Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Xenophobia-Fear of The Alien

XENOPHOBIA---FEAR OF WHAT IS FOREIGN


Okay, so before I start off with the body, here's a little excercise for you guys and gals reading this.

Look around the place you are. Then, close your eyes for a minute or so. Then look at the place again. Now imagine, if you see a cockroach which had crawled up your keyboard while you had your eyes closed. What would be your reaction?

Well most people in this situation would freak out. Either that or they would turn the roach into a 2-D mark from its 3-D existence.

The point I am trying to make is that usually, we human beings fear animals and insects that could cause you injury as much as a paper cut. Thats all. Besides, roaches dont even bite.

But, the most shocking and stunning aspect of xenophobia is discrimination. Even though the term has a "phobia" in it, it is often used interchangibly with "échthra" or hatred.
We see situations like so everyday, and sometimes ourselves are involved in them directly. Sometimes, teachers give preferencial treatment to those who may belong to their community or ethinicity. Sometimes, we have "groups" along which kids of their respective backgrounds hang out. Sometimes we ourselves discriminate and hate those whose culture does not agree with us.

One of the biggest examples of this vice is the apartheid in South Africa, wherein all "Blacks" and "Coloured" were discriminated against politically, socially, and economically. District 6 in capetown in 1960s-1980s saw the whites completely evacuate the native Africans' from their land and took over. The movie District 9(2009) was based on this.

So, you may say that what's the point of giving all this information. You may say that it is only natural that we feel uncomfortable around people who are different in a more visible way from us. But here's the thing. I remember listening to this line in a song which I paraphrase: "Take me higher to a place where blind men see"

This line has quite a deep meaning to it. If you look at it, it first of all kinda means that most people are blind to the fact that all humans have a heart that beats, all humans have lungs that take in O2 and give out CO2. So why discriminate. I know I know psychology says its part of human nature, but why discriminate so visibly that it hurts peoples feelings?
Well, overall I think that when you've lived among people with different ethinicities, you tend to be more open-minded.
Signing off, ciao. :)

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