Inequality between Southern Asians and what it means Academically

 When someone mentions the word 'Asian', the general first thought or image that comes into your mind is probably an individual from either China, Korea, or Japan. With the rise in culture of media from these countries in various forms of entertainment (music, dramas, variety shows) and exported products, Eastern Asians are the "frontrunners" of Asian culture. However, there are certain groups in Southern and that live in poverty and are often overlooked. 

Who are the Southern Asians?

Southern Asian countries are made up by Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The population of South Asian is around 1.9 billion people, accounting for around a fourth of the entire world population. This region is around 2 million sq. miles in size, making it one of the most densely populated and most populous areas in the world. 

There are some success stories that came out of Southern Asia such as Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari, and Deepak Chopra. South Asians saw one of the highest rates of academic and socio-economic growth in the United States. However, immigrants coming into the country recently has seen many struggles. They often take blue-collar jobs such as taxi driving, store clerks, and motel owners. They have also faced a lot of post-9/11 discrimination as their darker skin tones are characterized with Muslims. They are a group that is known to face constant discrimination in schools as well. 

Despite facing large amounts of discrimination in the workplace and in academic environments, they are one of the most highest performing ethnic groups in the United States. 38.8% of Indians in the USA earn graduate degrees, beating out all other ethnic groups. Their test scores and academic achievements are very high, rivaling with Chinese and Korean Students. 

In terms of income, it is pretty split between the two extremes. For examples, Indians earn one of the most highest annual income, clocking in at around $56,000 a year. They tend to occupy management positions or are in the medical field. However, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis typically work lower income jobs such as cashiers, taxi drivers, or food service workers. 

Stereotypes of Southern Asians

Despite their stellar academic performance in schools, Southern Asians are not immune to the vicious comments made by other peers and classmates. I am guilty of making these comments in my youth. I remember that even though they were my friends, I would often joke around with my Southern Asian friends as members of the Taliban and used to make fun of their accents and clothes that they wear. I used to dramatically cover my nose and point fingers at their food that I used to think smelled so disgusting.  

I think back when I was younger and simply can't believe
how ignorant I was. I think about all of the discrimination and jokes that I had endured during those years, and I was actually part of the problem. While I should have been standing up for my POC brothers and sisters, I was actually making it worse. Instead of being an ally, I was helping the enemy. I was not the only ignorant one in my school. Discrimination and racist jokes were rampant everywhere you would go in the school. Everyone would piggy back on the comments on their peers, overwhelming any Southern Asian students who were caught in the crossfire. 

As Asian Americans, how do we combat this?

• Recognize that while our struggles are not the same, empathize with their experiences with our own. 
• While it is difficult to completely understand struggles outside of our own groups, we can try to widen our perspective and see things from their point-of-view. There's the saying that says "you can't understand someone without walking a mile in their shoes". In this case, we are walking the mile but with our own shoes. We need to try to think about how our words may affect our peers who may be going through similar circumstances as we are. 
• Be mindful with our words.
• While this may seem like common sense, our words often carry much more impact than we are willing to let on. Not only as Asian Americans, but as humans, we need to be more mindful with the words that we use in our everyday life.