Xenophobia: Definition, Risk Factors And Prevention
Xenophobia is a strong ringing word. When the media talk about it, they refer to “serious” cases of more or less organized groups having committed a crime against a person belonging to another ethnic group or another country. But racism isn’t just that, is it?
We rarely talk about the situations that occur every day in most of the places we live. We also do not deal with the little phrases or ideas that are in the mind of some people. Is not it ? For example, to consider that a person is a bad worker based exclusively on her place of origin, is this xenophobia or not? Think about it!
What is xenophobia?
As we can deduce first paragraphs, the Xen ophobie is not restricted to commit aggression against a person because of his nationality. It is clear that such an act generates considerable damage to those who suffer it and to society in general, but the reality is that xenophobia involves much more.
The center of the concept is the social exclusion of another person because of their origin, which is normally different from that of the one who performs the acts of xenophobia. This exclusion may be the result of direct behavior, for example by not renting an apartment to a person because of their nationality or skin color.
But it also includes attitudes and beliefs about these people, such as seeing them as petty or “liars”: this is where stereotypes come into play. The reality is, although we don’t. of violent behavior, we can also fall into xenophobia because of how we think about them, as these thoughts also allude to attitudes of fear and rejection.
How to work on the prevention of xenophobia?
From all this, we can easily deduce a first element in order to prevent xenophobia: approaching and talking to strangers, immersing ourselves and learning about other cultures. This will help us develop empathy for them and understand that these are people who are not that different from us and obviously most of them are not potential terrorists seeking to destroy our lives. In addition, we will become aware of their history and the challenges they face as a community.
The truth is that few of us have taken the time to think about what can cause a person to leave his place of origin, putting his life at stake. In fact, if she felt well, it n ‘ would certainly not have undertaken such a difficult journey, sacrificing contact with his homeland and his family for an adventure with nuances more dangerous than exciting. She endangers those close to her, but also herself, because the possibility of staying where she was presupposes, in most cases, certain death.
To achieve this, it is important that government institutions implement truly effective integration programs where ordinary citizens get to truly know those who come from outside and where professionals can intervene in the event of conflict. Finally, it is important that truthful information is transmitted about this situation, without underlying political interests that promote fear and hatred.
Images by William Stitt, Eddy Lackmann and Vlad Tchompalov
Our thoughts 
