Ethnic Minorities

To begin the subject of ethnic minorities, it is important to define what it means. First of all an ethnic group is a group of people whose members have the same ancestry and/or practice endogamy(marrying within a social group). Ethnic identity is a groups of humans who share common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioral or biological traits, real or presumed, in contrast to other groups.

Now, that the definition of an ethnic group is given, an ethnic minority is an ethnic group that do not constitute the majority of the total population of a given society. We can see a clear view of this know a days in our globalize world when is found a little town of an ethnic in another one, for example, everywhere there is a “China Town”. There you find a dense concentration of Chinese people, in this case, producing and practicing their native elements, foods, activities, etc.

For example here in Peru there are two mayor ethnic minorities, the quechuas and the aymaras. They are two ethnic groups that lived in Peru before the conquest by the Spaniards. Historically they had been secluded in their local environments, however with the installation on the republic back in 1821 they were able to move feely around the country bringing with them most of their cultural heritage. In the past, especially in the times of the colony, they were considered basically as slaves, practicing activities of the lowest lever, being exploded with out pay and serving the dominant class.

Presently we still live the stigma of those years treating those who have not blend deceptively as for intense naming them “cholos” not only because their ethnic origin but also because of their behavior and misunderstood cultural values. Now a day there is not only a discrimination among quechuas and ayamray, but also among immigrant groups. In Peru there is a big Japanese and Chinese colony. They can be called “chinos” in a deceptive way, showing rejection. It is commonly seen that there is racism and discrimination between or in ethnic minorities.

It is very commonly seen that there is discrimination to ethnic minorities when it comes to employments or a restriction in certain public areas.

There is a solution to all of this. We have to be open-minded and accept the cultural differences that we have around us. We have to know that many of the people that we discriminating are the people that are direct decedents of our ancestors. Having an ethnic diversity does not in any way affect negatively our country; on the contrary it makes our county special and unique. We know that the term village is a clustered human settlement or community, we now live in global village in which like instead of people each one special and unique in its form, with its own and special ways, forming a village it is different ethnics, with the same characteristics but in a lager quantity, that form a global village.