Significados que los Contesting stigma: sujetos de intervención afro-descendant le atribuyen a la migrants in Santiago, relación profesional Chile / Impugnando desarrollada con el estigma: migrantes trabajadores sociales afro-descendientes en CARMEN GLORIA JARPA Santiago de Chile. PAMELA CASTILLO MELISSA M. VALLE KAREN TORO Trabajo social chileno Aculturación en las y dictadura militar. ciencias sociales: Memoria profesional y la división del trabajo de las prácticas de olvido disciplinas sociales en la PATRICIA CASTAÑEDA MENESES política pública ANA MARÍA SALAMÉ COULON LUIS SARMIENTO Ética para la intervención social. Los valores aportados por el Trabajo Social y las éticas del cuidado y no paternalista como modelos de referencia para la práctica profesional CARLA CUBILLOS VEGA DICIEMBRE 20 87 14 ISSN 0716-9736 / Revista Trabajo Social / No 87 / Diciembre 2014 Afro-Descendant Migrants in Santiago, Chile: Stigma Processes and Rhetorical Resistance MELISSA M. VALLE Ph.D. Candidate Columbia University. Department of Sociology- Knox Hall 606 W. 122nd Street New York, New York 10027; [email protected] Summary This exploratory study seeks to demonstrate the mechanisms which lead to reduced life chances for marginalized groups, as well as to understand how they negotiate stigma perspectives that suggest their identities have been devalued. It provides a qualitative empirical account of the experiences of Afro-descendants presently living in Santiago, Chile, and contributes to the de- bate on the realities of migrants in Latin America from the perspective of an understudied, often marginalized and excluded population. Forty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult migrants of visibly of African-descent (27 female, 22 male) from 4 continents and 15 countries, between April and May 2013. The interviews lasted an average of 25 minutes each and were conducted in Spanish or English. While this study can only provide a snapshot into the lives of some Afro-descendant migrants living in Chile, preliminary findings suggest that this population is experiencing racism and xenophobia, with which they must regularly contend, and that the strategies they employ to cope with their exclusion from society have the effect of both reinterpreting their own realities and contesting the negative stereotypes used to disparage them. Key words. migrants, Afro-descendants, stigma, racism, rhetorical resistance Introduction where many native residents had never even seen a Historically, Chile has developed as both a socia- person of African descent face-to-face? lly and culturally insular country. The presence of During the 1960s, migration to Chile came largely people of African descent in Chile, particularly in the from Europe. Economic, political and environmen- capital city, Santiago, has always remained relatively tal changes have caused migration patterns to shift, low compared with the rest of Latin America outside and migrants now come primarily from Latin Ame- of the Southern Cone. In Chile, the number of Afro- rica (Martinez, 2003). In 1998, the government of descendants has been proportionally quite small, in Eduardo Frei developed a regularization program spite of having a long history in the northern regions to permit irregular immigrants to obtain a one-year of the country. It has been rendered as socially and temporary visa, but few immigrants took advan- politically invisible (Jegroo, 2013). Chile’s current tage of the program because of the cost and time economic stability and prosperity are leading to involved in the process. Without any path toward an increase in the Afro-descendant population, as permanent residency, most immigrants fell out of many venture to Chile in search of better opportu- legal status at the end of this period (Doña-Reveco nities. In 1998 Chile reformed its policy related to & Levinson, 2004). The regularization initiatives of refugees, and began receiving asylum seekers and 1998 and 2007 were not contained under an expli- refugees from places with large Afro-descendant po- cit policy which would guarantee the rights of all of pulations, i.e. Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, and those living in the country (Stefoni, 2011). Rwanda. Following the catastrophic hurricane that According to the United Nations, Department of struck Haiti in 2010, Chile received a surge of Hai- Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division tian immigrants (Doña-Reveco & Levinson, 2012). (2013), Chile became the country with the highest As Chile becomes more diverse, it is becoming in- growth in the number of migrants between 1990 creasingly important that its growing cultural and and 2013 in South America. Currently, fifty-three racial plurality be examined. In many respects (i.e. percent of migrants (149,335) in Chile come from phenotypically, culturally and often economically) Peru, while twenty-four percent come from Ar- those of African descent are considered “other.” What gentina (66,701) (United Nations, Department of have been the experiences of these migrants in a city Economic and Social Affairs, 2013). In spite of the 3 MELISSA M. VALLE major influx of migrants to Chile, Chilean immi- • What are the forms of resistance employed by gration policy is still largely predicated on a legal Afro-descendant migrants to attenuate stigma- framework created in 1975, making it one of the related processes? most antiquated migration policies in the region. Interviews suggest that in Santiago Afro-des- The Chilean government created the Council on cendant migrants’ perceived distinct racial and Migration Policy in 2014 in order to coordinate citizenship statuses serve as two primary bases for efforts and plans which reflect the current migra- stigmatization processes. Interviews also reveal how tory patterns, and to stave off constant criticism Afro-descendant migrants have sought to make sen- from human rights advocates (Department of Fore- se of the labels that have become salient in their igners and Migration, 2014). lives in their new country and how they use rhe- Historically, race has been a key element in the toric to both justify and disavow perspectives that construction of a national identity which frames suggest their identities have been devalued. Broadly, Chile primarily as a White European society (Mora, this project seeks to understand how racial and 2008). Mora and Undurraga (2013) have demons- citizenship hierarchies, discrimination and the re- trated how Peruvian migrants have been racialized sulting social stigma can impact the life chances of and subsequently have had to face labor market se- the stigmatized and the process by which margina- gregation, which limits earning prospects. Peruvian lized groups contest stigma. The ways other factors migrants have been characterized as phenotypically related to gender, class, nationality, language, and different from the Chilean population, as being pri- skin color mediate in race-related stigma are discus- marily of indigenous ancestry and therefore shorter sed as areas of future research. and darker, amongst other characteristics, than the Chileans. These perceived physical differences have Methodology been not only associated with cultural and historical The primary sources of data for this project were differences, but also used to structure Peruvian mi- semi-structured interviews and photographs, grants’ access to resources and opportunities. The supplemented by existing public statistical data and authors suggest that the racialization process which historical information about immigration to Chile. produces “a multidimensional system of social stra- I resided in Santiago, Chile and conducted inter- tification hierarchies (class, gender and race)” is a views between April and May 2013 while serving “key dimension in the understanding of migratory as a visiting scholar in the sociology department of experiences” (p. 294-5). The Peruvian population Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago. Forty- in Chile has been positioned on the lower end of eight semi-structured interviews were conducted racialized hierarchie, which determines their life with adult immigrants residing in Santiago, Chile chances and trajectories. (26 female, 22 male). Participants were of visibly Through the experiences of a segment of the Afro- African-descent, from 4 continents and 15 coun- descendant population, this exploratory qualitative tries. Interviews were confidential and voluntary, study considers the life chances of another migrant and informed consent was requested of all partici- population and their potential position within pants prior to them. Interviews lasted an average Chile’s racialized hierarchy. The initial goal was to of 25 minutes and were conducted in either Spa- contribute to the debate on the migratory realities of nish or English. All but 11 were audio-recorded for an understudied, often marginalized and excluded record keeping and accuracy of verbatim transcrip- population to Latin America through an understan- tion. Thirty-nine migrants (approximately 80% of ding of their motivations for migrating, livelihood, those interviewed) were also photographed. living conditions, cultural integration/assimilation, A non-random selection strategy that combined and discrimination. However, through the research sampling for range and convenience sampling (Weiss, process this understanding generated the following 1994) was used. The overall recruitment aim for central questions: the study was to gather a range of experiences and • How does the process of stigmatization