Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined by dictionary dot com as: “an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.”
The other night we went to a “brainstorming session” in Frederiksted. There was a small group of people assembled to gather ideas about an up-coming day-long workshop on “Racism and Xenophobia”. I went to listen, but the group was so small, I was asked to talk about why I was there.
In the recent past, my opinion about some of the people in this group was that they seemed to be looking for “handouts”. Talks on reparation for the descendants of slaves had been ongoing by this group and a group of Danish citizens. I skimmed articles in the local papers on the subject whenever I had a chance. I’m not sure if their talks had resulted in any solutions. And I dismissed their concerns as “their problem” and wished they’d just “get over it” and help solve the problems we have in our society here and now. It’s in the past and there’s nothing we can do to change the past. All we can do is hopefully learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the past.
But I am interested in listening to peoples’ feelings about their ancestry and their place in the world today. As a woman who has deep emotions and feelings which I can’t always explain, I often need to try to. When Michael and I argue, I want him to understand what I’m upset about. So I try, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, to get in touch with my feelings and explain them to him. Also, I’ve not read a lot of history. So my understanding of the issues may not be as clear as it could.
I think many descendants of slaves have come to terms with the past and don’t allow themselves to dwell on it, so they can live their lives and succeed in today’s society. But I guess many haven’t, and they want to talk about it. They want their feelings to be listened to and heard. And I am willing to listen. Totally understandable, and I applaud their courage. But just like when Michael and I come to an understanding after a discussion (or not), after we have discussed these issues, I want us all to get to work to actually solving the problems of survival and well-being for every member of our community.
I will post this for now and take issues I personally have with the reparation movement individually in the coming days so I can try to more eloquently explain them.