Xenophobia Informative Speech

Good morning Trinityhouse High School! I am Kaelah Marrian, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and I am here to inform you on xenophobia. With this said, did you know that according to a World Values Survey taken when South Africa was still under Apartheid regime, that South Africa was the most xenophobic country in the world . Even twenty years after Apartheid ended we have prided ourselves as a “rainbow nation”, xenophobia still haunts the lives of many immigrants of our diverse country.

Xenophobia is described as a strong hatred or (unjustified) fear of those who are foreign to you, for example, immigrants of a different culture, religion or race group. These feelings often lead to harmful and often fatal actions taken by those who feel xenophobic towards others. Xenophobia can be described as a violation to human rights as stated by our Constitution, that “everyone within in our borders is entitled to dignity”. Often the victims of xenophobia’s rights to liberty and security, privacy and even life, is compromised.

One of the biggest causes of xenophobia in our country is due to our high levels of unemployment. Job seekers develop feelings of hostility towards

By being governed by the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (ExCom), we have received sufficient budgets and guidance in protecting and finding permanent settlements for uprooted and displaced people, due to xenophobia. To help combat xenophobia in South Africa, we perform community outreach by educating teenagers on the dangers of xenophobia. We have created a comic book called ‘Reach Out! Speak Out!’ which serves as an educational tool on the issue. They are especially produced for children who live in townships with xenophobic violence to teach them to stand strong as a community and fight against