Topic: Combating the Rise of Xenophobic Violence
Country: Libya
Delegate Name: Eli Simons
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Libya position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
As the world grows in population and technology, now more then ever citizens of the world have more of a sense of nationalism then ever before. With the use of social networking cultural leaders are able to emerge through blogs, facebook groups, and Twitter accounts. The ability for people to get movements started so easily, coupled with this strong sense of nationalism can make for a strong, positive movement, yet it can sometimes lead to gatherings of hate, and displeasure. This could be a contributing factor to the rise of xenophobic violence in places like China, Central Asia, and most prominently South Africa.
As a nation that, after a fierce and bloody revolution is just now beginning to become stabilized, Libya is concerned to see that countries with older and more experienced governments are having difficulty controlling this issue.
We suggest that there be a tighter control of immigration in Asia, this is because most Xenophobic violence is coming from workers in Central Asia and China who are unhappy with immigrant workers taking their jobs so they can send money home from their families.
In South Africa, the situation is not one of immigration hatred, but one of tourism hatred. This is more difficult to stop because of who the violence is directed at. Libya suggests that South Africa raises police protection of tourist areas. If police are more strict towards people who preform acts of violence against tourists, we feel as though these offenders will be less likely to become repeat offenders and it will send a message to the general public.
Xenophobic violence is a terrible thing, especially because it keeps people apart when they should be living in harmony. We believe that with hard work and time, we can make this problem cease to exist.
