Raquel Evita Saraswati has been lying about her origins since 2004. The progressive activist is the director of equity, inclusion and culture for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an organization that claims to fight "violence, inequality and oppression." The truth is that Saraswati has been pretending to have "Arab, South Asian and Latin" roots for almost two decades.
The motives for the hoax are unknown. In a now deleted tweet, Saraswati assured that "as soon as I am capable, I will provide answers to the recent discussion and attack on me. I understand all the reactions you’re having. I am currently taking the time to get to where I can answer in a way that is most helpful and thorough more will come."
Her mother, Carole Perone, took it upon herself to uncover the truth of her daughter's charade in statements to The Intercept:
I call her Rachel. I don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing. I’m as white as the driven snow and so is she. I’m German and British, and her father was Calabrese Italian. She’s chosen to live a lie, and I find that very, very sad.
Oskar Pierre Castro, who hired Saraswati to head the American Friends Service Committee department, said he felt cheated:
It really touched all the points. It seemed that there was an element of lived experience and understanding because of the lived experience, not just the academic and extra training that come with being in a position where you are an equity and inclusion practitioner.
However, AFSC continues to support its director. Layne Mullett, spokesperson for the organization, said:
We are in receipt of the documentation alleging that our Chief Equity, Inclusion, and Culture Officer, Raquel Saraswati, has been misrepresenting her identity. AFSC has given Raquel the opportunity to address the allegations against her, and Raquel stands by her identity. Raquel also assures us that she remains loyal to AFSC’s mission, which we firmly believe.
This is not the first hoax of this kind. In an interview with Rosana Rábago of Voz Media in November, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Kent Frank Furedi talked about several people who have pretended to have a certain racial background. One of them was Sacheen Littlefeather, the actress who accepted Marlon Brando's Oscar on his behalf at the Academy Awards in 1973. When she took the stage, she lied about her origins, saying she was of Native American descent when she was not. There was also the case of Rachel Dolezal, an activist with Caucasian parents who defines herself as "black or mixed race.”
