Within the scope of the collaborative project “A World on the Margins” between the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) and Enrichment sts of Baku-Oxford School, the young learners are being encouraged to do independent research and work on their cognitive thinking abilities. As a practical approach to this project, the students are taught about the professional journalism and investigation process.

 

Experienced publicist, assistant to president of the IEPF, Anastasia Lavrina selected the most interesting research articles to be published. 

 

Eurasia Diary presents the first article on the causes of Xenophobia by Carlos De Guzman from the Republic of the Philippines who is currently studying at Baku-Oxford School. 

 

"We all look different and live in different ways. It’s our style of living and we shouldn’t be judged for that. Though, there are a lot of people who do not support this and some of these people are victims of Xenophobia

 

Xenophobia is the fear of people from other countries. Xenophobia is similar to that of holding a grudge against foreign countries or racism. The word “Xenophobia” comes from the Greek word “Xenos” which means stranger or foreigner and “Phobos” which means fear. 

 

Another thing to notice of is the causes of Xenophobia. One of the reasons for Xenophobia is the large competition for a good job. For instance, people are afraid that their roles in jobs may be replaced by people from other countries. Another reason for Xenophobia is the history of the victim and the person that appears in their mind. For example, some people are constantly aggressive against Germans for their history with the arrogant leader, Hitler. One more reason I’d like to take note of is that some people see foreigners as great dangers to their culture.

 

The effects Xenophobia are very dangerous to communities and countries. The reason for this is because having Xenophobia makes you more hostile to others therefore means that they will show others that the country you are from are hostile. Therefore, less tourists which also means less money for the government and a worse economy. Another impactful effect of Xenophobia is that it can destroy communities by causing their people to be less innovative with new ideas. Also, when people see foreigners, they might even have a Xenophobia attack, where they literally attack the person.

 

An example of this are the attacks on foreigners in Ghana (1969) and Nigeria (1983). Even the Jewish Holocaust let by Hitler and his soldiers fall into this category. From 2000s to 2008 in South Africa, Durban, it was mentioned that 67 people have died from what the others assumed to be Xenophobia attacks.

 

The solution to Xenophobia is in more need of attention from the government. The government needs to improve their immigration laws so they can handle the amount of foreigners that live in their countries. Another way to fix this is that the government handling their immigrants improve the laws of their immigrants. Therefore their citizens will be safe from the occasional Xenophobia attacks. And another solution to take note of is to have their countries leaders be more positive when mentioning other countries, so that their citizens won’t hate other countries because their leaders look down at them.

 

Not so long ago, in March 31 2019, Nigerians still face discrimination and violence from Native South Africans. This went as far as 50 Nigerians needing to seek shelter in a police station in South Africa because they forced out of their homes by Natives. Also, 100 protesters were invading small foreign shops attacking the employees, looting and even burning down the buildings. 

 

I want to say that I picked this topic because I realized that Xenophobia also exists in Libya, an African country that I used to live in. But to be honest, I don’t think that the Xenophobia in Libya is as serious as it is in Ghana or South Africa.  From my experience back in Libya, I used to love going to this restaurant with my family. And the restaurant’s staff were extremely friendly. Overall, I think that Xenophobia is something that the world’s governments and citizens need to take notice of this. If not, I believe that World War 3 may even occur from this if it isn’t seriously taken care of."

 

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