Xenophobia is the fear or rejection of foreigners, usually expressed towards ethnic and / or racial groups. This phobia has as its ideology the rejection and exclusion of any cultural identity other than one's own, of everything that is different and unknown. In it, historical, linguistic, religious, cultural, and even national prejudices stand out. This phobia is an ancient fear, it is not innate, but it is an element of the egoistic formations and also of the meanings of language, because from a very young age, human beings have known how to differentiate their own from others.
What is xenophobia
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Its name says it all: the etymology of xenophobia comes from the Greek terms xénos (strange, foreign) and phobos (fear). This is a rejection, contempt or dislike towards those people who are not in their country of origin, that is, the immigrant or commonly known as a foreigner, this is because nationalists seek to defend their country and, in the course of This protection totally discriminates against that minority group of people who are in that nation to improve their quality of life. This discrimination manifests itself through rejection, verbal and physical attacks and, in the worst case, in murder.
Causes of xenophobia
Over the years, the communities of a country observe foreigners and immigrants with prejudice and distrust, perceiving them as a threat to their economic prosperity, their job growth, their social stability and their cultural identity. These despicable attitudes are more frequent to see among the social classes of lower purchasing, economic and cultural level.
There are different causes that generate phobia of foreigners, one of them is cultural superiority, but there is also the fear that the identity or customs of that nation will be lost and the “pure race” will be lost.
Among the causes, the fear that crime will increase due to the arrival of new people who do not know the laws or the way of life of that nation should also be mentioned.
Prevention of xenophobia
The fight against discrimination is global in nature. Still, the international community has taken substantial steps in the right direction. The World Conference against Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia that the UN promoted in 2001 has generated important measures, among which we have UNESCO's decision to adopt a strategy that considers that local governments have an important role in the fight against racism and all discrimination, and in 2004 the Coalition of Cities against Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia was created.
Among the solutions to eliminate xenophobia, it is important that people approach foreigners and try to learn more about their culture, their way of being and way of life before judging them, with this, more empathy and less aggression is applied Thus, many will realize that foreigners are ordinary people who seek to live just like the rest even if their nationality is different. Of course there are also people who seek to do harm, but that does not mean that everyone wants to do it. You have to become aware, have empathy and be more human.
Another solution to eliminate xenophobia is that both educational and governmental institutions implement different integration mechanisms for this group of people as quickly as possible and with a very important character, so that citizens are informed about the people who come to their country, their purpose, the reasons that made them leave their homeland and why they chose that country to live a new life.
Laws against xenophobia
In many countries of the world, this phobia is classified as a crime, in fact, at the Brussels summit held on September 16, 2008, the law against discrimination, all types of xenophobia and racism in Europe was approved, in It establishes the sentence of 3 years in prison for all those who carry out acts or who have racist and xenophobic behaviors.
The crimes marked as discrimination due to xenophobia are incitement to violence against people based on skin color, religion, country of origin or their ancestry, and murders, crimes against humanity or genocide against people for the aforementioned reasons.
On the other hand, it is important to mention again the position of the UN regarding discrimination due to xenophobia and all the measures and mechanisms that it has implemented in all the nations that are part of the organization to prevent, fight and eradicate phobia of foreigners in the world.
Xenophobia in Mexico
If there is something that should be mentioned, it is that in at least 150 years, Mexico has documented different xenophobic episodes, but there are specific cases of xenophobia that very few know about and that they prefer to keep secret.
Mexico, just as it has received xenophobic treatment from different countries, has also behaved in the same way, especially with nations such as France, the United States and Spain, coincidentally countries with which they have clashed at the military level and this was precisely for the military interventions and the aggressive actions they had with the Mexicans.
Everything got worse when the United States, together with the European nations, were awarded certain economic privileges within the country during the Porfiriato. All these actions caused Mexicans to develop an imminent rejection towards people of any of these 3 nationalities and even today, the rejection remains, although not as extreme as years ago.
There is also the issue of xenophobia to Venezuelans who have arrived in the country and who, consequently, have been persecuted or discriminated against by Mexicans solely because of their nationality, way of life, appearance and way of working.
No matter what nationality you have, in the end, people should focus on the fact that they are all human and that they deserve respect, dignity, a better quality of life and friendly treatment with one another. You have to apply respect, because you must act according to how they would like to be treated.
Examples of xenophobia in Mexico: one of the most famous cases of discrimination in Mexico has been the call to build a wall on the border of the United States with the Mexican country. This is also known as the wall of shame and began to be built in late 1994 to prevent Mexicans from crossing the border illegally.
Examples of xenophobia
There are different examples of phobia of foreigners in the world that can be reflected in this post, starting with the well-known persecution that Jews had by the Nazis during the first and second world wars.
But this affected not only Jews, but other people with different nationalities, religion or lifestyle, for example, Slavs and Gypsies, taking away their civil rights in the bud, leaving them before the law as slaves. Another case of xenophobia to consider was segregation on the island known as Hispaniola, located in the Caribbean and where Haiti and the Dominican Republic meet.
By having two different nations, one poorer than the other, discrimination reigned and continues to reign between the citizens of both countries. It is also imperative to talk about the conflicts between Israel and Arabia, because thanks to their differences, they have been dragging wars and xenophobic acts on the part of both nations.
But in addition to the history of these countries, there is the current reality with citizens of different countries who have been mistreated solely because of their nationality. It is well known that Muslim people are not well regarded in the world, even more so in the United States, in fact, they are considered as archaic and terrorist people.
Many of the immigrants (regardless of their country of origin) suffer discrimination when looking for work and even in schools. Nationalist children, adolescents and adults do not measure their actions and trigger different traumas in these people, even cases of suicide due to harassment and phobia of foreigners have been reported.
In the case of Venezuelans, xenophobia is more marked by the exodus that the country is suffering and the poor quality of life that it offers to its citizens, so they, when seeking an improvement in other countries, receive mistreatment in business, jobs, schools and even on the street for the simple fact of being Venezuelans.
And just as it happens with them, it also happens with Peruvians, Colombians, Dominicans, etc.
