An Indian living in Germany shared a troubling account of facing stereotypes and hostility while travelling in Europe, particularly during a vacation in Greece. The Reddit user recounted how he was mocked when asked about his nationality, reflecting a broader sentiment of growing resentment toward Indian immigrants in Europe.
“When I first moved to Europe, I didn’t think about racism or discrimination or being stereotyped. I thought I would move abroad and, like my immigrant friends, build my life here,” he wrote. However, he soon realised that negative assumptions about Indians were common, especially regarding hygiene and social integration.
While visiting Greece, the user experienced open hostility. “I was looked at funny or spoken to rudely by foreigners,” he noted. A particularly jarring moment occurred when he was asked to show his residence title. When he replied that he lived in Germany, people laughed and asked again where he was from. “I said India, and they continued something in Greek, laughing at what I said.”
According to the Reddit post, the resentment stems from the perception that Indian immigrants are taking away jobs in struggling European economies. “Greece has a good Indian/Pakistani population, and Greeks seemed to not like us because, according to them, we are taking away their jobs in an already crumbling economy,” the user observed.
This sentiment is not confined to Greece. The user noted that he had similar experiences in Germany, albeit to a lesser extent. “Westerners just want to blame Indians, whether in America, Canada, Australia, or the UK, for mass immigration and taking their jobs,” he wrote. He also highlighted how anti-Indian rhetoric is becoming increasingly visible on the internet. “I come across posts where people talk about how filthy we are, how awful our country is. It does hurt seeing all this hatred.”
{{/usCountry}}This sentiment is not confined to Greece. The user noted that he had similar experiences in Germany, albeit to a lesser extent. “Westerners just want to blame Indians, whether in America, Canada, Australia, or the UK, for mass immigration and taking their jobs,” he wrote. He also highlighted how anti-Indian rhetoric is becoming increasingly visible on the internet. “I come across posts where people talk about how filthy we are, how awful our country is. It does hurt seeing all this hatred.”
{{/usCountry}}Take a look at the post:
Many users commented on the post, acknowledging that such discrimination is not surprising. One user wrote, “I’m not surprised by your experience, OP.” Another added, “There will always be someone to blame. It was the Jews first, now the immigrants.”
Another added, “Partly its European media that’s to blame. Coverage of India in European media is overwhelmingly negative. They never cover anything about India and when they do it’s almost always some obscure crime story or some horrifying rape story from some random corner of India.”