European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

280 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYIf we take Spain as en example and the relationships we maintainwith Moroccan immigrants 8 , we can see that these are not alwayscordial and are often more complex than the relationships we maintainwith other ethnic groups.This is not because Moroccans are intrinsically bad, it is due to ourignorance of their culture, customs and social norms caused by thedistance we always place between poor people and ourselves.When ignorance, distrust, distance, excessive precaution and thenegative impression that has been formed of a culture over variouscenturies are all combined, it is natural that fear and defensiveattitudes, which may result in aggression in provocative circumstances,are produced.Given such circumstances, it is essential that we overcome the fearof facing up to the reality of this miscommunication. It is also necessaryto approach the issue with care and discretion for the simple reason itis not just “their” problem, but everybody’s problem of insufficientcommunication between two worlds, two points of view, two politicaland social realities subject to constant change, two religions, twoaesthetics and two vital plans. Neither one is better than the other,they are simply different, they interpret certain important social codesin different ways and have no basic understanding of one another.However, the conflicts derived from this lack of understandingbetween cultures are not necessarily always violent, negative anddestructive. When this happens it is because we have not been capableof dealing with it in time or even sometimes recognising its existence.Therefore there is a preventative policy with regards to such conflictswhich implies the following:—The recognition of cultural distances and mutual distrust.—The active and responsible participation of the immigrantsthemselves, whether they be young people or adults, to encouragepeople to act as mediators between their community and ours.—The establishment of multiple channels of communication toenable immigrants to participate in full in our society.In neighbourhoods with large number of immigrants, the numberof intercultural conflicts is reduced when various mixed associationsthat organise daily activities which enable this communication andunderstanding between the different cohabiting cultures exist. Theyserve to encourage mutual respect, tolerance and even curiosity, and8Fisas, V. (2000) «Conflicts Between Cultures». El País, Tuesday, 27th of June.