It has been a main factor in major developments in Europe like
Brexit, the rise of populism and so called "radical" parties and
political movements, the rift between the old 15 EU member states and the
Visegrad group, as well as the North-South division when it comes to dealing
with the refugee and immigration crisis.
Our leaders might prefer blaming Russia, China or the Trump
administration for the misinformation or propaganda war that fuels the rise of
populism, however one cannot ignore Europe's internal issues; and they mustn't
be blamed on any external factor, if we want to deal with them successfully.
Accusing others for your problems, no matter how substantial
evidence you have, should not prevent you from taking stock and responsibility
for your own mistakes and actions; something that the European leadership often
tries to do.
The immigration problem in our continent is not anything new. It
has been brewing for decades now, however the European elites and media chose
to ignore and avoid it, hiding themselves behind the often illogical political
correctness policies.
Yet when you do not give a chance for such issues to be debated
and discussed openly, in fear that you may offend certain groups of people or
that you will be branded as racist, you only brush the problem underneath the
carpet. You are not dealing with it, you are just kicking it further down the
road for others to take responsibility.
Nowadays in the era of social media, voters but also young
individuals will try to discuss issues that affect their communities in various
online portals. If they lack the right information, or if their concerns are
not met or answered by their politicians, or if at least they are not exposed
in an open debate in the main stream media, they are going to express their
views on these web-pages.
And this is exactly where radicalized individuals exist and
thrive, behind the anonymity that the internet is offering them, that enables
them to offer their distorted views as answers to the people who genuinely wish
to discuss their ideas and concerns.
Wouldn't it better to have open debates on our media, schools and
educational institutions, political parties' membership or any other civil
society platform, on issues that affect us and our children; like immigration,
EU membership, the adoption of the euro, our country's integration into the
European family, racism, culture, multiculturalism and so many more.
Our continent was always multicultural, since the Roman times.
Free movement from Europe to the Middle East plus North Africa and vice versa,
meant that people from other races inhabited our continent since antiquity.
But in modern times it has become an issue and a topic of debate,
only after the ‘50s, when many of the Western former colonial powers, invited
workers from their one-time territories to settle in their countries. Soon
after, they sought to attract "guest workers" from countries like
Turkey and Morocco, but prepared poorly to integrate them as they did not
expect them to stay permanently.
As result, many of these immigrants found themselves living in
ghettos or in tight ethnic social circles, often being alienated from their
host country and its other communities. The failure of the old 15 EU member
states to deal with their immigration problem, fuels in fact the resistance of
the new Central-Eastern European countries of the block to follow their
example. They reject the Western multicultural social model because they see
only its failures, not the advantages.
Yet it doesn't have to be this way. They can learn from the
Western states' mistakes and do not repeat them. But this will require not
fences and coming in direct clash with the EU itself, rather the formation and
adoption of a comprehensive, fair and functioning immigration and integration
policy, that will avoid the shortcomings of other countries, by examining them
first.
Almost all immigrants that arrive in their new adoptive country
are ambitious and have much to offer in terms of knowledge and skills, if we
only attract the right ones that we need for long term or permanent settlement,
while perhaps offering short term contracts to seasonal low skilled workers. It
is really frustrating that we treat issues such as these with the complex of
our bygone colonial history, the fear of being branded racists or xenophobic.
The reality is that we cannot absorb all immigrants, without
totally dismantling the social fabric of each country, with serious economic
and political consequences. Thus the refugee crisis puts out ability to cope
and adapt to the test. Some countries such as Germany and Sweden, tried to show
how open and progressive they are, by taking in the largest amount of refugees.
The recent election results and polls though, signify a concern in
both nations about the future of such policies.
We may choose to ignore the shift in the public opinion, try to
blame internet trolls, but that would discredit the concerns of the ordinary
European; and that is not a sign of a true democracy.
Having endured austerity and a very crippling economic crisis, it
is understandable that people feel that changes are out of their control, there
is a sentiment of mistrust and betrayal and thus they feel disconnected from
the establishment parties.
They are seeking solutions from new parties, which naturally act
opportunistically and take advantage of the citizen's concerns, by simply
addressing them. Our governments might brand this as populism, but it is
evident that it works, so why haven't they managed to get rid of their
institutionalized political correctness and becoming more accountable and
transparent about the policies they chose to adopt?
Yet not all immigrants are refugees. Apart from the Syrians that
are fleeing a war torn country and deserve to be accommodated- not only by
Europe, but the whole of global community- many others are joining the queue to
enter our continent. They come out of hope and desperation. They are attracted
by our living standards, which are even after the crisis, still among the
highest in the world.
However one cannot ignore that another reason that Europe is so
attractive to immigrants, is its colonial legacy. Since a lot of them have a
European language as their first or second official back in their native, while
still being raised in a post colonial mentality and educational system, is it
any wonder that they feel more connected to Europe than any other region of the
world?
In addition, when Western culture is the predominant one though
Hollywood movies and stereotypes, how can a young Asian or African not be
dreaming in living in a Western nation, since we promote our way of life
through advertisements, trade, films and our overall cultural domination?
Finally, since we are promoting and priding ourselves as open,
equal and welcoming society, why then we find it so hard to accept the fact
that others see us as a beacon of hope and opportunity, just as America was
long before us?
The recent divergence of Europe towards a more conservative,
xenophobic and euro-skeptic stance, puts a question-mark on how open are we as
a society, how prepared are we for a globalized, multi-polar world and
signifies an identity crisis. We are simply not sure what we want to be, or
which role do we want to play in the globe for the future.
That is understandable, as European nations have walked a
different path in history. Some where conquered and oppressed by different
countries, while others were the oppressors or the invaders. Some only managed
to form a state quite recently, while other nations have been empires or
kingdoms for much longer.
Some have had a more peaceful history than others by maintaining
neutrality, while the different ideological and religious divisions have
created a variety of mentalities, sensitivities and approaches in our
continent.
However we should not destroy what we have achieved so far, just
because we feel insecure. The reason we are still one of the most prosperous
continents, is exactly because we have established the biggest market in the
world, we have opened our borders to each other and the world and have
abandoned- well to a certain extent- protectionism.
Immigrants are needed to fill the jobs that we are not willing to
do and to sustain the very generous welfare system that we all enjoy. The
alternative model would be that of Japan, which offers close to no social
welfare benefits, yet it is a very homogeneous nation, for the time being at
least. Instead of scapegoating them for our problems, perhaps we should simply
re-evaluate the policies we have adopted so far, streamlining them to a
pan-European common immigration policy.
If we continue to maintain so many loopholes for people to enter
Europe, without however any proper integration policy, all we are doing is
worsening the problem. We are encouraging more people to live on the fringes of
our societies, often unemployed or cut off from equal opportunities and relying
on social welfare.
It is no wonder then that radicalization of certain immigrant
communities, or rising xenophobia in the native population take hold and they
make matters worse. Combined with an economic crisis and an increasingly
competitive continent, in an increasingly competitive world, these issues can
not be ignored.
We have been disregarding the weakest and most vulnerable in our
societies, both native and migrant, making them feel left behind. Not everybody
is equipped to catch up with the changes, like our older generation. In
addition, we have been slashing the opportunities of our youth, forcing them into
unemployment and a bleak future in order to save the banking sector.
All the above add to the toxicity of European politics. If we want
to succeed in creating and above all maintaining an open, democratic and
liberal community of nations, then we cannot ignore these issues any more.
We will have to adapt and reform our societies, educational
systems, job market and economy, or people will increasingly opt for political
parties that will promise changes, even though they cannot deliver them.
On the issue of immigration we will have to learn from the
mistakes of the past. If you think that you are promoting a tolerant and
progressive image, by allowing too many immigrants to enter in your workforce,
yet without a sustainable plan to integrate them, then the only thing that you
will achieve is clashes and the opposite of what you hope for; the image of an
intolerant society.
Problems will always arise, but we will have to anticipate and
face them, not avoiding them in fear of offending people. Plus we will have to
be bold and resourceful. We could establish a number of EU work permit
embassies abroad, so people can enter Europe legally, bypassing criminal gangs
that smuggle them into Europe for profit. Safeguarding European borders will
need a stronger policing or security force, thus coordinating our efforts on
this front is also essential.
Cooperating with the transit countries is important, so
maintaining good diplomatic relations with them is key. And if we decide that
we need to reverse the flow, or at least limit it, we should encourage other
regions to become big players in the globe and especially, to invest in the
countries of origin of the potential migrants, creating jobs there.
If their citizens feel that they have a future in their own communities,
then they won't be as keen to migrate to Europe. And by allowing a multi-polar
world to emerge, with many new players and prosperous regions, then Europe will
not be the only continent too appealing to the potential immigrants.
Therefore we need to engage with all other regions in the world,
promoting stability, prosperity and education, together with our values and
aspirations for a more united, interconnected world and set an example for
others. But this won't happen when we are not sure of who we are, what we want
or how to deal with our own problems, because we are unable to hold an open
debate on the type of European society we wish to create for our future
generations.