DID YOU JUST LEARN THE WORD ‘XENOPHOBIA’?
Pronunciation = /ˌzen.əˈfəʊ.bi.ə/ The recent happenings in South Africa has taken center stage for the past few weeks, trending on different social media platforms and steering a lot of reactions. However, the question is, do we truly know what this word means? Has the term ' xenophobia' been loosely used in the situation in South Africa, or is it a euphemism for the atrocities being committed in a country laden with so much history in the African continent? Let’s take a closer look at the word, vis-a-vis the actual occurrences in SA. Xenophobia, according to the Encarta Dictionary means “fear of foreigners: an intense dislike of foreign people, their customs and culture, or foreign things”, and The English Dictionary describes it as “a strong antipathy or aversion to strangers or foreigners”. This acute disdain and fear of things and persons is an offshoot of Cultural Revolution, which a group of people may adopt for reasons best known to them. They could either fee...