Yassmin Abdel-Magied ‘traumatised’ by Australia’s hate

Never one to be backward in coming forward, Muslim activist and former ABC presenter has said that she was “traumatised” by the attacks levelled at her following her controversial tweet on Anzac Day, which acknowledged the plight of asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru. 

Read more: Muslim activist labels treatment over Anzac Day tweet ‘unfair’

In a series of tweets on Thursday, Abdel-Magied opened up about how the abuse directed at her following the tweet, or Australia “getting its hate on” had made her feel. 

She said that she had been “traumatised into silence” and that “being deemed the face of all that is evil for extended periods of time does take a toll”. 

https://twitter.com/yassmin_a/status/880381700273971201

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She went on to confess that she regretted staying silent throughout the controversy, during which she also lost her job at the ABC. 

“However, reality is that being a small target has not served me well at all,” she wrote.  

“Choosing not to defend myself and ‘let it blow over’ backfired.”

She also acknowledged the ways in which her supporters had shown their support. 

Recently on a panel at the Australian National University, Abdel-Magied raised more hackles when she said that Australians “don’t know how to have a conversation about the fact we’re on contested land”.

She also said that Australia’s government did not represent people such as herself, before going on to say that women and non-caucasians had to go through systems that were biased against them in order to contest parliamentary seats. 

Read more: Australia’s no democracy for women, non-whites: Yassmin Abdel-Magied

At the end of her Twitter rant, she said that she’s “still standing”, and evidently ready to continue her activism. 

https://twitter.com/yassmin_a/status/880387114218643456

Do you think Yassmin Abdel-Magied was treated unfairly by Australians?