Social Boundaries and Stigmatization in a Border Territory: Experiences of Peruvian and Bolivian Students in the Northernmost Region of Chile

• Published in: SAGE open 2024-04, Vol.14 (2)
• Main Authors: Alvarado-Urbina, Andrea, Mondaca-Rojas, Carlos, Bustos-González, Raúl, Sánchez-González, Elizabeth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Schools; Students
• ISSN: 2158-2440; 2158-2440
• DOI: 10.1177/21582440241253421

By paying attention to what Peruvian and Bolivian students in schools say about how they are seen and treated by their native-born peers, this article aims to analyze the ways in which symbolic boundaries are produced, eventually giving way to social boundaries between natives and migrants. The methodology is based on in-depth interviews with students, parents, and educators of rural and urban schools in the region of Arica y Parinacota, the northernmost region of Chile, by the borders with Peru and Bolivia. We conclude that the production of symbolic boundaries among students emerges as discourses about nationality, skin color, ethnicity, and history. Peruvian and Bolivian migrant students describe being teased by their native-born peers because of their country of origin, for being darker-skinned, for being Aymara, and for having lost the War of the Pacific (and, in the case of Bolivians, for having lost access to the coastline). Some migrant students perceive these discourses as discrimination and consider them harmful; however, many others accept them as normal school stuff—as long as there is no physical violence. Moreover, teachers and parents do not see these interactions as problematic. The article concludes that the normalization of stigmatizing and discriminatory dynamics against migrant students complicates their inclusion in Chilean schools. Plain language summary In this article, we pay attention to what Peruvian and Bolivian students in schools have to say about how they are seen and treated by their native-born peers. Accordingly, we conduct in-depth interviews with Peruvian and Bolivian students enrolled in urban and rural schools across the region of Arica y Parinacota and with teachers, school professionals, and parents. In analyzing their discourses, we focus on how students create distinctions and verbally separate from one another into groups, producing symbolic boundaries. Across the interviews, we find that, in these schools, the production of symbolic boundaries among students emerges as discourses about nationality, skin color, ethnicity, and history. Some migrant students perceive these discourses as discrimination and consider them harmful; however, many others accept them as normal school stuff—as long as there is no physical violence. Moreover, teachers and parents do not see these interactions as problematic. We conclude that discrimination, stigmatization, and racism are present in the everyday interactions of Chilean, Peruvi