Growing intolerance towards foreign workers and refugees from Asia and Africa represents a novelty for Croatian society, but also a challenge for which many actors are responsible, because the attitude towards foreigners in Croatia has recently been taking on truly worrying contours, writes Deutsche Welle (DW).
They note that this is not about cross-border tourists, but about foreign workers and especially refugees.
The edge of antagonism and xenophobia, with increasingly frequent violence, is predominantly directed at foreign labor, and at increasingly frequent protest rallies against them, it is said that they also threaten Croatian culture and security.
The non-governmental organization Center for Peace Studies (CMS) in Zagreb confirmed for DW that they have been working on protecting the rights of refugees, other migrants, and minorities in general for over two decades.
“This is not a spontaneous change, but a result of intertwined processes: the absence of coherent policies of integration and suppression of racism and xenophobia, the normalization of rhetoric that portrays people as a threat, a general increase in violence and the fascization of our society, as well as a broader European framework that increasingly treats migration through the prism of prohibitions, returns, and coercion, rather than protection and rights,” said Sara Kekuš, CMS program manager.
Referring to a public opinion survey conducted last year, Kekuš says that prejudice, xenophobia, and the perception of threat have been recorded in the last ten years, especially towards people of Arab and Muslim origin and asylum seekers. Everything is connected with the long-standing negative rhetoric of a part of the political establishment and the media. These narratives spill over into everyday life: they reduce solidarity and increase exposure to discrimination and violence.
At the same time, she added, it is important to emphasize “that a significant part of citizens still do not perceive foreigners and minorities as a threat.”
Referring to the situation from 2015 to today, Kekuš says that the trends can still be reversed, but this requires a conscious decision by the state and society: policies of welcome and integration, human rights education, solidarity in local communities, and more responsible media and political narratives.
“Otherwise, we will continue to live a paradox in which society becomes more diverse, and at the same time more closed, and where the price of that closing is paid first on the bodies and lives of those who are already in the most vulnerable position,” Sara Kekuš is convinced.
Political scientist Vedrana Barićević from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb notes from her perspective that this includes political parties, as well as the media and their responsibility.
“But also the responsibility of everyone who participates in the production of narratives, information, or knowledge. The media often follows the narratives imposed by politics and provides the framework and visibility to themes and narratives,” says Baričević, among other things.
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Source: Tanjug; Photo: N1