Listen a Minute – Xenophobia

Xenophobia is a strange word. For a start, it starts with an 'x' but the first sound is 'z'. It also looks strange. But it is a very serious word.

There is too much xenophobia in the world today. There is no need for people to fear foreigners. We are all pretty much the same. The world is getting smaller, so we need to learn to live with our neighbours.

I can understand why people were xenophobic. Most countries had a long history of fighting wars against their neighbours, so it was probably natural that people didn't like them. Today, however, it seems crazy that you would not like your neighbour, or people on the other side of the world. I hope that within another generation, xenophobia will be a forgotten word.