Hi Val:
Well, I mentioned a missive when we met at the Bookswap on Monday! Will try to keep this as short as I can. Thanks for the opportunity to ‘vent’…I’ve been wanting to put down my thoughts on the whole immigration problem for a long time. Just for the record, I’ve been a Democrat (I’m an American) most of my life except for once when I voted for Reagan in the early 80’s (BIG mistake). I’m an immigrant, too. I was escaping the tyranny and warmongers of the Bush administration (I know, that doesn’t count). But I had to do it the hard way. It took me 6 years to get my permanent residency card, shelling out lots of money to do it. Have to do it again in another 10 years, if I live that long.
To begin, I grew up with immigrants. My father was born on the boat from Italy to New York in 1915. My grandmother had no choice as she had waited 3 months for the correct papers to travel. My grandfather had emigrated 6 months before, and, because he had skills (masonry, carpentry), he was able to secure work and made the money necessary to send for my grandmother. My aunt (now 97) told me her mother had told her of their desire to get to America because of the coming World War I. They could only afford steerage and also in tow was my Aunt Lena, then 2 years old. They arrived at Ellis Island in NY and were thoroughly processed, including healthchecks, identity,etc. and a definite sponsor, someone who had to vouch for them at the center. My grandfather had found a small house in Philadelphia for them (where they had friends from Italy) and they settled into their new life. As the years passed, and they went on to have 4 more children, there were rules: even though they spoke Italian in the house, they HAD to speak English outside and they had to have an education. And they had to always have clean clothes and keep the house clean, inside and out. They all went on to become pillars of the community; successful in all their fields of endeavor. I was a bit of an anomaly in the situation: I was adopted in 1945 by their oldest son and my mother..herself from an immigrant family …the Austrian/Hungarian empire. While my personal childhood was not a pleasant one, I am glad I grew up in the Italian culture. It was a constant to “always do the right thing even if it was difficult or you didn’t understand it.”
The moral of this story is: my grandparents did it the right way, no matter how difficult things were. And they became AMERICANS…not a transplanted Italy.
To today: I want to begin by saying, categorically, that I do not believe all immigrants are wrong, or slouchers, or criminals, or whatever…I am in total empathy, sympathy with the young families and even young people escaping from places like Eritrea or the Sudan where there is no doubt as to the tyranny and violence against Christians, etc… even those families and the elderly escaping from other countries should be empathized with.
But let’s face it. These are not in the highest percentage of the immigrants. The highest percentage of immigrants are young men, ages 15 to 25, escaping Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq. They contribute to at least 90% of the flood of people migrating. (uh oh, did I use the wrong word in flood? Witness all the criticism against David Cameron using the word swarm…it only describes a huge group of something…not an anti-immigrant statement!)
Something occurred to me the other day I have never heard from anyone on TV: why are these young men not fighting for their countries? All of these countries are at war. I am sure they would be eligible and expected to join the Army, etc. in their individual countries. I believe this is the main reason they are leaving enmasse. If men in the USA or England did this, they would be considered traitors and, 200 years ago, shot. Yes, there are differences in these countries, and different tribes, etc…but I can’t believe that a great percentage wouldn’t be obligated to take up arms. And if they don’t have loyalty to their countries, do you really think they will have it for the UK or EU? If it is a question of trying to escape the war-torn areas, why aren’t they going to safety in Damascus, or Tripoli or Kazakstan or Egypt or Algeria or any other country in the area that is safer. No, safety is not what it’s about. It’s about wanting to get to the EU/UK not just to have a better or safe life..it’s about having the GOOD life. Even in the camps, you see them with expensive smart phones and tablets.(Ok, not all of them) And why, when cameras are pointed at them, they quickly hide their faces? Who are they?Where did they get thousands of pounds to get to the EU? (I know many were kidnapped and familes forced to pay but they’re not the majority) We don’t know because they conveniently have “lost” their papers. If they were truly searching for safety, a peaceful place for their lives, surely they would settle in any other European country once they arrive. Surely they would be so grateful. But no, they want to get to the place where materialism reigns. The UK. Where laws have been easy to break for eons now. Where they wouldn’t be very scrutinized as they go about their lives. Because the system has broken down so badly that no one in England knows exactly who is where and when. Another question: how many of these men are actually trained by Al Qaeda or Isil and are part of a more sinister plot? We don’t know because no one has vetted them. No one has checked them physically to see if they have entered the EU with diseases or TB or rare bugs from bad hygiene, etc. Should they be free to roam in Calais, no one knowing who they are, now carrying knives to threaten drivers, destroying property, living in squalor, yes, but not bothering to clean up around them. We think of them as poor dears, They’ve been through so much…yada, yada…WHO ARE THEY!!!?
I submit that if we don’t get a handle on this situation we are going to see an even bigger mess than the one we have now. And it will affect all our lives. If Calais is a microcosm of a macrocosm, just envision the problems one year, 5 years, 10 years down the road throughout the EU and the UK. We have to stop the sentimentality and get pragmatic and decisive about it. Yes, the US and the UK created the situation and there’s no doubt it is all just a smokescreen for the real reason for all the conflicts: money and oil. (If you get Aljazeera English TV, watch for the series “The Seven Sisters” about the plot of the oil companies that still goes on today. Your hair will curl) Yes, human beings are dying and suffering in great numbers and we ALL feel terrible about it but for God’s sake and ours, we need to protect the values WE were given…that the law is the law and that no one is above it.! We must have order in our society. We must do the right thing among ourselves or we will continue to descend in chaos. I remind you of the 30’s in Germany and how Hitler was able to come into power…to stop the chaos. Do you really think the criminal acts being perpetrated in Calais will stop there? Yes, desperation forces desperate acts but come on. Destroying property? Threatening the livelihood of thousands of merchants, hard working people just trying to do their jobs getting to and from the continents . Threatening them with bodily harm? No. This behavior will continue whether they get to the UK or not. Why is it that this is allowed at the Tunnels but would never be tolerated at any of our airports, no matter who you are.
I was most impressed by a young man in the camp in Calais who was interviewed by a journalist for RT (yes, Russian TV). He was from Senegal,an engineer, who had escaped the brutality of his country.
Yes, he was an illegal, but , as he stood and watched the chaos of those criminal acts, he shook his head and said: “this is not the way to do things. Nothing justifies this. I will stay in france and I will get legal papers and then I will try to legally enter the UK. I will not become one of the mob.” Now that’s the kind of man we want in our
civilization.
And if I have to see another newsperson from Cnn or Sky or BBC appear on camera with pursed lips and a sad expression and extol: “and all they are trying to do is get to a better life…” Beat. Sad look at camera. Fade. Please, everyone, start looking at the big picture!
We should stop feeling sorry for this group and start getting them to understand that they must and should do the right thing in the right way, not to the detriment of others. Even Jesus wouldn’t have tolerated this: “If you give a man a fish, he eats for one day…but if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” At the time of his saying this, the people were upset with him for not doing more for them. I believe that we are not doing them or us any good in enabling their behavior.
I could go on but, as we say in the States, ‘solid Ted, nuff said.”
Take care, Val.
Carolyn Byrne
Les Cabannes
