Sie befinden Sich nicht im Netzwerk der Universität Paderborn. Der Zugriff auf elektronische Ressourcen ist gegebenenfalls nur via VPN oder Shibboleth (DFN-AAI) möglich. mehr Informationen...
Over the centuries the Roma, descendants of an ancient nomadic tribe with origins in Northern India, settled
in many European countries and migrated even as far as the
United States (McGarry, 2010). They are one of the ethnic
groups that are referred to as “gypsies,” with all of the
negative connotations that the term conveys. What one
immediately notices about the Roma almost everywhere
they settle is that they are generally not welcome and do
not fit easily into the host society. The Roma live at the
physical and social margins of the cities to which they have
migrated; there they face discrimination and rejection as
unwelcome outsiders (Nolan, 2011). The Roma are not the
only outsiders who face rejection. In 2010 during a speech
before the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
in Potsdam, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced
that Germany’s attempt to create a multicultural society
had been an utter failure (Siebold, 2010). Expressing similar
sentiments, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France appealed to
conservative sentiments during his failed 2012 re-election
campaign by proclaiming that France had too many immigrants (Samuel, 2012). Recently, Prime Minister David
Cameron of the United Kingdom pledged to restrict the use
of social services by immigrants (Castle & Cowell, 2013). As
an austerity measure Spain, which had been providing
medical care to all residents, has informed illegal immigrants that they will no longer receive care at public
expense (Govan, 2012).
These statements and actions reflect a new austerity
and the difficulty that Europe faces as new waves of immigrants from its old colonies and from Islamic nations
outside Europe change the cultural and ethnic face of the
Continent. This situation underscores the dilemma that
arises when economic reality clashes with traditional cultural identities and values. The fear that immigrants
represent a potential social service burden is not confined
to Europe. Reflecting public opinion, on March 25, 2013
Hong Kong’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a Philippine woman who had worked as a domestic in the city for
27 years was not entitled to legal residency, a status that
would have allowed her to stay permanently and given her
access to publicly funded medical care and other social services (Bradsher, 2013).
In Europe, immigration is a demographic and economic
necessity even as the fear of threats to traditional cultural
values among Europeans grows. During the 1960s labor
shortages in Germany gave rise to a guest worker program
that recruited Turks, among others, as temporary laborers.
Ideally, these guest workers were to remain as long as they
were needed and then return home. Of course they stayed
and brought their families to join them and are now an
integral part of German society, even though they are far
from fully integrated. Their culture and religion make them
difficult to assimilate; they are often portrayed as criminals
and thugs and are overrepresented in correctional facilities
(Albrecht, 1997; Kulish, 2008). Turkish communities remain
segregated and are often the victims of serious violence
(Thränhardt, 1995; White, 1997).
Something similar happened in the United States when
in 1942 the growing need for manual labor brought on by
World War II resulted in what came to be known as the
“Bracero” program. As part of this program Mexican nationals were allowed to enter the country temporarily to work
in various industries and in agriculture (Cohen, 2011;
Snodgrass, 2011). The Braceros, a name based on the
Spanish word “brazo,” meaning “arm,” were expected to
return to Mexico after their contracts expired, and many in
fact did. After the formal end of the program in 1964,
though, the need for agricultural labor did not end, and
many Mexicans continued to enter the United States both
legally and illegally. Those who are in the country illegally
find themselves in a unique limbo; they are not eligible for
public programs and they have far less legal recourse for the
protection of their rights than citizens (Motomura, 2010).
As in Germany, the labor needs of the U.S. economy began
a process that cannot be easily reversed.
These are only a few of many examples of the mingling
of peoples with different cultures, languages, religions, and
values. Native Americans, as a colonized people, share many
of the characteristics of the Roma. Although they are
citizens, in many ways they remain separate and less than
fully incorporated into mainstream society. The Mexicans
who became U.S. citizens after the Mexican-American War,
when the United States annexed the northern part of
Mexico, are another example. They have been citizens for
generations, but in many areas of the Southwest they
remain separate and incompletely assimilated. Globalization, the increasing ability of individuals to migrate, and
the labor demands of host countries make encounters
among different racial, ethnic, and religious groups inevitable. When an immigrant group remains small it might go
unnoticed. When the presence of a large number of new
arrivals begins to alter the cultural and social landscape of a
country, though, their presence can quickly become a
problem for longer-term residents. What is clear is that
large-scale immigration, as well as colonization, results in
societies that are far from socially or culturally homogeneous and often produces marginalized and stigmatized
groups that do not share in the economic or social life of
the nation.
In this book we examine the situation of Hispanics in
the United States and investigate the full range of factors
that affect the social welfare and physical and mental
health of the Hispanic population at large, as well as that of
various subgroups. We also investigate the potential impact
of a growing and relatively young Hispanic population on
the larger society and its institutions. In subsequent chapters we examine a specific aspect of the situation of Hispanics in the United States and examine their demographic and
social profile in order to determine the extent to which they
are becoming similar to other Americans and the extent to
which a significant subgroup remains apart and outside the
economic and political mainstream.
Like the term “Asian,” the label “Hispanic” includes
individuals with many different national origins; it includes
individuals and families that have been citizens for generations, as well as new arrivals, and it includes individuals
with very different assimilation and incorporation experiences into U.S. society. As we illustrate, Hispanics as a group
are changing the cultural face of the nation, not always in
ways that are welcomed by the mainstream. That change,
though, is inevitable and irreversible. In the future Hispanics will make up a large fraction of the labor force; at the
same time they will make up a growing fraction of the
elderly population. What is clear is that the Hispanic
population cannot be ignored and that understanding their
unique contribution to U.S. culture, as well as their unique
needs and vulnerabilities, is imperative for understanding
the possibilities for our collective future.
Before beginning our detailed examination of this population, in this chapter we review theories of assimilation and
multiculturalism that are often the objects of heated debate
and disagreement, but that provide useful means for thinking
about the ways that different cultures interact when they
come into contact, and of the consequences of the mingling
of peoples from different worlds. We review social theories
that deal with practical problems and normative principles
related to citizenship, human rights, and cultural diversity.
We begin with the assumption that one’s cultural and ethnic
identity are central to one’s sense of self and that marginalization and stigmatization based on cultural markers undermine individuals’ and groups’ health and well-being. An
appreciation by others of the value of one’s cultural identity
is central to one’s psychological health. Health, both physical
and mental, is influenced by social factors. As we show, a
sophisticated understanding of issues related to immigration,
social policy, politics, and economics is central to addressing
the factors that affect individuals’ physical and psychological
health.