American Expatriate Costa Rica

Xenophobia in Costa Rica?

“Ana” has been working as an Uber driver for many years. The lady looks very decent, she has bottles of water and gums in her car and she usually shares them with her costumers. As a result, she usually gets good reviews.

However, she declares there are people who discriminate her because of her accent. She is Nicaraguan and she has been living in Costa Rica for more than 20 years

She lives this situation every day and she assures that she sometimes lies about her nationality in order not to bother some clients and get bad reviews.

Some days ago, she picked a woman up. The customer got in the car and after talking for a few minutes, she asked “Ana” if she was Nicaraguan. When Ana said yes, the client remained silent. After getting her destination, the user sent a complaint to the company: she assured that Ana had assaulted her. Ana is sure that she could have better comments if it wasn’t for her nationality and Costa Ricans’ xenophobia.

In June, a survey conducted by the National University (UNA), revealed that most Costa Ricans see Nicaraguans as hardworking, corageous people. However, 6% of respondents stated that these foreigners are “bad and come to Costa Rica to harm others.”

crhoy.com