UI – Part 572 – Un-Welcoming Immigrants into the EU

Immigration in the EU

“Turning a blind eye to poor and helpless people, that is not Europe,” said on 9/9/2015 by Jean-Claude Juncker, President [European Commission (EU)] who wants a EU open to all comers.    There is chaos and it is a crisis. Juncker warns, “As long as there is war in Syria and terror in Libya, the refugee crisis will not simply go away.” Crossing the Mediterranean, across land from the East and South to EU borders, displaced and disenfranchised persons seek any means to land ashore.

However the immigration situation is stirring emotions and causing fragmentation threatening social cohesion. 

German’s Chancellor Merkel has been a voice of reason, according to the media, as she calls for more doors of EU homes be open to the refugees.  Yet in the past, as recently as October 2010, Mrs Merkel told a gathering of younger members of her party (conservative Christian Democratic Union) that at “the beginning of the 60s our country called the foreign workers to come to Germany and now they live in our country… We kidded ourselves a while, we said: ‘They won’t stay, sometime they will be gone’, but this isn’t reality….And of course, the approach [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other… has failed, utterly failed.”  So what does she now expect?

The face of the EU, it is feared by many, will not be a portrait of the historical blend of nationalities, but a past hidden in the shadows of the future picture composed of immigrants from the Middle East (mostly Syria), Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Pakistan, Africa and other predominantly Muslim areas. The basic values of European culture are under attack; they are being denied; they are disappearing. Anti-immigration sentiment is increasing. “Today, the question is not merely in what kind of a Europe we would like to live, but whether everything we understand as Europe will exist at all.” — Viktor Orbán, President of Hungary.

All citizens are encouraged to open their doors to those less fortunate.  If there was a catastrophic event in Mexico or Canada displacing millions even Aspenites would be asked to provide refuge and support, sacrificing their paradise and wealth so others can live through the storm of their tragedy.  When the dust then settles is the expectation they return, knowing also that many may stay having discovered and enjoyed what this new location for them has to offer.    This is the case too for the EU.

Composition of Immigrants

What has impacted the thinking of residents is not just the overwhelming numbers, but the make-up of those coming to shore.  Aware of the need, the politicians express in liberal terms, as an inducement as well as a criticism, that it is the right thing to do, regardless of those who arrive.  But are their limits?  How would you protect or defend your turf?  If your home, lifestyle, or cohesive society is threatened would you be as objective?  If the field was filled with all black stallions and the influx was pintos, escaping from fires raging and consuming their homeland, needing a new locale, that would co-mingle, or not, would that be a problem for the farmer and breeder overseeing his herd?  If the horses were but more black stallions the problem may not be as great as otherwise.  Only then the consideration would be the ability to feed and care for the added numbers. 

Readers, the media, often become nervous when Islam is being criticized, but in this case the facts must be fully studied and considered in light of the undercurrent of resistance surfacing. The problem is not immigration or refuges. Open hearts and minds believe full consideration must be given to making accommodation for this mass emigration dilemma.   But the obstacle may well be Islam and its presence in Europe.  It is growing and the habits of the minority population of non-Europeans to impose their culture and religious demands, seeking changes to the laws of their host countries to accede to cultural practices foreign to the EU, are seen as detrimental to the democratic fabric and freedoms upon which the member states were established.

Austria Resists Political Islam

Recently the Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, announced in Vienna stricter rules to be applied to political Islamic individuals and groups that seek ‘parallel societies’ with his country that would destroy the fabric of Austria.  Mosques are being closed and Imam’s and other scholars of Islam are being deported. To be part of Austria Muslims must commit to assimilate.

From the New York Times, June 8, 2018, by Melissa Eddy, under the heading, Austria Closes 7 Mosques and Seeks to Expel Imams Paid by Turkey, “Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria on Friday ordered the closing of seven mosques and the scrutiny of the right of dozens of Turkish imams to remain in the country, citing suspected violations of an Austrian law that bans ‘political Islam’ or foreign financing of Muslim institutions….Since taking office last year, Mr. Kurz’s government has begun investigating Muslim organizations suspected of violating the country’s 2015 Islam Law. The law aims to prevent any conflict between ‘thinking of oneself as a pious Muslim and proud Austrian citizen at the same time,’ by regulating operations of the Islamic community.” 

This should be the case in all of the EU, the UK, Canada and the USA, in my view. The leaders must be assertive and take the action necessary to suppress the invasion of political Islamists and their effort to introduce the laws of Islam, changing established humane laws in the countries in which they have occupied. Preserve existing cultures.  We can all allow for change, but within the framework of established and proven progress, and allow pluralistic free societies to continue to grow, admitting legal immigrants who seek the opportunities that are available as well as contributing to the existing social order.  

Proper vetting opens borders to those that can provide benefits to the host, not to burden or create problems, let alone chaos.

No longer a slave of fear when living as a child of God, saved by his Grace.

Grace and Peace