“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,|
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, 1883
How times have changed!
We still have “huddles masses yearning to be free” but they are definitely not as welcome as 100 years ago.
Today a great number of Middle Eastern and African nationals are banging at the gates of European countries, clamoring for asylum. They fled their homeland, to escape ethnic or civil strife, war, poverty and discrimination.
Their attempt to escape bloody conflicts is understandable, but so is the reluctance of European nations to let them in.
Few European countries are actually able to balance their budgets. They sometimes manage to do this by (like in France) taxing their citizens to death. Add a few more thousands mouths to feed, and taxes (and dangerous home discontent) will also go up accordingly.
This puts European democracies between a rock and a hard place.
When moving and settling in a drastically different country, refugees also have to adapt, and due to a cultural clash, many fail to do so.
“Becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in homosexual relations are NOT punishable by death.”
This is sometimes difficult to understand. Old ethnic beliefs and hatreds have to be reconsidered and seen in a new (hopefully better) light.
The basic rule of survival in a new country is to make yourself invisible. Like a snow rabbit, you need to blend with your environment.
This means among other things discarding your native wardrobe. What you were wearing in your native country is now alien and often disturbing, especially in today’s terrorist context.
This also means that women are not a disposable property and honor killing is totally unacceptable.
Settling in another country is like a rebirth, a reincarnation. It is like a reptile shedding its old skin to reappear in a new and more relaxed suit.
People who don’t adjust risk being stigmatized.
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
Personally, I feel uneasy, even resentful when facing Middle Eastern women (or men) dressed in their native garb.
Why are they here if they are rejecting western ways? Are they unable (or unwilling) to adapt to a new reality? Are they bringing along with their kids, their intolerance and their prejudices?
What about allegiance to their new home? Does it really mean that these people are forswearing their old values and ready to defend the (unholy) values of their new country?
When I hear what radical Muslim preachers are saying in Great Britain, I am not too convinced.
It would be politically correct to welcome all those people with open arms but the underlying problem is the 800-pound gorilla in the room; the tremendous cost (housing, food, health benefits, education) incurred by the hosting countries and their fear of Islamist terrorism.
Would-be asylum seekers would be well advised to remember that keeping a low profile and strictly obeying the laws of the land take precedent over religious precepts, misplaced honor and centuries of ingrained misogynistic customs or traditions.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
Alain