Xenophobia

March against labor xenophobia in Argentina.

The xenophobia (/seno'fobja/ or /ʃeno'fobja/) is the rejection or hatred of foreigners or immigrants, whose manifestations can range from simple rejection, undergoing various types of aggression and, in some cases, leading to murder. Most of the time, xenophobia is based on an exacerbated feeling of nationalism, although it can also be linked to racism, or discrimination based on ethnicity.

Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, lineage or national or ethnic origin that has the object or result of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or other spheres of public life.

Article 1 of CERD

Regardless of its ethical consideration, xenophobia can be a crime. Many States have criminalized racist and xenophobic conduct. The European Community approved in September 2008, a law against racism and xenophobia, with member countries having a period of one year to adapt their legislation to this law.

Its antonym is phylloxenia.

History

Xenophobic adhesive

Probably the roots of xenophobia lie in our hominization. The organization of the first human groups would lead to confrontations and probable exterminations between neighboring groups. The xenophobic feeling, the prevention against the foreigner, thus, would be an archaic evolutionary trait. With the formation of large and permeable societies and the transfer of information between these societies, we would see the foreigner as the bearer of that information and knowledge. Both archetypes would coexist in us: negative and positive; being in us the rationalization and containment of the xenophobic feeling, the fear of the different, which could be innate, reminiscent of our evolutionary history (which would justify its difficult eradication and the easy assimilation of the xenophobic and racist discourses).

Certainly, those who, by their own inclination or formation received, were able to drink from the "leche of the humanities" and learned, from their own weaknesses, the harsh lesson of human imperfection and vulgarity, those know to oppose, in a way that we would call natural, [...] to all racist doctrine, whatever their origin and substantiation, of race or border, of color or blood, of caste or religion.

José Saramago.

In classical Greece, xenophobic traits can already be discovered, traits that can be seen in Platonic writings: the overvaluation of the "polis", of one's own culture to the detriment of others. In history, depending on civilizations and cultures that have come into contact, xenophobia has manifested itself between these civilizations and cultures. This is how anti-Judaism arises, racism against American ethnic groups, European colonial and neocolonial racism in Africa, the rejection of gypsies.

The XX century, its first half, was especially tragic with the extermination of millions of people, justified by xenophobia and racism. The Nuremberg trial put an end to that period and was supposed to be over. The reality is that Nazi, neo-Nazis, racist and xenophobic movements have persisted, and they reappear with greater force in moments of crisis, propitious to arouse xenophobic sentiments. Currently, the international community shows growing concern about the proliferation of these groups that, mainly, infiltrate social movements and frames of far-right parties.

Current Consideration

All protests, all clamours, all proclamations against racism and xenophobia are just, necessary and welcome.

José Saramago.

Xenophobia, the fear of the outsider, is a prejudice rooted in the individual and in society. Aimed at the individual, the collective or both, it manifests itself in its mildest form with indifference, lack of empathy towards the foreigner, going as far as physical aggression and murder. «Among the most widespread xenophobic or racist prejudices are the cultural superiority of the Western world (Eurocentrism), the fear of losing one's own identity, linking unemployment and crime to emigrants, and robbery and drug trafficking to the gypsies". The foreigner becomes the threatening element in the xenophobic perception.

The xenophobic discourse currently focuses on immigration, proclaims the superiority of their own culture and uses as an excuse for their xenophobic rejection the lack of response to their claims that immigrants assimilate that culture, renouncing their previous culture which they consider inferior. When cultural affirmation can be considered as a right that must be harmonized with the receiving legislation and culture.

The right of the immigrant to maintain their cultural differences can only be possible when the receiving societies renounce the ideology of the pure and simple assimilation of foreign communities, to consent to the cohabitation of different communities. Only in that way will immigration cease to be seen as a danger to cultural identity to become conceived as a possibility of enriching that culture.

Lelio Marmota, Human rights and migration policies.

In addition to the moral censorship of xenophobia, in many countries it is also a crime. On September 16, 2008, at the Brussels summit, the European Community approved the Law against Xenophobia and Racism, which contemplates condemning xenophobic and racist behavior to up to three years in prison. Member States must adapt their legislation within a period of two years to consider as a crime:

• Public incitement to violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group, defined in relation to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.
• The commission of one of the acts referred to in the preceding paragraph through the dissemination or distribution of writings, images or other materials.
• Public apology, flagrant denial or trivialization of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against a group of persons defined in relation to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.

"We cannot fail to emphasize that in contrast to discriminatory, racist and xenophobic attitudes, there are also experiences of openness, rapprochement, involvement that generate networks of solidarity and spaces for exchange, learning that builds interculturality."