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Xenophobia is a fear or contempt of foreigners or strangers and people . It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners or in general of people different from one's self.

General

As with all phobias, a xenophobic person is aware of the fear, and therefore has to believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from racism and ordinary prejudice in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different nationality. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they have wholly different meanings (xenophobia being based on place of birth, racism being based on ancestry). For example: to dislike a Caucasian person from France because they are French is xenophobic, but to dislike them because they are Caucasian is racist.

For xenophobia there are two main objects of the phobia. The first is a population group present within a society, which is not considered part of that society. Often they are recent immigrants, but xenophobia may be directed against a group which has been present for centuries. This form of xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, or in the worst case, genocide

The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance at foreign loan words in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification. Isolationism, a general aversion of foreign affairs, is not accurately described as xenophobia. Additionally, in the world of science fiction, xenophobia may refer to a fear or hatred of extraterrestrial cultures or beings.

Xenophobia in History

Xenophobia in Japan

From 1641 to 1853, Japan had a policy of exclusion of virtually all foreigners (not merely an avoidance of foreign relations), known as 'national closure', or sakoku. In the early 19th century, Mito scholars advocated jōi, the forceful expulsion of 'barbarians', though almost none existed there. By the middle of the 19th century, with outside pressure mounting, some Japanese scholars and leaders tied 'Western Learning' and 'Nativist Studies' (kokugaku) toward goal of nation building. Nihonjinron, a widely popular type of nonfiction literature emerging in the second half of the 20th century, has been described as xenophobic, though most of the works in the genre lack this element.

Currently, the only legal protection foreign citizens enjoy from xenophobic practices is Article 14 of the Constitution, which states: 'all of the people shall be equal under the law,and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin'. Japan ratified the ICERD in 1995, but has failed to enact appropriate legislation as directed by Article 2b, simultaneously using 'freedom of expression' rights as a shield against the stipulations of Article 4a and b. The 2006 report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Racial Discrimination, Doudou Diène, was highly critical of current Japanese xenophobia and on-going discriminatory practices, which include difficulties in access to housing, accommodation (hotels) and other commercial establishments open to the public (spas, bars, night-clubs, restaurants and others) based on physical appearance and myth, and bullying at school of foreign-looking children..

Xenophobia in The Dominican Republic

Since the formation of the Dominican nation, it has been promoted by the government that Dominicans are racially, culturally and ideologically different than Haitians, and in order for the Dominican Nationality to survive, Haitian influence must be controlled or eliminated. In 1937, more than 50,000 Haitians were killed by Fascist Dictator Rafael Trujillo in an attempt to "whiten up" the country.

According to an Amnesty International and The Human Rights Watch, physical attacks against Haitians have increased since 1992 and reports of the lynching of Haitians surfaced as late as 2006. Homes of suspected Haitians are sometimes burned to the ground and police roundups of "Haitian looking" people are conducted on a regular basis. According to another New York Times report in 2004, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Haitians are denied birth certificates, medical care, education and social services because of their race and decendancy.

Xenophobia in Switzerland

The right-wing populism Swiss People's Party was accused of increasing racism and xenophobic sentiment after publishing a controversial poster for the 2007 Swiss federal election featuring a white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag during its campaign. The poster was condemned by the United Nations. The party also launched a campaign to introduce a law in the penal code allowing judges to deport foreigners guilty of serious crimes once they have served their sentence. If the criminal is under the age of 18, the proposed law allows the entire criminal's family to be deported as soon as sentence is passed.. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) had already reported in 2003 of certain xenophobic incidents in Switzerland, ranging from police discrimination and misbehaviour towards members of certain minority groups to intolerance climate within society to the certain groups, particularly Africans and asylum seekers.

Xenophobia in Taiwan

Residents in Taiwan of western ethnicity are often referred to in Min Nan as a dok a, the etymology of which, though often unknown to the speaker who my have no ill intent, is in fact 阿啄仔 "pointy (nose)".

The Nationality Law of the Republic of China places impediments on many immigrant groups from obtaining citizenship.

Xenophobia in Thailand

Any person in Thailand of a western appearance is often referred to as "farang", which non-natives often mistaken it to be a slang type word being similar in context to "chink" as used in native English speaking countries, as chink is a shortened version of "Chinese" used to derogatorily label anyone of Far East Asian appearance, whereas farang is a shortened version of the word for "French" (Frances) and is used to refer to any unfamiliar person of European appearance. The use of the word farang dated back for at least 400 years and is commonplace in Thai society, and there are no laws to prevent the use of this perceived racial slurs, due in part to the nationalistic mindset of the Thai people, and the fact that there is no slur intended.

The Thai national anthem (scored by Peter Feit, son of a German immigrant and royal advisor for music to the Thai Court, in 1932), broadcast on loudspeakers twice per day throughout the country, the words of which boast pride in the country's independence, and which state that every Thai will give his or her last drop of blood to prevent a single inch of the country ever being ruled by an invader, backs up this nationalistic mindset.

Sociobiological Explanation

The effects of Xenophobia (dislike against the genetically dissimilar out-group and nepotistic favoritism towards the genetically similar in-group) are analyzed by many sociobiological researchers. Some see it as an innate biological response on the part of the evolved human organism in inter-group competition. In his famous book, The Ethnic Phenomenon, Pierre L. van den Berghe, anthropological professor of the University of Washington, discusses the concepts of kin selection, ethnic nepotism and the biologically rooted tendency of people that are more similar genetically to behave more generously toward each other. In Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, author James Waller argues that all human beings "have an innate, evolution-produced tendency to seek proximity to familiar faces because what is unfamiliar is probably dangerous and should be avoided. More than two hundred social psychological experiments have confirmed the intimate connection between familiarity and fondness. This universal human tendency is the foundation for the behavioral expressions of ethnocentrism and xenophobia" (Oxford University Press, USA, 2002, p. 156). Frank Salter, an ethological researcher of the Max Planck Institute, deals with similar "taboo" topics in his controversial book, On Genetic Interests: Family, Ethnicity and Humanity in An Age of Mass Migration; this work has been praised by well-known sociobiology innovator E.O. Wilson as "a fresh and deep contribution to the sociobiology of humans." Salter posits an "innate group-descent module" in the human mind to explain the universal occurrence of ethnic nepotism. In Salter's view, favoritism towards one's own ethnicity is an evolutionarily based, "objective" value and, from a political science perspective, Salter proposes a "universal nationalism", in which all planetary ethnic-based communities or nations have the right to preserve their own heritage and distinctiveness.

See also

• Discrimination
• Intercultural competence
• Islamophobia
• Nationalism
• Nativism
• Pauline Hanson
• Racism
• Xenocide
• Xenophily
• Xenology
• Xenophobe
• Race and crime
• Tubbs And Edward

References

1. Definition at Reference.com
2. Wakabayashi, Bob Tadashi, Anti-Foreignism and Western Learning in Early-Modern Japan, Council on East-Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1986. ISBN 0674040376
3. Befu, Harumi, Hegemony of Homogeneity, Melbourne: Trans-Pacific Press, 2001.
4. http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?m=92
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/Antihaitianismo
6. http://www.websterfl.edu/~corbetre/haiti//misctopic/dominican/conception.htm
7. http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/misctopic/dominican/antihaiti.htm
8. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGUSA20070321002
9. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR270012007
10. http://www.http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/786433623r246231/
11. http://www.websterfl.edu/~corbetre/haiti//misctopic/dominican/conception.htm
12. http://haitiforever.com/windowsonhaiti/esagas2.shtml
13. "Right-Wing People's Party Win Swiss Elections". Deutsche Welle. 22-10-2007. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. Elaine Sciolino (7-10-2007). "Far-right Swiss party divides nation on immigrant issue". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-10-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. "Third report on Switzerland" (PDF) (Press release). European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. 27-06-2003. Retrieved 2007-10-25. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. http://pinyin.info/news/2007/a-nose-for-foreign-food/
17. Not allowed to be Taiwanese

External links

• Treatment of Xenophobia
• h2g2 Xenophobia Edited Guide Entry

Template:Types of Segregation

• Greek loanwords
• Phobias
• Racism
• Prejudices