It’s also gone into a sense of humour. With Billy-T James growing up in the 80s he was a Māori guy taking the piss out of his own culture as well and so the white Pākehā have also gone that’s okay then. So now we can do that, we can speak about these systemic racial stereotypes. (Pākehā 2 focus group) In line with this view, Asian and African focus groups described the use of humour as a mechanism for others to mask racist intent. Often times it starts off as a joke, but it's not really a joke and that's how people kind of mask it. I've been in parties and someone walks in from a different country and you sort of feel the tension change and the jokes start coming out. But they're not really jokes, and then people just sort of go with it and then that becomes the norm. (African participant) The first racism I experienced was through the words, you took our job. It becomes a normal thing. In each section in our company, you took our job, you took our job, until those words become a joke. Before some people say it to you like in a quiet tone until it becomes a joke. (Filipino focus group) Suppressing emotions: Many participants noted that one of the forms of coping with racism was to ‘brush off’ or ‘forget about’ racist experiences and emotional impacts associated with these. However, suppressing emotional responses such as frustration and anger was considered to have significant wider impacts on the health and wellbeing of migrant populations. For example, the potential for suppressed emotions to be released as anger toward those they love. I hold things in, I brush and bottle it up but eventually it will come out. Those who are being racist won’t hear it but the people that I love will receive the backlash of it. (Fijian focus group) Social avoidance: Participants commonly noted the escaping and removing oneself or others from racist-harm as a coping strategy to minimise potential and real anxiety, depression, paranoia and/or suicide or suicidal ideation resulting from exposure to racism. [Racism] has traumatised my sister…Because she had a disability already…She didn't go to school for a week or so and she's afraid to make friends. It knocked her confidence a lot…I guess it did lower her self-esteem more. She is even becoming suicidal as well. (Former refugee focus group) Mental health, when you target someone on the basis of race and religion…During the mosque attacks…we had to send one Sikh family back to India because their [child] had some mental health issues… [the child] was thinking, oh he [the mosque shooter] will kill me because I'm Indian… Racism is dangerous. (Sikh focus group) 6.1.2. Living with racism Living in survival mode: Some participants highlighted that despite racist experiences, many migrants continued to embrace all opportunities including substandard accommodation, voluntary work and lower paid jobs in the hopes of a better future and building social and economic capital. www.malatest-intl.com Drivers of racism – March 2021 65