Would you let someone know he is the target of racism?

If you were asked to translate a racist message and read it to the person whom that message is targeted, would you?

It is not uncommon to come across racism in society, and especially online. Even here in Singapore, we have seen and read comments on Internet platforms which assail others just for being who they are.

But what if you are asked to translate a racist online post and read out that translation to the person who is the target of that racist post?

This was what Svetima Geda, a campaign commissioned by the Lithuanian Center For Human Rights, tried to find out earlier this year in a social experiment.

“Svetima Geda roughly translates to ‘foreign shame,’ and in this case is meant to represent the idea of feeling shame for the discriminatory actions of others,” says one website of the experiment.

In the test, a black immigrant pretended to be waiting for a casting interview at an office. Other potential actors or interviewees are then brought in one at a time and sat at the same waiting area as him.

The black man then asked the person to help translate a post, which was apparently written in Lithuanian which he does not understand, he had received on his Facebook page.

The reactions from those he asked are priceless, and they reveal more than the racist message itself.

Watch the video and ask yourself if you would translate such a message and say it to the person whom the racism is targeted.