By Imre Bártfai You want to wake up. To free yourself of the image of Europa. But it is not possible" Lars von Trier,...
By Imre Bártfai
You want to wake up. To
free yourself of the image of Europa. But it is not possible"
Lars von Trier, 'Europa'
Since Italy’s Mare Nostrum program has been
replaced with the EU’s less expensive Triton, less sea space has been covered
by fleets which monitor immigrant ships. As a result much more people drown and
we are helplessly watching it. Also it is shameful that greedy hands deal with
the hope of a better future: refugees pay typically something between 200$ and 1000$ only to risk death in
sea-wrecks. [1]
I think it is understandable that we European
fear for our own way of living. But already this observation is dubious, because
me being an Eastern European I belong to typically that group in Europe who
itself is the subject of fear. People in Western Europe fear us a bit less than
the peoples from ’alien’ cultures, but the popular feeling that we take their
jobs is prevalent, even if not universally at the same rate in every Western
country. Because European populace is aging, and the economy needs workforce[2],
in many Western countries immigration is a necessity, against all odds. This
does not hinder politicians in using the most ancient tradition of politics:
fear mongering.[3]
Border countries like Italy or Hungary fear that
the masses of refugees will live on their expense, while other EU counties look
over their shoulders, the extremists of Greece incite people against
foreigners, the German Pegida-movement express fear from the Islamization of
Germany, the Dutch Geert Wilders and others do the same.Lastly, Nigel Farage visited a factory in
Essex, England where he met an immigrant worker who was unable to reply to him
in English.[4]
With the numerous Polish and Eastern-European immigrants being present in Great
Britain, as well as the others, such occasions always create tenseful debates.
(Mr. Farage handled the situation with dignity though, as he did not use it for
his political agenda.)
We are afraid. Afraid of people taking what
little we have (or what much we have) endangering our way of living, our
culture, our safety. Seymour Martin Lipset determined one cause for the
spreading of a special kind of right-extremism, the McCarthysm of the 50’s, in
the middle class fear of losing status, after having won it, in the New
Deal-period and in the after war economic boost.[5]
The (once) worker masses of Western-Europe acquired their welfare states and
their citizen-lifestyle after the Second World War. As the globalizing
capitalist expansion frequently outsources jobs to the East, or business owners
try to hire the cheapest available workforce, common people are afraid that
foreigners will take their places. Many people fear the loss of identity too:
their ancestors lived mostly in villages, in more or less homogenized cultures,
and now they must face a bunch of foreign influences, like customs, religions,
and even skin tones. Sometimes a provocative form of political correctness and
political agendas hurt people’s sentiment too, as in the case of a British
town, where a local politician demanded the removal of the English flag,
because it “reminds Muslim people to the Crusades”, even though representatives
of the local Muslim community contradicted this idea.[6]. "In actual fact we are normal people" - said Rizwan Ahmed, preventing more fear from
immigrants, who seek to destroy and take over local culture. Immigrants are not
the Borgs of Star Trek, and people can and will defend their culture.
Many of these fears are as real as the
American terror at the sight of a seemingly unstoppable Japanese economic
expansion. The Japanese neither rule the US, nor the Europe. Side effects of Globalization is a serious problem though: we must maintain our economies and our social-welfare standards. Competition is of the highest necessity, but when it creates
greater inequality and political turmoil, it is undesirable in its current
form. The answer must lay in the idea of industrial democracy, the furthering
of communication between business and social interests beyond borders.
I, think the following major causes should be
put into the focus of global attention regarding immigration:
- Crisis centers like civil
war-torn countries, economically or democratically failed states
- Demographic booms which upset
political and economical stability
- Sudden shifts in cultural or
political balance which may cause series of crisis in later stage.
In the future, Europe should not forget that in
our globalized world there is no more ‘outer space’, almost everything in the
world can influence our daily life like "Butterfly Effect". Terrorism knows no bound; civil wars create
refugees with an undeniable political instability. However, our actions are both less and more when we western
people usually find a way on the subjects of our desire based on profit, power or
sometimes even our favorite ideas.
We can only protect our life standards, principles, freedom and dignity if we act in a responsible manner. We are proud of our spiritual achievements in liberty: the very word of ‘humanitas’ has been created in the Roman times, the ancestor of modern democracy has been conceived in the ancient Athens, and the religious developments in Middle Ages contributed to the separation of church and state. Either we elevate ourselves along with others to our traditions and ideals or forget the very image of Europe.
We can only protect our life standards, principles, freedom and dignity if we act in a responsible manner. We are proud of our spiritual achievements in liberty: the very word of ‘humanitas’ has been created in the Roman times, the ancestor of modern democracy has been conceived in the ancient Athens, and the religious developments in Middle Ages contributed to the separation of church and state. Either we elevate ourselves along with others to our traditions and ideals or forget the very image of Europe.
If the international community finds no
common ground in stabilizing the crisis areas, like most of the Africa, and if there actions cannot follow their will, we are doomed for sure and for eternity. Then only increasingly
authoritarian, mean-spirited measures will be able to hinder masses of economic
and political refugees to besiege ‘Fortress Europe’. Such
measures naturally requires a kind government institutions made up of those kind of people who are suitable for such work, i.e., anti-democratic works. Our fortress will defend us at the cost of our
freedom and humanity.
We can’t
close our eyes and our borders when we are approached by a dangerous world. We
can’t stand helplessly as people, like we, are trying to grasp some oxygen, in
agony, before they would sink down under in the wrathful seas, with the image
of Europe, land of promise and freedom, before their darkening eyes.
References:
[1] http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/04/economist-explains-20?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/tr/st/migrationacrossmediterraneanexplains
[2] „According to
a study conducted by The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford,
migrants from so-called A8 countries (the eight countries that joined the EU in
2004) made a positive contribution to the country’s public finances in each
fiscal year since their EU accession”http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/01/eu-and-immigration
[3] Recently, the Hungarian governement launched a ’national consultation’
which asks from the people whether they would agree to force refugees to work
for their sustenance, or whether they would instantly deport illegal
immigrants. Many such, if less official actions of fearmongering exist.( http://hu.budapestbeacon.com/kiemelt-cikkek/milyen-kenyszermunkara-akarja-kenyszeriteni-a-megeroszakolt-afgan-kisgyereket-visszakerdez-a-helsinki-bizottsag-a-kormanytol/)
[4] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage/11532814/Nigel-Farages-awkward-meeting-with-immigrant-who-doesnt-speak-much-English.html
[5] Seymour M. Lipset-Earl Raab: The Politics of Unreason, Harper
Torchbook, New York, 1973, pp. 209-248.
[6] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324999/Rural-council-stops-flying-flag-St-George-claiming-offensive-Muslims-links-Crusades.html
