{"id":38503,"date":"2024-07-08T15:37:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T13:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/db9c65a9-5384-4cea-971f-5715cd6b25a8"},"modified":"2024-07-08T16:26:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:26:41","slug":"how-bad-is-racism-in-the-countryside-experts-set-out-to-discover-the-truth-and-their-findings-may-shock-you","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/how-bad-is-racism-in-the-countryside-experts-set-out-to-discover-the-truth-and-their-findings-may-shock-you\/","title":{"rendered":"How bad is racism in the countryside? Experts set out to discover the truth – and their findings may shock you"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warmer days encourage lots of us to put on walking boots and anoraks and revel in the simple but life-enhancing pleasure of being out in the countryside. But how many will have skin that is not white, asks BBC Countryfile’s John Craven. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 08 July 2024 at 13:37 PM<\/p>

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According to official figures, 16% of the UK population is from ethnic minority backgrounds, so what is it about rural Britain that puts many of them off? Do they find it unwelcoming? Researchers are trying to discover the truth about the missing faces in our rural spaces.<\/strong><\/p>

Recently, Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link,<\/a> a coalition of 82 nature groups including the National Trust<\/a> and the RSPCA<\/a>, said \u201cthere are many accounts showing that some people of colour continue to experience racist comments and abuse when visiting nature. This is well evidenced, including in reports from Government and from public bodies.\u201d <\/p>

Both were subjected to racist taunts, spat on in one instance and weapons with intent to harm produced in another \u2013 very stark incidents of racial and engendered hostility.<\/p><\/blockquote>

But is racism any worse in rural areas than in our towns and cities? Now a research team from Leicester University<\/a> aims to find out the true extent of rural racism through a two-year survey. Researchers will question people from all races who live or spend time in rural spaces about their experiences. <\/p>

Some of the results so far are disturbing. Researcher Dr Viji Kuppan tells me about two women who live in rural areas, one brown and one black. \u201cBoth were subjected to racist taunts, spat on in one instance and weapons with intent to harm produced in another \u2013 very stark incidents of racial and engendered hostility.\u201d <\/p>

Dr Kuppan adds: \u201cThere are also subtler moments of \u2018unconscious racism\u2019 in the countryside that aren\u2019t wilful but are still difficult to be on the receiving end of. On a field trip to a National Trust property with a white colleague, it was striking how many of the white people we encountered would acknowledge her but not me.\u201d <\/p>

Dr Kuppan points out that a sense of belonging in the countryside is crucial. \u201cPeople of colour have a connection to rurality,\u201d he says, explaining that one refugee told him that the hills of the Peak District <\/a>reminded him of his home landscape of Afghanistan. <\/p>

It\u2019s something Dr Kuppan feels himself. \u201cMy connection to the natural world and wild places of England is of vital importance to my health and wellbeing,\u201d he says. <\/p>

Of course, many white voices would insist there is no racial prejudice in the green acres \u2013 that, at worst, there might be curiosity about someone from a different ethnic background. Dr Kuppan points out that racism can be communicated in mundane ways \u2013 through stares, avoidance, silence, laughter, gestures, or mutterings when people of colour appear in rural places.<\/p>

\u201cHow do you think white people would feel about moving to the countryside if it was made up of 97% people of colour?\u201d he asks. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be understandable for white people to feel anxious?\u201d <\/p>

But there can be conviviality as well as conflict. While walking stages of the Pennine Way<\/a>, Dr Kuppan came across \u201cmany moments of generosity, humour and warmth from local people\u201d. <\/p>

Recent moves to make minorities feel more at home include waterproof prayer mats for Muslim hikers, signs pointing towards Mecca on a Derbyshire trail and an outdoor activity centre where instructors speak Urdu and Pashtu and Halal food is on the menu. <\/p>

Some minority country-lovers have set up groups, such as Brown Girls Climb<\/a>, the Black Cycling Network<\/a>, Muslim Hikers<\/a> and Bristol\u2019s Steppin\u2019 Sistas<\/a>. The project acknowledges that rural communities face problems, with cuts to public services such as health, schools and transport. <\/p>

\u201cThe irony is that these rural areas could be revitalised if more people of colour could be encouraged to visit, work and live there,\u201d says Dr Kuppan. <\/p>

When the results of the survey are revealed, my hope is they will help to lead towards a countryside where everyone, no matter what their colour or background, feels they belong.<\/p>

Read more from John Craven<\/h3>