The Oxford Dictionary defines xenophobia as ‘a fear or hatred of people from other countries or cultures.’ Simple words, but carrying with them centuries of pain and division.
Xenophobia is not just fear, it is the seed of suspicion that grows into walls, borders, and conflicts. Xenophobia is a child mocked in the playground for their accent. It is a family denied a home because of their surname. It is refugees turned away at borders, left to drift between nations. It is communities taught to see difference not as beauty, but as danger.