I am Greek and I live permanently in Dublin, Ireland. Out
of curiosity and excitement I decided to travel in Europe a few years
ago, but fate had its plans as they say and I decided to stay
abroad permanently.
Before
I decided to leave home, I always wanted to see a modernized
Greece, cosmopolitan and "colorful" or multicultural as we call it. Not because it is 'fashionable' in Europe. But
because I personally believe that as a country we need to come more in contact with other nationalities and learn to think as Europeans and
citizens of the world, if we'd like to take advantage of globalization and its
advantages.
Globalization is a fact now and all nations are preparing for the new "status quo" on our planet. It has actually
started centuries ago with the European conquests and colonization but
has grown to its present form after several wars and ideological
conflicts.
But
multiculturalism gives advantages in a society only when governments manage
the changes in the society positively, fairly and always with the contribution
of public opinion. When
I started traveling to Europe, I noticed that most European countries
had failed in many points in the consolidation of a successful
multicultural society. This does not mean that the idea is multiculturalism is wrong. Just badly managed in Europe.
And
this happens for decades, which only resulted in the rise of many far
right groups in many countries of our continent, the alienation and isolation of
immigrants and their "ghettoization", but also the recent criminal terrorist attacks in Norway.
When I visited Belgium and saw that the majority of young men of Moroccan
origin were unemployed and relied on the unemployment welfare for their
survival, then I started to think that this can happen in Greece and many other countries. What
is the point of giving approval to a large number of immigrants to
enter your country, if you treat them like second class citizens
with not the same rights in employment.
I began to understand that such style of multiculturalism is nothing but a modern kind of slavery. Immigrants never become members of the society where they live, even if they gain citizenship. This makes them more vulnerable to exploitation and condemn them to make a low-paid jobs in society.
Many of them start to exploit the "system" and are then regarded as parasites from the rest of the indigenous population. And of course with any economic crisis, immigrants and their mistakes or the problems that they bring in a society are the first to be addressed. The main issue then is why a country allows a large number of migrants in the country
when it has not the ability or intention to give them equal rights with the
rest of the population.
Personally I think that if a country wants to take advantage of multiculturalism, it
should integrate migrants in its society equally. With all the political and social rights that every citizen has and equal treatment from the start. Once
someone enters a country legally, pays taxes and contributes in this way in the
economy of this country, he or she should have a voice in how those taxes are used.
Besides the real benefit of immigration comes when we do not silence the immigrants and thereby exclude some possible new ideas and opinions on the society we live in, or even criticism of it. Of course I'm talking about legal immigration, not illegal. Because illegal immigration contributes to the human trafficking crime through smuggling, with the only purpose of human exploitation.
Illegal immigration should not in any case be acceptable in a society. For
the simple reason that encourages events such as violent and illegal smuggling of women from third countries outside of Europe or the E.U. to exploit them in prostitution.
A
society should create a fully functional and controlled immigration
policy in order to attract the right people with the right skills and
education. In
numbers that would not allow future ghettoization and unemployment, but depending
on the needs of each country for skilled or unskilled labor.
But perhaps another issue for the inability of some ethnic groups to be integrated in a society, is the country of their origin. Some nationalities face difficulties in being part in the society they live in and this may be due to factors of discrimination and
racism, but also prejudices or cultural issues and differences deriving from their home country's culture and heritage.
Mainly
nationals from certain Muslim countries of Asia, face difficulties when it comes to
marry the culture of their home country with their adopted European culture and to become
part easier and quickly of the society in which they chose to live in.
The result is cultivated hatred and antipathy towards their host country.
Possible
solutions are to help the democratization of the countries of their origin through various
institutions and programs and the participation of the EU, its member states and the countries of their origin. Alternatively, cutting the number of immigrants from these countries and search for more compatible workforce that is closer to European culture. For example, many South American states.
And
finally, new ways for integrating those immigrants through various programs, to enable
them to understand the culture of their adopted country and to bring all
communities living in it more closely. The
arts and sport are two suitable instruments that could be used for
strengthening the relations between migrants and the native population.
My
personal view is that we should have less immigration in Europe, but
with full integration of immigrants into our society and with equal rights
as citizens from the beginning. The immigration of mankind existed and will always exist, playing a role
in creating all the great cultures of our planet, including the Greek. To believe that it will just stop one day is simply silly.
This of course does not mean that we must open all borders and let immigration in our country uncontrolled. If this ever happens, it will be in a utopian global society with all countries
having the same standard of living and people migrating simply for
pleasure, or to study.
At the moment this has not been achieved. And
I am neither willing to "downgrade" the Greek or European culture and
lifestyle as many believe. I do not want to alter, as many ultra nationalists claim, the lifestyle and our culture with the arrival of foreigners among us. Only to enrich the Greek and European culture with that of other nationalities. But
this can only be achieved with a responsible and controlled immigration policy, which at present, Greece and Europe in general have yet to create.
The root of this situation lies with the interests and the greed of people who
want to exploit other human beings and the unending desire for power and
money. A
common European immigration policy would be an institution of great
help, but like anything else on our continent is very difficult to
achieve unanimously.
Especially when the interests of different countries are in conflict and in many cases still keep their colonial past flavor. Too bad because those who lose out are ourselves. The
USA, Canada and Australia have built successful working immigration
policies that attract workers with the qualifications they want from the countries
they want. In Europe in contrast we are left with mainly unskilled workers that enter our countries, and in many cases with very little education.
Some wonder why immigration in Europe has failed. But after all, all we ask for is cheap labor and in fact slaves to do the jobs we do not want to do. How you integrate a slave in your society? What benefits can you expect from them except their tireless work? But when you do not need them anymore what happens to them? You just enroll them in unemployment benefit schemes for the foreseeable future, with the hope that they
and the economic and social problems they present will just disappear as if by
magic.
With
such attitudes in Greece and Europe in general, I believe that not only
we are not going to solve the various problems that concern us on this issue,
but that we certainly have no idea what we want to do and what we could have.
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