Concept in Definition ABC

Xeno is a suffix y means foreigner or stranger and, on the other hand, filia is also another suffix that means love or sympathy. Thus, the word xenophilia refers to the feeling of sympathy for the foreigner. The manifestation The opposite would be xenophobia. Usually both emotions They refer to people who live or visit a country but who come from another.

In many nations there are broad layers of society that come from other territories. Foreigners produce a certain social impact, since their traditions, values ​​and beliefs draw attention to the natives.

It can be affirmed that communities of foreign origin are perceived in two different ways: as one more part of society or as a threat. In the first case, we would speak of xenophilia and in the second of xenophobia.

A general profile of the xenophile

Whoever has this mentality does not consider foreigners to be a problem. On the contrary, he understands that other people of different origins enrich social relationships in many ways. The outsider is welcome because he cooks with other ingredients, brings new ideas and traditions and, ultimately, integrates with cultural novelties. All this is synonymous with enrichment and

Some people are xenophiles because they believe that foreign is better than domestic for some reason (some Spaniards of the XIX century proclaimed themselves Frenchified since for them the French had a category superior to Spanish).

As a general guideline, xenophilia occurs in a society as a whole when foreigners have the will to integrate into their new community or when foreigners Outsiders make up a group that generates wealth (in the case of tourists, it is a group that is valued positively because thanks to it there is a higher economic activity).

The xenophobe and the phenomenon of tourismophobia

As a general criterion, the xenophobe considers that the presence of foreigners in his territory it is threatening and troublesome. Understand that their traditions and customs are being invaded and attacked. In other words, the xenophobe believes that the outside is bad and his is better. If we take the aforementioned issue of the afrancesados ​​as a reference, for some Spaniards the word afrancesado was an insult.

In some cities of the world the presence of tourists is so massive that there is an ambivalent effect. On the one hand, tourists are welcome because they generate wealth and well-being. On the other hand, in some cases their presence generates a rejection in some social sectors. This last phenomenon is known as tourismophobia.

Photos: Fotolia - Nataliaderiabina