Effects Of Xenophobia In South Africa

Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest city and is closely behind Johannesburg as the nations largest city. This capital city is known for is breathtaking landscapes and vibrant culture. However, Cape Town is home to a conflicted history in which is still evident in it’s urban fabric today. Apartheid, South Africa’s system of racial segregation created an immense divide in the populations of Cape Town. Not only was this divide social, but it was physical as well. Communities were segregated by race into varying townships. While this injustice was ended nearly two decades ago, inequality and divides are still extremely noticeable in the makeup of the city. While many changes have been made to society in Cape Town, there is still much room for

People who are have the intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries are xenophobic. It could make it harder for these people to work with

Immigration has become an alarming concern to the global development over the past decade. Most of the developing countries have been the center for the rising cases of the immigration in most parts of the world. It is because of the conflicts among these nations that make individuals move to other foreign states in search of peace, jobs and the hopes of having a good life (Gross 33). Nevertheless, there has been an upsurge in the campaign against the immigration in the developed countries. The continuous struggle of these immigrants’ control has increased due to the threats arising to the locals and the nations hosting them. That is why it is important to understand the economic, cultural and the social

One of the greatest difficulties in intercultural relations is the acceptance of others due to the perceived threats and anxiety produced. The threat being that one will lose their culture, language, and ‘race’. These feelings give rise to the issue of racism, prejudice, and in some cases violence. With this in mind, we can begin to see why it is hard for some members of a host country to be accepting of immigrants. In Canada, 16% of Canadians believe immigrants take away jobs from locals (Ward & Masgoret, 2006). The increasing migration of immigrants has a strong impact on the host countries; one such impact is an incident in which a Sikh truck driver was physically assaulted in Canada despite Canada being portrayed as a cultural mosaic. Understanding

In “In Search of the Chilean Paradise” the Chileans xenophobia stood out. Their xenophobia is just aimed towards immigrants who have indigenous features. The very beginning stood out

The researchers establish what is known about African immigrants through what has been done and needs to be done. Immigration plays a major role in the growth of the population of the United States (US); and it is estimated that about 82% of the population increase between 2005 and 2050 will attribute to immigrants and their offspring (Passel and Cohn, 2008, as cited in Turk & Fapohunda,

Previous research on natives’ attitudes towards immigrants and ethnic minorities in the UK has focused primarily on feelings of threat or prejudice and the structure of the population at the local level in terms of ethnicity (Dustmann and Preston, 2001; Bowyer, 2009). In the UK, the trade expansion after the Second World War and its successive need for low-skilled labour contributed to a large inflow of immigration, mostly from Asia and the Caribbean, into an otherwise ethnically similar country (Dustmann and Frattini, 2013).

Apart from the labour market the immigrants also face discrimination in housing market, they are charged higher rent then what a native would be charged or are refused accommodation. Most immigrants lie in segregated less privileged neighbourhoods in very poor conditions. Calais and Banlieues are examples in of this in France. In credit market (if at all they are given loans) they are charged with higher rates of interest due to lack of trust of banks in them. The recent European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey have even highlighted the fact that public services such as schools restaurants and institutions of police, courts practice discrimination and social exclusion of immigrants. The feeling of ‘alienisms’ or of ‘not-belonging’ to the host country is not only prevalent among the first generation of immigrants but also among the successive generations. The children of the immigrants face constant discrimination in school and are seen to perform far worse than others academically. Teachers generally label them off as underachievers, disruptive and having discipline problems. The cultural uprooting and establishing themselves again in the host society leads to high levels mental and psychological agony in immigrants. They are the chief victims of police harassment as they are stereotyped as criminals and petty thieves. Even after being naturalised or granted citizenship the migrants are still referred to and treated as ‘refugees’ by the society.

South Africa has a history of legal segregation (Apartheid) which stems from prejudice, discrimination and anxiety with regards to intergroup contact. However, after 1994, when South Africa was declared a democracy, segregation was declared illegal and the society became racially mixed. Nevertheless, segregation still seems to be a contemporary phenomenon, though not legally enforced. In this essay I will explore Contact Theory as a way of reducing prejudice and intergroup anxiety; I will also discuss segregation and desegregation within the context of South Africa and our history and comment on whether inter-racial co-existence can be considered as the successful desegregation of South Africa. Lastly, I will also look at contact as a viable solution to segregation that is still taking place within our society.

Nowadays there has been a resurgence in xenophobia. Many protests take place in the United States and in Europe. Now Americans protest mainly about African-American and Mexican immigrants whereas European are against the refugees from Syria, Iran and many more war-torn countries. There is a wide range of factors, which make people flee their homes, thus in my opinion others should not make it harder for them by excluding and discriminating them.

Structural violence in every shape and form has rooted itself deeply into the soil of humanity. It can be seen in gender inequalities, economic stability, and family dynamics. All of the many ways structural violence perpetrates the continuing struggle for basic human struggle, the examination of refugees and migrants can remain obscure. The intensity of the violence committed against groups of refugees and migrants can be socially rounded to an individual’s inadequacy or greed; this, of course, refuses the acknowledgement of the true causes of this type of treatment.

South Africa has long been known for the racist policies that were implemented by the government during apartheid. In reality, many of these policies were introduced before apartheid, and thus South Africa today is affected by centuries rather than just a few decades of racism. The racial practice and policies of the nineteenth century that developed out of South Africa’s mineral revolution were then carried into the apartheid era, and are of particular importance for black South African families. The desires of the white population to have sufficient labour and to monitor it while reserving urban areas for whites occasioned the government to create restrictive laws starting in the late nineteenth century which were carried into apartheid. These laws and practices broke apart the South African black family and has resulted in enduring consequences for black families and South Africa.

Limiting the free movement of immigrants and strengthening border control is a controversial idea that can be detrimental to the multiple relationships around the globe. In the last few decades, we have seen a remarkable rise in xenophobia and conservatism in the United Kingdom (UK). Before the Brexit decision was made, xenophobic parties failed to even pass the 5% of votes needed to become an official government party. If the ideas of xenophobia and other hateful rhetorics are prominent, it will promote an environment where discrimination against a culture, religion, or sexual orientation is okay which it is absolutely NOT. Recently, with the current the United States (U.S.) election, xenophobic and isolationist ideas have grown even more popular. America is symbolized as the land of opportunities with diversity and immigration rooted in its foundation. Immense power comes from the diversity which provides the various types of thinking and perspectives that help our country as a whole. If this hateful rhetoric is prominent, this diversity will disintegrate and discrimination will prevent the diversity to bloom to its full potential. This is the biggest consequence from

By not sacrificing power, the whites are bringing this fear upon themselves. “And our lives will shrink, but they shall be the lives of superior beings; and we shall live with fear, but at least it will not be a fear of the unknown.”(Pg. 79) The question is: how long can this unstable and superficial lifestyle endure before the dawn of a new equity? Future generations will have to deal with these issues which are left unsolved by a power hungry nation. And if problems are left unsettled for too long, hatred may establish a permanent residence in South Africa.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities