I've been sitting, head in hands, for the best part two years since the UK voted to leave the European Union. It was – and still is – a shock and the consquences of that decision are still unknown. But in the chasm that Brexit has created, an open, vocal and at times proud xenophobia has taken root among many of those who voted to leave.
Britain is not unique. Look around you and take note: the whole world is experiencing a fierce and growing resurgence of dangerous xenophobia. And this is not fear mongering. Xenophobia never ends well for those who find themselves in its crosshairs. And this time, it’s not a minor hiccup. We must not be complacent that this will pass. These are not just majority in-groups rolling down the shutters to keep "different" people out at borders, or pushing them out altogether.
Rather, it is people openly advocating dehumanisation and persecution. For the first time in decades, people are taking genuine pride in being xenophobic.
US President Donald Trump based his entire electoral campaign on xenophobia, declaring he would build a wall to literally keep Mexicans and other foreigners out. And just in case there was any doubt, he has been working hard to ban Muslims too.
Mr Trump openly played on the fears of xenophobes about losing their identity, or it somehow becoming diluted. His mantra “Make America Great Again” (Maga) is used effectively to create a scapegoat for those who feel under threat. It allows them to exalt their own culture at the expense of other, "inferior" cultures.
The irony of xenophobia as the hatred of people, cultures and all things foreign is that it is deeply global, crossing national borders. It seems as though we are liking other people less and less. It seems we are becoming more small-minded and much more parochial. We are ringfencing our small communities, fearful of others.
A study published this week in Russia by the Levada Centre revealed rising xenophobia, up 12 per cent in the past year, including against the Roma traveller community, the Chinese and other Asian communities. The number who support the idea of “Russia for Russians” has nearly doubled, echoing Mr Trump’s Maga approach.
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Read more from Shelina Janmohamed:
Dear Sondos Al Qattan: Please don't hide behind your hijab
Why Jamie Oliver's jerk rice debate is far more insidious than it seems
From mosques on Mars to meeting Martians: the dilemmas awaiting Muslims in space
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Meanwhile, the Swiss seem to base their xenophobia on symbols. Recently they have become distressed by Muslims who refuse shake hands. They reportedly don’t want minarets or halal meat.
As hundreds of thousands of refugees from Venezuela flee the crisis-ridden country, many are experiencing xenophobia, including from the former Colombian Vice President, German Vargas. Many Colombians took sanctuary in Venezuela during the civil war, but now that Venezuelans are seeking refuge in Colombia, Mr Vargas reportedly referred to them as "venecos", a derogatory term.
We rightly spend time discussing racism, its tragic rise and possible campaigns to fight it. Think of the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. But equally, think of the open, unabashed and horrific comments by Kuwaiti social media influencer Sondos Al Qattan about Filipinos, the sentiments of which were supported by many.
Racism and xenophobia can overlap but they are not the same thing. While racism emphasises race and physical characteristics, xenophobia is about being foreign or from the outside. We need to start paying more attention to xenophobia, calling it out and demystifying the excuses – like national pride – that are used to mask it.
Globalisation and migration are often blamed for the resurgence of xenophobia. The claim is that people are worried about their own countries and cultures being diluted beyond recognition. And that fervour is often stoked by those in positions of privilege who want to be seen as guardians of the people, by whipping up a common enemy.
It can particularly affect those who already feel marginalised by society; those who see the other as offering both competition for status and resources and as a threat to the in-group’s shared identity. Or, as some people in the Brexit camp might say, they want to "take back control".
Globalisation and immigration have been used to whip up xenophobia in the service of populism. It's a tragedy, because in human history we longed for globalisation. When that dream came true, did we decide we didn't like it after all?
The barometer of hatred against almost anyone different has reached a crisis point. Personally, I find it almost unbearable. If anyone is going to be taking back control from the xenophobes, it's us who must do it: The first step is to get wise to their game.
Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
