them’ arguments creating divisions in society. The arguments to justify this forgo any of the historical facts surrounding the contributions and hard work that ethnic minorities have made in helping build the Western nations.

These successful actors are often surrounded by other successful people through business meetings and networking. Riz explains that when he rubs shoulders with other successful POC he often hears them questions if the US or the UK is a safe country for their children to be raised in. And if they don’t make a decision now will it be too late for their grandchildren?

At times we all question if we live in a society which respects POC. We sometimes ask ourselves if this is only a question for the poor but this is evidently a question also faced by the rich.

Hasan offered his experience on what being an Indian Muslim looks like in the post-Trump era and has spent time trying to decipher where he belongs. On the one hand he’s seen what the current landscape of America is like towards Muslims, yet at the same time if he goes back to the motherland he will be clearly be told that he’s not really from India – but an NRI (non resident Indian).

Where Are You From?

Hasan playing devil’s advocate asked the common question “if you don’t like it somewhere why do you continue to live there?” You spend so much time criticizing certain countries including where you live – why don’t you move to another country?

Riz had the perfect response to this, it’s only because he cares about the country he lives in (United Kingdom) which is why he criticizes it. If he didn’t care about the UK then it wouldn’t be heart breaking to see the race and class divisions. You only criticize for change when you care about the topic.

Immigrant children have a unique perspective of the world. On the one hand they live in a place as a result of the scars of colonial empires. The fact their parents moved from their homeland to their former colonial masters for a better life is a direct result of resources being drained from their homeland towards making the colonial masters rich.

On the other hand they are in a place where they are living in the treasures of the empire. Ironically, even though it was their ancestors that brought the treasures over and made the country great – they are denied the chance to enjoy them.

Speaking out against injustice is a responsibility for all Muslims – although Riz made it clear that this does have consequences. He points out how even though Guz has a bigger beard, Hasan has been put on more no fly lists than him (Saudi Arabia, India and even a no-shop list from Supreme!) as a result of his hard tackling and corruption exposing Netflix show ‘Patriot Act’.

“Just because things could be worse, it doesn’t mean you should accept life as it is”

At the same time Riz doesn’t want to fall into the trap of victimhood. Just because things could be worse, it doesn’t mean you should accept life as it is. The biggest worry is that we accept the status quo and submit to whatever we have been told is our predetermined limits of achievements and success.

Representing Yourself And Your Community

Under representation from POC in certain industries or institutions is rampant in many Western countries. Governments and charities have sought to reduce this via various schemes and initiatives all to varying degrees of success.

Some of our past TML career interviewees such as Sanna Sharif have taken part in initiatives such as the TeachFirst scheme whose aim is to increase the quality of teaching in historically underachieving schools, or Humaid Motala who founded a Muslim networking group at his company which celebrated the Muslim identity.

Under representation can be due to a lack of available knowledge or the lack of opportunities but even when both aren’t an issue under representation still exists. One reason why is due to imposter syndrome – where you don’t believe you’re able to or belong in a certain place.

Some POC believe they will not be accepted, their views wont be appreciated or their backgrounds wont be seen as helpful in their career.

It was surprising to hear that such successful people also suffer from imposter syndrome – however they accepted it’s a reality and also is a trait in all successful people. Riz has worked with the world’s most successful actors however he recollects how even when working with Joaquin Phoenix or Jake Gyllenhaal (way to name drop!) they all question themselves if what they are doing is good enough.

Another interesting topic that was brought up was how successful minorities get accused of ‘selling out’ from their own community – and this criticism whether its spiritual, morally or creatively all agreed hurts them the most.

The pressure of representing a whole community is immense and it’s impossible in the case of Riz to represent the 2 million UK Muslims and not offend anyone. The biggest stumbling block in their careers are often of whether they should try and please their own community or reach out to a wider audience.

Apart from Hasan (being Indian-American) taking a lot of flack for exposing India’s corruption, this has affected Riz as well. People questioned why he has drifted away from making films which tackled Muslim issues and stories such as Four Lions and instead is working with Disney staring in blockbuster Star Wars films.

Guz also talks about the backlash UK grime rapper Stormzy received when he collaborated with Ed Sheeran. People felt he turned his back on his grime community which supported his rise and is now just trying to go mainstream to make more money.

Guz took a swing at the complainers and said what Stormzy did actually helped the issues and struggles of minorities. By collaborating with Ed Sheeran and making a worldwide hit, Stormzy was able to expand his following and reach. So when Stormzy protests about the UK government’s lack of action towards supporting minorities (his lyric of F*%k Borris and F*%k the government) his music is now listened by a wider audience. Consequentially, more people now look into and understand the issues that minorities face.

Spreading this knowledge of the incumbent racism and class divide that minorities face is important. It’s also important to not focus your efforts on just one type of demographic but try and get involved with as many as possible. Though Riz now appears in major blockbuster movies, at the same time he still pursues his rap career. The two worlds will eventually cross over and the demographics will be receptive to both.

It is possible to be involved in two very different markets in any career. This doesn’t mean you’ve sold out. What you have is just a wider audience to convey your views and opinions.

What Can We Do?

The answers to all of the above issues are not going to be found in this section. Whilst the discussion raised some great points and insights, it also left a lot more unanswered questions. That being said each person had some great takeaways which can be starting points of how to tackle issues ethnic minorities face.

Hasan no longer admires celebrities like he use to as a child – he knows Michael Jordan isn’t going to save him from the racism he experiences. Rather, he keeps a very close circle of friends and family who he looks to for advice and help.

Over time everyone will find that their inner circle reduces in size. Through the good and bad times people realize who is truly there for them and who is looking after their best interests. Your inner circle will both hold you accountable and support you along your journey.

Each artist also uses his own trauma and disadvantage as a positive in their career. They have unique insights and stories which they’ve come to love about themselves. It’s these unique perspectives which have propelled the three to success.

It is OK to have imposter syndrome when you have success. However the lesson the three have learnt is that it should be kept in check – on the one hand it pushes you to try harder but at the same time it becomes a negative when you start to question your right to be there. You’ve earned that right to be there and your inner circle will remind you of that.

It has to be said that all three have used their success as a platform to talk about problems that ethnic minorities face. No one shys away from that. However, as discussed before it is impossible to please everyone within these communities. At the end of the day if you believe what you’re fighting and campaigning for is truly just, you don’t need to worry about what others think. Every community has their own unique issues some of which have never been challenged as ‘this is the way it has always been done’. If you truly believe what you are doing is right and just, then the norm should be challenged.

Challenging or even collaborating with people outside of your community doesn’t make you a sell out. You are only helping your own community and perhaps being able to now have better resources to do so.

Confidence doesn’t always come immediately and sometimes you can gain confidence from seeing other people similar to you in the room. Seeing other people who look like you, grew up like you and doing the same as you can be a huge boost – and that’s why the trio will continue to fight and represent minorities in their careers.

Keep a look out in the TML career sections for everyday professionals who haven’t shyed away from their culture, background or religion in their professional lives.

As serious as this topic is I can’t do it justice in pure words. When three great comedians get together words can never capture the atmosphere, passion and jovial spirit in the room. Please do have a look at the full webcast via YouTube here and get ready for over an hour of both laughter and serious thoughts!