I've heard Spain is very racist. Is it difficult for a black or Jewish person to travel or live in Spain?

Question

I heard this on talk radio. They were talking about the upcoming World Cup for soccer and how the fans are allowed to have derogitory and racist signs to be seen on TV.

Answer 1

Spain is a great place to visit...Tourists from any country, and of any colour or creed are welcome... The "racist" bit is coming mostly from the problem of en masse inmigration coming from parts of Africa, where the poor people think that this is the land of milk and honey, and when they get here they find it is the same as every where else, hard to find a job if you don't have proper papers or /and can't even speak the language,
I live in southern Spain, I've been here over 30 years, and I have christian friends, jewish friends, moslem friends and my son went to school with the son of a man from Guinea Equatorial, and all of us have always gotten along well together... I can tell you, when I hear a voice with an accent from "back home" I take pleasure in speaking to that person, no matter what colour or creed... So enjoy your holiday! And don't worry, tourists are always welcome in Spain, no matter where thay are from...and if you like it enough to consider living here...just look for the place that suits you best.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I know it 's expensive there and they do have a more formal approach than most people are use to - due to European influences. One should dress well for meals and meetings , good manners are a must.... I am black and I worked for Spaniards and they treated me well --- but I knew somethings about there background and culture.... do some research and find out what things are happening in Spain --- I haven't been around anyone from there in over a decade --- and situations do change people's attitudes.

Answer 4

Spain might be racist but I've lived there for about 3 months and didn't feel any racism there. We Indians suffer a different kind of racism then shown against Blacks or Africans ( no offense of course !!).
I believe if u live and travel to the big cities it should not be much of a problem but if ur going to those really country side towns then u might be in for a surprise.

Well, most of the Spanish people I interacted with were really great and amazing !!

Answer 5

In Tenerife you can do anything you are feeling like any time of the entire year because of their environment, normal environments and tourist infrastructure made for fun for the household and this place is the right place for a great holiday and with hotelbye you will get it. In Tenerife are plenty of things waiting for you to learn and one particular is in the south west shore of Tenerife. A place that is a spectacular area for watching whales free in the ocean. As much as 26 species are found only down the shore, including baleen whales, killer whales, dolphins, pilot whales and even blue whales. In Tenerife you may also see The Teide National Park. At 3,718 metres, Teide volcano is Spain's highest maximum and its two ecosystems produce the rise an event packed with contrasts.

Answer 6

Yah, Spain is racist, but then again so is the USA & other places. It's how they exhibit their racism, that is important. This of course depends on what type of black you are, b/c honestly unless it's late at night & you run into a bunch of drunk idiots who threaten you while you're walking home (An experience that I can now chuckle at)
1) African-AMerican (New World): You're fine, as a matter of fact, you're a rarity that is so cool, b/c you must listen to all the hip Rap music & just immediately cool. However, that's b/c they know you're there for vacation, so they aren't worried about you too much, you will meet many a 'groupie' who would like to get to know you better. Beware, they don't grasp the 'N' word concept too well.

2) Afro-Caribbean: You're still cool, but not AS cool. You could be there for a short term & then you're fine. Met a Trinidadian there & he thoroughly enjoyed working there.

3) African: Not the country to be in. You were cool, but you ain't anymore. You are perceived as a drain on society & illegal. If you're a woman, you're considered a prostitute. I am not making this up. I saw shows where the only black women I ever saw on TV where hos & to make matters worse, the town I was in, it was true. *How sad is that?*

This also depends on where you live. There is a BIG difference on attitudes from the North & South. North you're still exotic & 'cool', however in the South you're a no-good illegal that doesn't speak the Kings' Spanish. NOT ALL are like this, as a matter of fact, I met some great people in Spain & would love to go back and have.

Of course that being said, if you're only there 1 week or less, you won't experience any of this, this was only after living in 1 place for 4 months.

Answer 7

Yes it's true. Since there hasn't been a civil rights movement
in Europe like the kind the United States experienced in the
1960's, the subject of racism hasn't been fully addressed.
Case in point; the coach for the Spanish soccer team was
caught on tape berating a player to "give the ball to the
"black" player. He'll make us look good but, we'll get all the
credit. " Confronted with fact, the coach denied everything.
Confronted with a video clip of the scene, he still insisted
he didn't do anything wrong. Education is severely lacking.
We are all human beings. We all deserve equal rights...
no special rights, mind you, but equal rights.
I sincerely hope that I have helped you in your quest to
understand the inequities of human nature.

Answer 8

As an Af-Amer. female having studied and lived in the somewhat xenophobic northern region of Spain, I wouldn't say people were "racist", but maybe more curious. I often got a lot of stares, which was annoying at first, but seems to be a European/Spanish thing, and may or may not have had something to do with me being black or speaking english with my other [white] American friends. I was often asked where I was from, but that may have to do with the fact that I'm sort of light/brown complexioned. I never felt threatened or anything and only once did I hear a Spanish stranger overtly annouce "Es una negra" as if she'd never seen one before. But like another poster said, I think being an black AMERICAN, especially a female, you are seen as an exotic and fascinating commodity, which you can in stride. In the neighborhood where I livedand riding the metro everyday, I think people got use to seeing me around and realized that I was an American, and not really an "immigration threat". I'll actually be going back to Spain, this time in the southern region, in the fall for about a year.

I never heard any Spaniards using the "N-word", but the Dutch roommate of one of my white American friends innocently (and I truly believe he didn't realize that it wasn't a "term of endearment") used it in conversation in the company of a black american friend in our group, and she politely schooled him on the history of that word, and hence he was enlightened :-).

Behold the power of music & Global-MTV.

Answer 9

That's an interesting question!

Answer 10

I also live in Spain, but I live in the North. I don´t feel that the Spainish are racist at all. Although, there are not alot of black people here,and as the other posters replied, the ones that are here are usually illegal immigrnts selling pirated cds or such.

So, I would say, No It, would not be difficult for you at all to travel here, or anywhere in Europe.