Structural Focus vs. Individual in Addressing Social Issues
All of us have found ourselves in situations that are confronting at some point with people from other backgrounds. Cultural differences often result in misunderstandings which can in turn affect or associations with other communities and businesses. Culture is a substantial part of people’s lives. It usually starts at an individual level and moves across to entire society sharing the same culture by influencing their views, values, their humor, worries, fears, and loyalties (Dominelli, 2017). However, when people work together and build relationships, they get a better chance to understand the perspectives and understanding of other cultures. Differences among people crop from the feeling of individuals having a different nationality, culture, and ethnicity, from various family backgrounds and individual experiences. Refugees camp in areas where they can easily find help from the government, NGOs, and well-wishers in fear of harsh conditions from their areas of origin (Bhugra & Bhui, 2018). This, therefore, brings people from the diversified background and with different cultural beliefs. The differences influence our beliefs, behavior, practices as well as our expectations from one another. In some way, cultural differences are essential for identity as they give us a sense of belonging. According to Valtonen (2016), a person’s culture is of great essence to them since it has been part of them upon birth. This paper aims at determining the cultural differences and issues of racism and refugees. To achieve this, I will first explore the differences between structural focus and individual in addressing social issues. How people pathologies and blame others for their situations, the way in which the case might lie within our structural barriers and how our values and beliefs affect us in grappling the differing views.
The manner in which cultural differences and racism issues in refugees is addresses matters from the individual level to that of the people of that culture. The differences in refugees are arrived by parties involved from both structural focus and individual point of view (Ngai, Tao & Moon, 2015). In the structural focus, people emphasize that specific culture is better and superior to those of others due to their well-known backgrounds before becoming employees. This, therefore, gives them an opportunity to exemplify their cultural differences and practice racism towards other minor refugee groups (Bartlett, Mendenhall & Ghaffar-Kucher, 2017). However, this is kept in control by leaders of a given culture. The leadership seeks to associate well with other people in the society.
Pathologising and Blaming Individuals for Their Situations
On the other hand, individuals blame those from cultures in addressing social issues in practice. Individuals believe that they are supposed to control the use of services within the refugee sites. This raises concerns as disagreements arise because people from particular ethnicity despise others due to their race. This way of reasoning is based on cultural histories that perceive one ethnic group to be better than others extending it to refugee sites.
In most cases, theorists come up with their theories from specific groups. From this perspective, we might find it hard to understand the cultural differences between refugees by blaming them for their situations. Some ethnic groups are known to have differences that result in fights. It is hard for this people to settle and work for themselves in fear of wars aimed at flashing them out of their lands to leave their farms. Other ethnic groups, for instance, those from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have settled in areas with oil resources (Vaiman & Brewster, 2015). This makes them prone to fights that as groups seek to control the oil fields. In this case, we might blame individuals for being liable for their issues as they fight amongst themselves. Blacks are also blamed for being poor while their countries are well endowed with resources. However, we should not blame people for their situations because they all hope for the best but lack the power, know-how, technology and other resources to redeem themselves from their problems.
Problems arising from cultural differences and issues of racism among refugees might be built on structural obstacles rather than own pathology in that, people differ due to economies. The differences might be built of theories that are formulated concerning different ethnicities. The problems might be as a result of political and social factors where one group of refugees want to be control of all resources within the refugee site (Jeanes, O’Connor & Alfrey, 2015). Also, the issue might be controlled by people from different political sides thus each group seeking to impress its side.
The values and beliefs of different communities are critical determinants in the process of addressing the cultural differences and issues of racism and refugees. In most cases, refugees face a lot of challenges before they are fully accepted in their new locality. The problems are based on the racial perceptions and norms concerning people of different backgrounds (Eatwell, 2016). Many communities particularly the underdeveloped especially Africans they are so stuck to their values and ideas, and they are not ready to accept change (Forrest, Lean & Dunn, 2016). Despite such communities hosting a significant number of refugees, they have not yet allowed diversity a factor which has contributed majorly to mass suffering amongst the refugees. In most cases, the refugees are isolated in their camps receiving aids from world donors as the local communities watch helplessly.
Values and Beliefs
The refugees also have communal beliefs and values which they should observe. However, they are not committed to the ideas and values, and most of them are ready to embrace diversity. Although many people have argued that the situation has forced refugees to accept diversity but it doesn’t seem to be the case, this is because in various parts refugees have been witnessed to assimilated completely (Hruschka & Henrich, 2015). Values and beliefs of communities are critical determinants in addressing the well-being of refugees. All societies have values and beliefs which they are obliged to observe, but they should not significantly control their entire lives such as socialization (Saucier et al., 2015).
There are various developed sociological theories which provide know-how of societies, relationships, and social behavior. Some of the approaches include symbolic interaction theory, conflict theory, functional theory, critical theory, social learning theory, structural theory and social exchange theory amongst others (Forrest, Lean & Dunn, 2016). I think the major difficulty facing refugees in their camps is associated with lack of diversity incorporation amongst local communities (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). The developed countries have reached a significant milestone in embracing diversities. The theories are effective in helping people gather a more profound and richer understanding of the sociology’s past, present, and future.
I have witnessed sociological theories contribute majorly towards addressing the cultural differences and issues of racism and refugees. Previously, several communities were stuck to their communal beliefs and values, therefore, ignoring diversity (Leonardo & Grubb, 2018). The knowledge of the social theories has significantly facilitated improvement of the welfare of the refugees. I think the social theories are continuously influencing people to disregard cultural differences and issues of racism in favor of diversity. Most of the sociological theories focus on expounding the perceptions of people on characters of different gender and facilitate the process of social interaction.
In the process of enhancing the lives, social welfare and well-being of refugees, the clients are likely to experience several problems. Apart from financial challenges, the process is prone to social issues, especially where the local society has not yet embraced diversity, or it is not willing to. Different communities are associated with cultural differences described by values and beliefs. In situations whereby the community is stubborn to the cultural practices and beliefs, it becomes difficult to accept the refugees. The refugees, therefore, undergo social discrimination which significantly lowers their social factor (Crenshaw, Delgado, Matsuda & Lawrence, 2018). They are usually discriminated in various aspects, thus, forcing them to live miserable lives. The primary role of the clients is to ensure the well-being of the refugees, and in the process, cultural differences have to be eliminated. The clients are exposed to challenges especially when handling a local community which is not ready to accept diversity. Such cities are stuck to their values and beliefs and do not acknowledge the practices of other communities. Although the clients apply social theories while trying to make changes to the societies, there some people who are not ready and do not either cooperate or offer the necessary support. Enhancing the lives of refugees, therefore, becomes a significant challenge.
Conclusion
Cultural differences and racial discrimination interfere with various issues especially those linking people of diverse backgrounds. Refugees are an example of marginalized people who require acceptance in the process of helping them settle. However, the process of addressing the welfare of refugees has been experiencing various challenges especially amongst people who are not ready to accept diversity. Although social theories have contributed majorly towards embracing diversity, there is still a group of people who are stuck to their beliefs and values. Eliminating cultural differences and racial discrimination is key to enhancing the lives of refugees.
References
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