In an interview with CNN Radioon CNN no Plural, the regional secretary of Cáritas Paraná, Marcia Ponce, reported that racist and prejudiced reactions against the migrant and refugee population “are a daily reality” in the work of the host organization.
“We have noticed very intense xenophobic movements around the world, in a situation of wars and conflicts, in addition to persecution by race and ethnicity”, he explained.
In Ponce’s assessment, there is a loss of humanization in dealing with these people: “Brazil sold the image of a welcoming country, which has open doors, but it is not quite like that, it is selective”.
Marcia Ponce used the arrival of Ukrainians from the war as an example: “We see a great welcome for the population that comes from Ukraine, there is a welcome for societies in which there is a perception that they are intellectually or economically superior to us”.
“When we understand that a country is inferior, there is a more intense xenophobic movement”, he added.
The great challenge, according to the specialist, is “to give a face to these stories for those who arrive, since we are a country made up of migrations, Italians, Spaniards, of so many ethnicities and races”.
The process of xenophobia, continues Ponce, was “intensified by globalization and social networks”: “They let these xenophobic expressions appear, we need to think about how to promote the process of sensitization to this migratory movement”.
Another important issue is “strengthening reporting channels” against xenophobic attitudes: “We need to monitor as a society, impossible to accept in today’s times”.
Source: CNN Brasil
