SOCIAL INCLUSION AND GHETTOS

Details: Created on Tuesday, 19 April 2016 10:30; Written by basquecountry

First of all, we should know what social inclusion means. As it is said in the dictionary, social inclusion is the provision of certain rights to all individuals and groups in society, such as employment, adequate housing, health care, education and training, etc. This phrase is always in many politicians’ mouths, but why is it that necessary and good for the society?

Social inclusion also means that minorities are integrated in society, and are able to participate in social and economical life. This, for many people, is something they have to ask for and not something they are given since they are born. For example, old people are seen as incappable of taking their own decisions so society treats them in a paternalistic way. This fact makes them be more dependent on the others and less self-efficient, and are not able to participate in many economic roles.

Other minority affected that should be socially included are inmigrants. To start with, we have to mention health. Many inmigrants are not completely ensured and they don´t have the right to be attended in some cases, which is really unfair. Every human should have access to public and universal health. To continue, social rights are very important. Every foreigner should have the right to have an identity card and to be recognised as a citizen from the country he is staying at. They also should have the right to vote and to take part in the political issues that are affecting the country.

The are many ways to put social inclusion into practice: promote and support access to social networks, resolve transport issues so that they do not prevent people from participating in the wider community, build links with community projects, community centres and schools to increase levels of social contact between people from different generations, identify, respect and use people’s skills, including the skills of older people gained in previous employment, give people ordinary opportunities to participate in the wider community through person-centred care planning or involve people in service planning and ensure ideas and suggestions are acted upon

For me, social inclusion means respecting people´s dignity and integrity, no matter where they come from, how old they are, what sex they are or anything at all. We are all humans and we all deserve being treated equally and having the same rights. For centuries, we have been separated for any difference and been differentiated in an unfair way. Taking part in society is crucial in our lives to ensure a future based in equality and democracy.

Now that we have talked about social inclusion in general, I would like to introduce the topic of ghettos. A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. The term ghetto has been historically used to describe legally sanctioned segregated areas occupied by ethnic minorities. Although some writers contend that the first ghettos were created to segregate Jews during the Roman Empire between the first and fourth century CE, the term is most commonly used to describe segregated Jewish sections in Italy, Germany, and Portugal in the 1200s. The translation of the term ghetto originally referred to the Venice Ghetto in the 1300s and areas of town that were originally iron foundries or gettos before being converted to secluded Jewish sections.

A long line of research in the sociology of labour markets established that individuals often acquire jobs through personal contacts rather than through formal channels, so this can make us observe that people who come from discriminated areas are less likely to get a decent job with decent labour conditions. This does not only affect their work, but also their social life. A person who is integrated in a job and in a working area has less difficulty to succeed socially and to be surrounded by an inspiring and empowering background that will make that person improve himself/herself.

These ghettos might affect much more to young people, since they are in the age of developing their personalities and their careers. To do this, they need to grow up in a developed area with diversity and enough facilities for them. Without it, they don´t have as many opportunities as the rest of young people have.

So what could we do to stop the appearance of ghettos? First of all, we should look for economic ways to avoid them. Economic helps are, from my point of view, one of the best methods to use. If we help minorities in danger of marginalization giving them enough money to start a new life, they could manage to succeed in social and working life. They can also start a business, for example, and be entrepreneurs so they can go increasing their capital.

Another way to develop is education. We should educate the new generation with values of respect to other races, and show them that diversity is one of the magic things that make society work properly. We should never forget that embracing our differences makes them unique. Education is always a beautiful way of learning different cultures so everybody accepts other cultures living together in their neighbourhoods.