HOW THE NEWS ENCOURAGE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IMMIGRANTS AND NATIVE PEOPLE

We have consulted two Spanish newspapers which talk about decreasing of social insurance budget because of crisis.  These two ones refer to the same event, but from different points of views.

On the one hand, in a newspaper called “Qué!” (http://www.que.es/ultimas-noticias/sociedad/201210301511-paro-afecta-doble-inmigrantes-espana-reut.html?anker_4 ) we can read this headline: “Unemployment affects double immigrants in Spain, according to the IOM” (International Organization for Migration). 

"Qué!" Newspaper

This newspaper explains this new using an objective method as it just says that more than a half of the foreigners who lost their jobs during the crisis also lack of social protection rights derived from Spanish Social Security system.

In addition, more than a half of foreign workers didn’t receive an amount equivalent to the minimum wage in 2010. A research has shown that the part of the native population who rejects immigration has grown since 2007 to 2010, achieving 20 %. Moreover, in general, the crisis and its consequences are triggering xenophobia.

ABC Newspaper 

On the other hand, there is another media that we consulted which is called “ABC” and is a conservative one. In this case, the title says: “The crisis demands savings in immigration costs “(http://www.abc.es/20121016/espana/abci-gasto-inmigracion-crisis-201210151941.html). 

Reading this paragraph, we, as readers, could think unconsciously and indirectly that immigration favors the crisis. So this is a proof that sometimes media encourages bad feelings against immigration in native population. As they make us thinking that crisis is, in some way, a consequence of the immigration.

Concurrently, if we go into the article “Understanding the alien in our midst: using citizenship education to challenge popular discourses about refugees” written by Jill Rutter, we can realize that it is something that, unfortunately, has been happening for a long time. For instance, we can read in his article that at the end of the nineteenth century “Jewish immigration emerged as a problem in popular discourse, with Arnold White, an anti-immigration author and campaigner, presenting the Jewish migrant as the pauper foreigner” in The Times newspaper. In that period the anti-immigration stance of politicians was reflected in the populist press, including the Daily Mail. Because of this, “the newcomers, referred to as aliens, were seen as: a cause of unemployment and overcrowded housing”.

As we can realize in the above information, we have always been under the influence of the media, which has encouraged as thinking what they want us to think.

Also, we could link what we have said previously with other news about immigration, which also belong to the same media, the one called “ABC” (http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20121202/abci-esclavos-espana-siglo-201211281343.html ).

In the above link we can read in the headline this: “Slaves in Spain in 2012”. It is about some cases of people who have not a residence permit and because of that they are considered as illegal people in Spain. Some people take advantage of the situation of these people, by forcing them to labor exploitation, to rape, etc. It is "a modern form of slavery".

Moreover, the ONG called Medics around The World, in November indicated that more than 50,000 people, mostly undocumented immigrant women, are victims of human trafficking in Spain for sexual exploitation, labor, organ trade, forced begging or forced commission of crimes.

The article concludes that it is essential that the government, police and society do their best to avoid whatever kind of cases where people is enslaved and deprived of their human rights and dignity.

Actually, is embarrassing that 175 years after slavery was abolished in Spain, thousands of people are victims of sexual and labor exploitation in our country.

The main reason that underlies the fact that some people exploit immigrants, and take advantage of their situation, is merely racism. Furthermore, the way that medias give importance or not to the immigrants, and specifically to those who lack of  human rights (like a home, social insurance or a dignified job), affects to what people think about it, particularly the new generations: children.

For this reason, it is vital that media challenge racism through the great power they have of influencing individual’s thoughts. And talking about children, the school has to face racism by teaching multicultural aspects.

In this point, as it is said in the text of Jill Rutter, the school has four key areas of work deal with racism:

•          Promote multi-agency working. School could collaborate with other institutions as police, youth groups, parents, several organizations.
•         Evaluate previous antiracist work.
•          Make sure effective sanctions against racism facts.
•          Use activities to develop, to promote diversity and equality.

But, the key point is that schools and teachers can not challenge racism in isolation from the rest of society, they should work with other organizations in order to be more effective.