Go Back to – Face It!
Xenophobia is an irrational fear or hatred of foreign nationals. This fear has played a factor in some of the greatest human atrocities to date. It has reached all corners of the world and its impact has resulted in genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced removals. It is a form of discrimination closely related to racism where people are discriminated against purely on the basis of their country of origin. Xenophobia can be both subtle in the form of negative comments passed about people, or manifest in the form of exclusion from rights such as access to housing, health care, education, and physical attacks.
Often xenophobia serves to further stigmatise and traumatise people who have already experienced much trauma, which has resulted in them leaving their own countries in search of safety. Even those who have not arrived as refugees but immigrate for employment purposes can experience the trauma of xenophobia as this can result in them being socially excluded as well as denied access to services by xenophobic individuals.
Xenophobia has been used as a political tool to attain power and control masses. It has also arisen in times of poverty where desperate times have led people to group together against a group of a different nationality in an attempt to try to ensure the survival of their own kind. The outcome of both of these scenarios has painted a bloody story in the history books of mankind. Xenophobia is a social disease which needs to be addressed wherever it occurs – from discussions amongst friends or in the workplace, to sites of service provision so as to create a nation which respects the rights of all who live in it.