Introduction
Xenophobia is one of the major crises that are facing South Africa today. A number of foreign nationals have lost their lives and a countless number of them have been scarred mentally, psychologically and emotionally by xenophobic attacks. Xenophobia is a Greek word that is composed of two words, Xeno meaning foreigners and phobia meaning fear. According to Collins English dictionary (2012), Xenophobia is a fear of foreigners or strangers.
Xenophobia can also be defined as the hatred or fear of the culture, religion or politics of foreigners. We truly believe that there is an undeniable correlation between xenophobia and social justice. It has to be acknowledged by everyone, government and civil society that xenophobia is a social justice issue. Social justice can be defined as the way
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During the time of xenophobic attacks children of the immigrants lose their school books and uniforms in the wake of the looting of their homes and also lack transport from transit camps to schools over and above the widespread displacement. Furthermore, children who witness xenophobia being perpetrated against their families, face the lifelong impact of psychological trauma. According to Ford, Chapman, Mack, & Pearson (2006), traumatic experiences such as xenophobic conflicts can impact learning, behavior and relationships at school. As a result of these traumas the children of the foreign nationals lose concentration in the classroom leading to their academic failure.
During the xenophobic attacks teaching is disrupted in some schools and some foreign nationals teaching in South Africa fails to report for duty because of the fear of these vicious attacks. Measures that must be taken to prevent xenophobic attack in our
Deportation can have a psychological effect amongst families with mixed status as far as who is a U.S. citizen and who is an immigrant. In a study between July 2010 and September 2012 out of the 205,000 people who were deported, reported that there was at least one U.S. citizen child resulting in 90,000 parents who were deported (Psychological Impact of Detention & Deportation 2). Statistics like these demonstrate how the system is corrupted and needs to be fixed and mended. Families are constantly getting ripped apart because of an unequal status among family members. Psychologically, the deportations can affect family members, especially children. Children of immigrant parents live in fear because their parents may get deported. This is
Out of those million immigrants there are about one out of five children under the age of eighteen are either an immigrant or a child of immigrants parents. (Orozco, 2001). The majority of immigrants are from Latino or Asian origin. The United States has been experiencing a large wave of people coming into this country to start a new life from what they had before. Every region in the country is experiencing the growth of immigration every year. With this new immigration the U.S is witnessing immigrant children take over public schools. Today immigrant students are becoming the fastest population to grow in the child population in the United States (Hamilton, 2010). Many parents send their children to the United States and separate themselves from them because they want them to have a better life and live the American dream. Many kids go to school at a young age and get through high school and college and even start their careers. But many of them have to live in fear of being found out. They can’t trust many people, even the closest one to them (Vargas,
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
Immigrant children endue a great deal of stress. This stress is created as a result of leaving familiar people and places and entering a new place with a different culture and language. During this process, many immigrant children struggle to re-establish themselves as they enter the United States. These children need to feel connected and accepted because these are important factors of child development. For children who do not feel connected with their peers, family, or school may have an increased risk of suicide, school failure and drop-out, and criminal activity.
Immigrants are never fully welcome in a new place because people form small “in-groups” and ignore those in the “out-groups” in most cases. Smith starts this essay with a brief story about a fourth grader, Rodrigo Guzman and his family being deported back to Mexico, focusing on the reaction from his classmates when
In “Our fear of Immigrants” by Jeremy Adam smith, the author recalls a story about a young elementary student that got deported during Christmas break. Immigration has always been a controversial topic in this country. Many have different views on why deportation is beneficial and why it is not. In this instance Rodrigo Guzman’s classmates were saddened and confused about why their classmate and dear friend had gotten sent to another country for no apparent reason. It was something these students didn’t understand since it was a subject they knew nothing about, however, the students knew it was not fair to their friend. Smith wanted to dig deeper on what emotions immigrants bring up in people and why was it
In the essay “Our Fear of Immigrants,” Jeremy Adam Smith writes about why it is we fear immigrants. Smith divides his essay with numerous examples and comparisons, through biological, sociological and psychological explanations. As unorthodox as it sounds, our hesitation towards outsiders can be explained in various ways we never believed imaginable; in Smith’s investigation, he unveils the bewildering reality about the contrasts between ourselves, as adults, and children when it comes to immigration. He begins with a distressful story of a classroom of 4th graders from Berkeley, California, who missed their classmate named Rodrigo when he didn’t return from Christmas break, due to his parents’ expired visa. Rodrigo’s classmates thought that it was so unfair, that they complained to their congressmen. Smith then contrasts this response of empathetic children to unsympathetic adults from Berkeley, California, who protested against immigrants who seek shelter in the U.S for the families. Smith pondered the questions: “Why do immigrants provoke such strong feelings of both empathy and revulsion, a polarization that pits fourth graders in Berkeley against the citizens of Murrieta?” and “What characteristics and qualities do Rodrigo’s classmates possess
Discrimination is the process of identifying that someone is different and, due to this difference, treating them unfairly (Thompson, 2006). Xenoracism is discrimination that is aimed at people specifically because they are from a different country, and are therefore ‘strangers’ (Sivanandan,
Immigration trauma has different phases, but generally begins years before the individual leaves the country. The person is usually leaving conditions deemed intolerable; poverty, unemployment, and violence, and fear for one's safety are common. The immigrant then has to endure acculturative stress, the loss of social support, and displacement. A recent study asserts that 11% of all immigrant Latinos reported political violence exposure and 76% described additional lifetime traumas (Foster, 2001). Armed with this knowledge, the clinician assessing Mario and Mary would want to screen Mario for trauma,
Writer Jeremy Adam Smith, starts his argument by telling a story about a little boy named Rodrigo Guzman. Rodrigo’s teacher noticed that he has been absent for a few days and found out later, that him and his family have been deported back to Mexico. Rodrigo’s teacher had told the fourth-grade class what happened to Rodrigo and his family. The kids in his class were shocked to hear that their friend had been deported and wanted to do something about it. In Jeremy Adam Smith “Our Fear of Immigrants”, many Americans fear immigrants based on what they learn from their in-groups. He believes that some people fear immigrants, find them a threat and how people try to tame xenophobe.
Jeremy Adam Smith’s “Our Fear of Immigrants” proposes a sympathetic outlook towards immigrants. Smith wants the disgust and loathe of citizens to stop, and instead for them to start retaining empathy for newcomers. While reading the article, there is a sense of fear that people hold for immigrants. Many of these fears are mainly blamed on many motives such as psychological reasoning, genetic cognitive, and social status. Although Smith provides plenty logic behind the behavior of citizens, there should also be the point of view behind the immigrants themselves.
|Xenophobia |A fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
Part of my intervention plan will be devoted specifically to fostering resilience in these refugee children. To do so, integrated into their school days, classes will be held to teach the children appropriate conflict resolution strategies. At this point, the
Islamophobia is defined as the "unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims." The first time
There are many factors that need to be observed to determine what causes people to experience xenophobia. Xenophobia is defined as a condition where people suffer irrational fear of strangers or foreigners. The symptoms of people that suffered from this condition are very real and can range from feeling nauseated or excessive sweating to dry mouth, heart palpitations, a fear of dying, and anxiety attacks. Nevertheless, what exactly causes people to experience from Xenophobia?