La be project how to overcome stereotypes - background research spain

Doc: Second event Editor: ForTeS Foundation Version 1 Date 20.02.2017 Revision Date 20.02.2017
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This project has been funded with support the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union. This
communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which
may be made of the information contained therein. Cod. 577736-CITIZ-1-2016-1-IT-CITIZ-CIV CUP F69J1600051000
“Lampedusa Berlin, Travel Journal”, Europe for Citizens Program
Strand2: Democratic engagement and civic participation 2.3: Civil Society Projects
Project: 577736-CITIZ-1-2016-1-IT-CITIZ-CIV
Second Event data Collection
Panel: “How to overcome the stereotips about migrants?”
Data collection methods:
Existing research
Every year, IKUSPEGI, the Basque Observatory on Inmigration, publishes a barometer on how
Basque population perceives inmigrant population regarding several topics. You can find the
complete research in Spanish on annexes and in this link:
http://www.ikuspegi.eus/documentos/barometros/2016/bar2016cas.pdf
1. Perception of the inmigration as a problem
2. Job finding and labor market issues:

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3. Tolerance and coexistence
4. Cultural diversity
5. Social efects and Stereotypes

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6. Access to services and rights
7. Inmigration Policies

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8. Tolerance rate
Data collected by the mass media & interviews (articles, videos, blogs ...),
IMMIGRANTS IN THEIR OWN WORDS -ON STEREOTYPES, INCLUSION AND DISCRIMINATION-
1. PRISM –Preventing Hate Speech online awareness campaign (English)
https://youtu.be/S1aApGgIstY
2. Videos by SOS Racism for the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival (in Spanish with English
subtitles)
 Tarana: -stereotypes- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEWbKFt-k7A&t=116s
 Spotlight on Danieli: -intersectional discriminatios: gender, origin, class-
https://www.youtube.com/user/sansebastian2016/videos
 Reflections: -domestic workers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nC2ZkOpWFs
 Roger -asylum-: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1GCsY7W6VI
 Alienated law -aliens law and expulsions-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hrRHvr93xM
3. Next Door Family - Documentary Film (2013, English
Subtitles) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_C2e8gbRcc (SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa 0'00-7'20")
4. The Faces of Our European Cities. Stories of migration past and present
(ENG) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfziQ_JyCY0 (From 18'47 SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa)
5. CAMPAIGN For the right to vote of immigrants in municipal elections
(ESP) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLce9hcByz4
6. Interview to Iñaki Williams, Basque black profesional football player (ESP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BVOb8jyySs
All these videos are available in the YouTube Channel of SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa
ARTICLES IN THE PRESS (ESP)
26 entidades e instituciones públicas conforman la Red Vasca AntiRumores contra la xenofobia
La Red Vasca Zas luchará contra falsos rumores que fomentan la xenofobia
Por un ZAS! a los rumores
TV NEWS
ETB1 Gaur Egun (21’17”)
ETB2 Teleberri mediodía (25’52”)

Pag. 5 of 11
Guiding Questions
a) Stereotypes that circulate in the "everyday culture" What are some of the main
stereotypes of migrants and refugees that circulate in your country?
1. Asylum and refuge. "Refugees endanger the security of Europe"
The massive arrival of refugees is resurrecting some of the old rumors about migrants: they are going
to take away the work; take social aid while hundreds of thousands of European families live in
poverty; they are an invasion; they are a danger to the society and the values of Europe. The
xenophobic speech of some political leaders, or the alarmist messages of some media, fuel the
narrative that appeals to fear. The last terrorist attacks in Europe have served to recharge this
argument. European leaders should not confuse terrorism with the increase of asylum seekers. They
are two different things, and only one of them is a threat. European leaders must carefully
distinguish between them and be clear that the best thing for the security of Europe is not to turn
away from a global refugee crisis, but to ensure the orderly, organized and humanitarian entry of
people fleeing similar horrors. In addition, every application for asylum lodged involves extensive
examinations and very strong security controls.
First of all, it is important to know that they are people who flee their homes because their lives are
at risk, and that their main objective is to return to their countries at a time when the situation that
motivates their exit has ceased. They do not come for pleasure. They do not leave everything-their
home, their family, their work, everything they have and have built- and put their lives and their
children's lives at risk for pleasure. They do it because they have no choice. Because all other
options have already failed. REFUGEES ARE NOT A DANGER, THEY ARE IN DANGER.
The Spanish reception system for asylum-seekers remained inadequate in 2016, with too few places
in official reception centres and too little assistance for those housed outside them. Spain failed to
implement European Directives on stateless persons, asylum procedures and reception conditions.
There continued to be no implementation of the Asylum Act, six years after its entry into force. As a
result, asylum-seekers across the country experienced uneven access to the assistance they are
entitled to. Between January and October, 12,525 asylum applications were submitted in Spain,
according to Eurostat data, compared with 4,513 in 2013. By August 2016, the growing backlog of
unprocessed asylum applications had reached 29,845 cases. Although Spain agreed to receive
1,449 people from the Middle East and North Africa under resettlement schemes, only 289 people,
all Syrian nationals, had reached Spanish territory by December 2016. Likewise, in contrast to the
commitment made to receive 15,888 people in need of international protection from Italy and
Greece under the EU internal relocation programme, only 609 were relocated to Spain by
December.

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2. It is an invasion
The world is much larger than the EU, which is not the main target of migrants and refugees. Of the
top 25 destinations of migrants, headed by the United States and Russia, there are only five of the
28 Member States.
In addition, there are 60 million people displaced by conflict in the world; 86% of the refugees are in
the poorest countries on the planet, is a fact, and especially in countries close to conflict zones. In
the case of Syria, for example, Turkey, Libya, Jordan and Iraq have practically 95% of the Syrian
population that has left, which are about four million. Europe comes a small part. Since the
beginning of the crisis, there has been an average of around 600,000 asylum claims in Europe. It is
a drop in the ocean if you compare this figure with 60 million internally displaced persons or asylum
seekers. Turkey has two million, Lebanon 1,200,000 plus half a million Palestinians, in a population
that has about four million. It is as if there were 12 million refugees here in Spain. No country in the
EU is poorer than Ethiopia, Turkey, Pakistan or Lebanon, which are home to the most refugee
countries. Here in Europe we have 500,000 million inhabitants.
3. They take out our jobs
We need only look at the percentage of the working population that is unemployed to see that the
crisis has treated migrants worse than the native ones. While the Spanish unemployment rate was
20,13% (2011), that of foreigners was 28,94%. In addition, many of them bring other skills in different
areas that we may not have here, for example in terms of language, or complementary training,
that is to say that, far from being a problem, it is rather a wealth and an opportunity for our society.
The impact of immigration alleviates the aging of European society: "Most studies recommend a
range of long-term policies, combined with a sustained flow of immigration to ensure the
sustainability of the current pension and social protection system. (European Commission, 2006)
Nor should we forget that the refugees, the immigrants who arrive, usually take jobs that we, the
nationals, do not want, the gaps in the labor market. Comparing statistics on the type of
occupation, it is clear that in the allocation of jobs between national and foreign workers,
immigrants are more dedicated to unskilled jobs.
4. They collapse the hospital emergencies and they abuse on public health services.
There are studies, such as the one of Amnesty International, among others, which show that
foreigners make less use of the public health system than the natives. In terms of financing, since
1999 the Public Health is paid through indirect taxes, such as VAT or personal income tax, and not
through contributions to Social Security. Therefore, the migrants who live in the Spanish State
consume and pay this type of taxes and also contribute to finance health services. And despite
that, the Government currently excludes them from access to Public Health. Austerity measures

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continued to have a detrimental effect on human rights, especially with regard to access to health
and social protection for some of the most vulnerable groups. The Constitutional Court declared
that legislation approved in 2012, restricting access to free health care for undocumented migrants
including primary health care, was constitutional. This reform has taken away the health care cards
from 748,835 migrants, removing or seriously limiting their access to the health system and in some
situations putting their lives at risk. There has been a particular impact on women, in terms of
barriers to information on, and services related to, sexual and reproductive health.
5. They increase delinquency
There are studies that empirically demonstrate that there is no causal correlation between
migration and crime. Researchers César Alonso-Borrego, Nuno Garoupa and Pablo Vázquez
analyzed in “Does Immigration Cause Crime? Evidence from Spain, for the American Law and
Economics Review, "the number of crimes per inhabitant in each place and year, and, among the
relevant variables, the proportion of immigrants according to their origin and characteristics (age,
sex, education and language)." His main conclusion: immigration has not caused an increase in
crime in Spain. See the complete conclusions of the study in the following link: http://e-
archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/handle/10016/10715/we1108.pdf;jsessionid=38C1D94C3631C4E23E8ED3
2A7335E8E1?sequence=1
6. They don’t want to integrate in our society and cultural identity and Europe will lose its identity
and its Christian culture
This statement calls into question the values of what the EU is or aspires to be. It is fundamental to
preserve the values of tolerance, respect for diversity, solidarity, which is what will give us the
mechanisms and tools for the challenges we will have to face in the future. In front of those
messages, the answer is that what can bring who arrives is an impressive wealth. Moreover, these
speeches, often spoken by European leaders, fundamentally of the extreme right, have another

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risk: To launch these messages of intolerance or rejection to certain religious groups is the best
propaganda that can be done to get radical groups to capture more people.
7. They make a living on State aids
According to several studies, the tax impact of immigration in Spain, i.e. the difference between
the contributions made by migrants via taxes and social security contributions and spending on
public services, social benefits and pensions received, yields a positive result that represents 0.54%
of the GDP, that is to say about 5.500 million euros. In other words, migrants get less than they
contribute, and enjoy less social benefits than legal residents and Spanish people. The Basque
Government’s reports confirms that the balance between what they contribute to the public
coffers of the Basque Country and what is spent on them is positive on the State side.
In terms of aid, the aid they receive is small and, moreover, comes from funds that the EU gives to
the Member States for that purpose. The money is used to host them in shelters for six months, and
provide them with information on the most important aspects to be handled in the country. Then
they have to look for life, without losing sight of the extreme difficulty of starting from scratch,
finding a home and finding work with black skin, a veil or a turban.
8. They are more sexists and rise the Gender Based Violence cases
Gender violence is a consequence of the unequal social structure between men and women.
Violence is rooted in a sociocultural idea that regards women as inferior and subject to men. This
has important consequences related to the situation of inequality and discrimination.
Attackers for gender-based violence may be of any nationality. 7 out of 10 victims of gender
violence during the year 2014 had aggressors of Spanish nationality. The arrival of foreign
population has not led to an increase in the number of victims of gender-based violence. From
2003 until 2014 the percentage of foreign population has gone from 6 to 10.7%. However, the
number of fatalities due to gender violence has declined from 71 to 54 in these same years.
In turn, this sociocultural conception does not distinguish between states, cultures and borders. The
lack of legal regulation increases and perpetuates the vulnerability of immigrant women both in a
regular and irregular situation.
9. The immigrant students lower the education level of the schools and create ghettos
91.6% of public schools and 93.8% of private schools have less than 20% of foreign students.
Academic success does not depend on the nationality of peers, but on the potential of the center,
and also on the situation and involvement of families. School failure has to do especially with socio-
economic and educational disadvantages of the family.

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No one chooses the school to which he sends his sons and daughters, unless it is a private center
and pays for the freedom to choose. When it comes to public or concerted centers, a family sends
its sons and daughters to the center that corresponds to them depending on the place of
residence, level of education, language model, etc. In this sense, immigrants do not decide to
which school they send their children, much less with the intention of creating a "ghetto." They send
them where they belong, just like anyone else.
The average poor performance of some schools tends to have much more to do with the class
disadvantage of the families of their students than with their place of birth. Without equality of
education, social equality and long-term quality of life are not possible. Ghettos have nothing to do
with schools, although they may be the result of not ensuring school equality.
The educational level of the immigrant population is in many cases not much lower than that of the
native population, although perhaps in the case of the African population. But sometimes the Latin
American or Eastern European population presents a higher level. In fact, we import the best of
these countries and Europe is trying to do the same with our young people. It is a global process in
cascade or domino form. Moreover, sometimes there is even over-qualification, but the difficulties
in the homologation of degrees and the prejudices associated to the immigrant collective, make
difficult their labor insertion and the upward mobility.
Find the complete studies and statement in Spanish, on the Basque Network against rumors.
http://zurrumurrurikez.eus/#rumores
b) Practices for overcoming stereotypes towards migrants Do you know good practices
that contribute to overcoming stereotypes plowing migrants?
1. ZAS! Basque Network against rumours.
Fostered by SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa, ZAS! The Basque network against rumours is a Network of social
(11 NGO) and institutional (Basque Gobernment, 2 regional Goverments,14 municipalities and the
Basque Observatory on Inmigration) actors that carries out a strategy of social transformation from
the perspective of human rights, interculturality and anti-racism. A strategy with community impact,
endorsed institutionally, but involving real participation of people and agents.
Network objectives:
- Knowledge: Be an space for the dissemination, exchange and generation of Good
Practices on strategies against stereotypes, prejudices and rumours
- Dissemination: Be a channel for dissemination of Basque strategy, experiences and actions.

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- Experiences: Generate joint and / or coordinated work experiences that can be shared
within the network and offered to other entities and institutions.
- Integration: Incorporate new social and institutional partners with whom to share
experiences and objectives.
Network activities:
- Anti-rumour training in municipalities to public workers.
- Anti-rumour trainings/ seminars for the citizenship
- Management of the WEB Zurrumurrurikez, created in 2015 as part of the Strategy of the Basque
Anti-rumour Network, as a reachable resource platform. http://zurrumurrurikez.eus
- Awareness-raising actions in the public space with mobilization capacity and community impact.
2. SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa’s Antirumor education program – Workshops against rumours.
The Antiracist Education Program SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa is one of the organization main program.
It seeks to make young people aware of the migrants’ reality and rights and to promote the
acceptation and welcome of the ‘other’, his/her humanization and the demand and defense of
his rights in terms of equality. It includes teaching guides, guided photo exhibitions, film forums and
talks to be used in class. Since 2014, it includes a full specific subprogram on stereotypes, prejudices
and rumours (see the pedagogical material attached in Spanish). Only in 2017, the dveloped
activities have been the following:
- Workshops in Secundary Schools:
o February 6-8-10: Sasoeta Secundary School (Lasarte, Gipuzkoa). 4th grade (15-16
years old students). 3 workshops on fighting stereotypes on inmigration to 60 students
o March 14-15-17-27-28-30-31: Landaberri Secundary School (Lasarte, Gipuzkoa). 3rd
grade (14-15 years old students). 7 workshops to 140 students
o March 8: Anti-rumour workshop with 15 teachers from Amezketa Secundary School
(Gipuzkoa)
- Workshops in Universities:
o February 28. University of Deusto, San Sebastian. 24 students
o March 23: University of the Basque Country, San Sebastian. 19 students
- Workshops for volunteers of the organisation
o March 29. Workshop on stereotypes to 17 volunteers
- Workshops for general public/ citizenship:
o March 7, 14 y 21. Workshop on stereotypes in Elizondo (Navarra). 67 participants
o February 23-25. “Migrants and Refugees: Welcome and shelter without misgivings”. 4
seminars by Arcadi Oliveras in Tolosa, Hernani and Ordizia (Gipuzkoa) with overall
146 participants
3. Anti-rumour strategy from the Municipality of Getxo (Bizkaia)
The Municipality of Getxo, member of ZAS! Network, has an extensive institutional strategy to fight
stereotypes, prejudices and rumours against immigrants. Find all the info in:
http://www.getxo.eus/es/inmigracion/programas-de-sensibilizacion-getxo-entre-
culturas/antirumores
Videos on Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Antirumores/videos/?ref=page_internal

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c) Existing integration policies Do Exist in your country policies for political integration?
What do they consist? How do these policies seek to contribute to overcoming
stereotypes towards migrants?
Integration policies that focus on struggle against stereotypes are inexistent in Spain. Nevertheless,
the exceptionality of the Spanish case deserves some words. Over the last thirty years, since the
1985 Immigration Law, irregularity has been a persistent aspect of our country. There has been
special regularisation programmes that were undertaken in 1991, 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2005. The
Spanish largest programme to normalise illegal foreign workers, unique in Europe, took place
between 7 February and 7 May 2005. It responded to two basic needs: firstly, the need to
incorporate unauthorized workers into the formal labour market and secure their tax contributions
and secondly, and as a result, the need to significantly reduce the number of irregular immigrants.
There were 3,691,547 foreign residents in Spain when the programme began, where 2,054,453 of
these had a residence permit and 1,637,094 did not. The normalisation programme received
690,679 applications. By December 2005, 16,74% of these – totalling 115,620 applications- had been
rejected. Therefore, the number of permits granted was 575,079. This means that, by the end of the
programme there remained (1,348,042 – 575,079=) 772,963 irregular immigrants.
You can find several studies on the exceptionality of Spain regarding to the migration policies:
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/
elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/ari47-2016-gonzalezenriquez-highs-lows-immigrant-integration-spain
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/exceptional-europe-spains-experience-immigration-and-
integration
http://www.mipex.eu/spain
http://idpbarcelona.net/docs/recerca/mediterranea/docs_wocmes/miguelrevenga.pdf
http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/33231/INTERACT-RR-2014%20-%2030.pdf
Working groups
Name/Surname Role (staff member, volunteer, stakeholders ..) email
Silvana Luciani ZAS! Network Secretary G. SOS Racismo staff
member
luciani.silvana@gmail.com
Alaia Garmendia Staff member, education program alaia.mugak@gmail.com
Loira Manzani Staff member, education program loira.mugak@gmail.com
Agustín Unzurrunzaga Expert on migrations. SOS Racimo founder agusunzu@gmail.com
Arcadi Oliveras Economist, Expert in migrations. HHRR activist
People interviewed
Name/Surname Typology (experts, migrants and
refugees, representatives of CS ....)
Description (who is the person interviewed?
Association Rights and Borders, expert and
activist..)
Iñaki Williams Public person Black Basque professional football player
victim of racist insults
Tarana Karim Migrant and CS representative Muslim woman Leader, migrant, activist.
Roger Mobembo Refugee Refuguee from DRC
Gina Migrant Domestic worker, migrant
Daniele Samara Migrant Transgender migrant activist
https://www.facebook.co
m/pg/Antirumores/videos
/?ref=page_internal
Getxo. Several interviews to
Stakeholders and experts
Institutional, academic, CS

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