Xenophobia Xenophobia is one of the prejudices that engenders suspicion, hatred and rejection against foreigners, or, more generally, against different ethnic groups, or individuals whose outlook on social, political and cultural development is unknown. In the last decade of the twentieth century, xenophobia manifested itself very aggressively in all societies and in places where different ethnic groups coexisted, which were neither mixed nor integrated into the indigenous communities. Like racism, xenophobia is an ideology of exclusion and rejection of any alien entities to the cultural identity of one group to another. However, it differs from it by proclaiming cultural desegregation and the ultimate acceptance of foreigners and immigrants through a complete socio-cultural assimilation. Xenophobia bases itself on historical prejudices, linguistics, religious, cultural, and national separation between different ethnic groups. Its main concern is that the group to which one belongs does not lose the its distinct identity. Combining these prejudices with economic power, social and political xenophobia of the majority, rejects and excludes foreigners and immigrants to the extent he sees in them a competitor for essential domestic resources. The socio-economic crisis in many countries in the late twentieth century has multiplied acts of xenophobia, which have ranged from graffiti, banners, brochures, speeches and campaigns, to acts of violence as individual and collective assault, arson, mob killings, massacres and ethnic cleaning. Often the media can exacerbate the problem by concentrating on cultural differences, introducing customs and cultural events that are outwith the domestic norm and are seen as strange and surprising. This also encourages hostility and promotes xenophobia against foreigners and boosts the feeling of exclusion and rejection of what is outside. A phobia is an irrational fear and persistent toward an object either. Xenophobia is related to racism and ethnocentrism and has always been present in the human spirit. Even today there are outbreaks of xenophobia in Europe, USA, Japan, Chile and Honduras to name but a few. The explanation for the existence of this phobia stems from problems or economic issues; foreigners appear in the eyes of the misinformed as unfair competitors in the search for work and allow unscrupulous employers use to lower their costs. |
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