The latest article by Philippe
Legrain “Why
Europe should let immigrants in” published on the Foreign Policy website
seems to be a counterbalance for all the panicked voices that picture the
influx of illegal immigrants as a highway to the decay of European prosperity.
In both cases the opinions are probably exaggerated.
First of all the statistics evoked by
the author that are meant to calm the reader are not precise. There is no logic
behind comparing the total amount of EU citizens with the influx of the illegal
immigrants, as the numbers of the immigrants are not spread proportionally across
the member countries. The European Commission’s initiative to do so was not
welcomed warmly. In addition the illegal immigrants tend to seek asylum in the
countries with highly developed social services. Just today it was reported by
the media that some of the asylum seekers who came to Poland tried to cross the
boarder on their way to Germany even though it was made clear that they will
receive the financial aid in Poland on the condition that they will not leave
the country. All that makes the proportions mentioned by the author irrelevant.
Arguing that „young hard-working,
tax-paying newcomers would be a shot in the arm for Europe’s senescent
economies” tends to overlook the current high rates of unemployment in many
European countries. Welcoming the asylum seekers with arms wide open, providing
them with financial support which in many cases may be higher than the income
of the working class struggling in day to day life leads to social discontent
and significant growth of the rightists hard-liners.
But what seems to me even more
disturbing is the fact that the author overlooked the
cultural differences and language
barrier, which certainly will make it more difficult for the illegal immigrants
to merge with the society in a long run. It is sufficient to analyse the
situation in Italy where the high unemployment in the ranks of the illegal
immigrants leads to growth of the crime rates in big cities such as Rome and
Milan.
Last but not least – the security
issues. I do agree that not all of the illegal immigrants are blood-seeking,
notorious terrorists, sleeping cells who one day might turn into lonely
wolf-like psychopaths as some of the media tend to picture them, but on the
other hand, assuming that all of the illegal immigrants will work humbly in the
low-paid jobs (if they get any) and will not get frustrated by the conditions
which in most of the cases will be below their expectations is also a
far-fetched opinion.
I suppose that Philippe Legrain’s
voice in the discussion about the imminent immigration challenge was estimated
to counterbalance the irresponsible take on the immigrants which portrait them
as a direct source of all of the future problems in the European societies.
What Europe might need right now is probably a sober opinion on the issue which
would bring together the two polarised stands.
