Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Angel, Ronald J.
• Angel, Jacqueline L.

Titel

A Majority Minority Nation

Ist Teil von

• Latinos in an Aging World, 2015, p.24-56

Ort / Verlag

Routledge

Erscheinungsjahr

2015

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• 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.