An Exploration of Discrimination and Prejudice
‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expressed. However, the fight against discrimination remains a daily struggle for millions of people worldwide. One group of people who are particularly discriminated against are migrants. Dreadfully, as we have seen from history, discrimination against migrants have led to ethnic cleansing and genocide in extreme, tragic cases. The Nazis offered the Jews a chance to leave Germany should they be able to find another country to escape to: Britain, France and the United States rejected millions of such applications, condemning them to a fate of persecution under the anti-semitic Nazi Reich.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of seven people are migrants, amounting to 1 billion worldwide. They often leave their homes because of economic and political reasons. Regardless of their unsettled situation, they strive for the best out of their lives.
Undeniably, views toward migrants are very controversial, varying from viewing them as an asset to viewing them as a burden on society. Hong Kongers have varying perspectives on migrants, no doubt stemming from the city’s controversial allowance of 150 Chinese citizens to naturalize a day and the various protests of domestic helpers from South East Asia. Some believe that such migrants are over-populating an already excessively dense city, in addition to exploiting public resources funded by tax paying citizens.
It is hard to sympathize with those that don’t share our culture, behave as we do, and in some cases even speak our language. It would be fool-hardy to generalize discrimination against migrants: ‘expats’ from the North Americas or Europe are often subtly admired, while those of dark skin can face discrimination - subconcious or not. Undoubtedly, fears of a destruction of Hong Kong culture and identity are not unfounded: sinicization has long been used by the Chinese as a method to assimilate neighbouring regions into China, and many Hong Kongers are fiercely against a shift towards Chinese authoritarianism. Increased immigration from the Middle East into Europe has wreaked havoc into local communities and scarred them with increased crime, violence and poverty - points often ignored by mainstream media. Many refuse to respect local cultures and laws, demanding freedoms and abusing the charity given to them and eroding the goodwill of locals.
No doubt, borders exist for a reason, and there must be limits set on immigration. But this does not end the discussion on discrimination.
Discrimination ranges from simple ignorance of the culture and religions of migrants, to more explicit forms of harassment such as exploitation and violence. While the existence of migrants disobeying laws and committing violent acts can not be denied, this does not mean there aren’t victims as well.
Opposition towards immigration may be due to economic reasons, as they may create more intensive competition in the job market. Many migrants are low-skilled, uneducated and a drain on public coffers. Funding that could have gone to funding healthcare or education for locals must be diverted to help aliens assimilate into the local community, often with mixed success. Research has shown that first generation migrants are a net negative to the country they emigrate to.
Other concerns include their refusal to accept local tradition and culture. Migrants that refuse to conform to local laws, language and customs are not uncommon, causing societal tension because of their selfishness and arrogance. Accepting migrants unconditionally and making endless concessions is not conducive to a healthy societal relationship, and will only lead to exploitation of a host country’s kindness. Yet requirements for a basic understanding of local language and culture is often labelled as discrimination when in truth it is sensible that a migrant be expected to have a basic understanding of society before they are allowed to join.
Even so, it is dangerous to allow such hatred to be manifested beyond justification. Many populists such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban have made anti-immigration the cornerstone of their political agendas, fueling popular sentiment and diverting attention from other societal issues. Hatred towards migrants should never blind us to refuse the benefits that some may provide: immigrants can help increase the proportion of youth in the population in ageing companies. If good selection is made, migrants can bring skilled labour to sectors suffering from a lack of qualified individuals.
Justice should be applied to each and every human, including migrants. Hatred leads to violence and conflict. ‘Racism, prejudice and discrimination are an inexplicable collective stupidity’ is a powerful extract stated by Andersun Silva. Prejudice can and does affect people’s lives. When the Germans targeted the Jewish community, they lost many bright and talented scientists, including Albert Einstein. The US’s detention of Chinese immigrants after going to war with Japan because of an inability to separate Chinese and Japanese needlessly antagonized the allies. The Soviet deportation of Baltic residents because they feared defection to the Nazis was poorly advised, as many despised the Germans. When distrust and mistreatment of migrants hurts the society as a whole, it must be prevented.
Is reckless indulgence in discriminatory acts anything but self-delusion and wasteful? Instead of harnessing the worthy ones from furthering a society, generalization of immigrants either in a positive or negative light is extremism that maximizes the costs while minimizing the benefits. Unnecessary cruelty deters skilled immigrants’ chance at fulfillment.
In real life, there are quite a lot of stories about migrants and refugees who later became successful and famous in their host country. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of Sweden's greatest football players, was an African migrant. This is an example of the positive potential of refugees. It would be hard to argue Zlatan was a huge ‘burden’ on Sweden given he is one of the highest earning individuals and internationally recognized, bringing pride to Sweden. There are other examples.
Einstein, the distinguished physicist who developed the theory of relativity, migrated to the United States after leaving Germany for a safer life. The remarkable singer John Lennon, fled to the United Kingdom and settled in the United States, founded the Beatles and composed music that transformed the world. The mismanagement of the refugee crisis is regrettable and has left a sour taste in many mouths, but there is hope to be found in rational thinking and reasoned actions.
Objections set aside, numbers of vigorous individuals are showing the world the positive energy and buoyancy that they bring, as well as filling the gaps that would otherwise remain empty.
“Discrimination. It stops with you. If not you, then who?”