Saleem H Ali, of the University of Vermont, reflects on the various forms of xenophobia prevailing in different parts of the world. In his recent article The Xenophobes, he shows the cultural and political sides of xenophobia existing in various regions. Different responses are elicited in different parts of the world to cope with the ‘threat’ of xenophobia. Ali mentions exclusive privileges offered in UAE to the locals in order to make up for the rush of foreigners coming to UAE for work. On the other hand, European countries are formulating immigration policies with preference for European/Caucasian immigrants. In any case, these xenophobic policies fail to effectively address the issue of cultural exclusion in a society. In my view, a shift in the strategy is needed with special focus on mobility.

It is quite obvious that xenophobia is getting worse over time, especially for Muslims in general, and Pakistanis in particular, due to the fear of terrorist connection that infests the world – all of it. So the most effective way of avoiding violence and psychological aversion associated with the presence of ‘the others’ is to check the rate of mobility among immigrants from developing countries. How to bring it about? Obviously, there is no quick way of attaining it. People from my part of the world (and other developing regions) are anxiously finding new ways to get around the legal barriers against entry into the developed west, finding themselves in trouble there – though it is too late then. So why not let them live where they are residing. But why would they stay? The answer is ‘make them happy’.

Whether or not an anxious soul believes in the blessings of contentment is a point left to interminable debates. A simple way of pointing a solution is to look at the factors that make immigrants leave their countries. If we (letting the developed west acting in lead) could work toward providing financial/social security along with better education and health facilities, I believe a large number of potential immigrants would rather stay in their homeland. In developing countries, at the moment, many organizations are working to make things better, but a lot more is needed including a thorough check on the efficiency of the staff that monitors and executes these developmental projects.

Also, our own well-off class may consider investing in various developmental projects in the country in order to seize people’s interest and motivate them for staying in place. An important point in this connection is that greater mobility from a country tends to fuel the process of ‘escaping’ from that place. This is because the general opinion taking the people’s minds by fear about that place is that of quicksand – ‘you don’t leave it, you are done for’. Put simply, we need to develop quickly in order to restrain the cultural invasion and parasitism on foreign territories. It will save us our money, peace of mind, and above all, self-respect of being a first-degree citizen.