Arab revolts raise new immigration fears in Europe
Boats full of illegals arriving fresh from the prisons of Tunis: Just what Italy needs
Europe voiced fears Monday about a new wave of illegal immigration after Libya threatened to break its cooperation on controlling the flow and more Tunisians landed on Italian shores.
With thousands fleeing from Tunisia to Italy in the past 10 days after a revolution ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, European governments reacted with anger and dread after Libya warned that it could suspend its cooperation in retaliation for the EU's condemnation of a crackdown on protesters.
Heading into an EU foreign ministers meeting on the turmoil in the Arab world, German European Affairs Minister Werner Hoyer condemned the Libyan threat and said the EU would "not allow itself to be blackmailed".
Italy, an entry gate for African migrants seeking a better life in Europe, struck a controversial bilateral agreement with Tripoli last year allowing the Italian navy to intercept boat people and return them to Libya.
The European Commission has held talks with Libya for a broader cooperation deal and offered up to 50 million euros (70 million dollars) in aid last year, but no money has been disbursed so far, a commission spokesman said.
"We are extremely concerned about the evolution of the situation in North Africa," said Michele Cercone, spokesman for European home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, who visited Libya in October to agree a cooperation agenda.
Libyan officials summoned the Hungarian ambassador last week to warn that they would suspend cooperation if the 27-nation bloc continues to "encourage" protests.
Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere admitted that the threat made "many people nervous" but he dismissed it as ridiculous. However, diplomats warned that if Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi falls, the floodgates to illegal immigration could blow wide open.
As more Tunisian migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini voiced fears that the Libyan unrest and other revolts across the region could increase the pressure. "We Europeans are very concerned about the migratory flows impact, that would be one of the consequences of the turbulences," Frattini told reporters.
Warning that Europe would be "paying the price" of economic collapse in Arab nations, he called for an EU pact to help improve the lives of people in the region, a sort of "Marshall Plan", in reference to the US-led reconstruction programme for Europe after World War II.
The upheaval in its southern neighbourhood marks a new test for European solidarity regarding migration flows, following years of unresolved debate about how to handle the issue. The EU at the weekend launched a mission to help Italy cope with the Lampedusa problem, supplying 30 people, a plane and ships.
"With the migratory pressure centred in some countries -- Greece, Malta, Italy and Spain -- we cannot say to them, 'you're on you're own," said France's European Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez. "If we have common borders, we have to exercise community solidarity," he said, noting that 25 European nations share a passport-free travel zone.
The ministers agreed to establish a new partnership with the region to support reform movements and issued conclusions stressing "the importance of strengthened cooperation with Mediterranean countries to address illegal immigration".
EU home affairs ministers will meet Thursday to discuss how to further help Italy with its immigration problem.
"We all agree that very special attention must be paid and very special efforts must be deployed regarding the emergency situation created by the influx of immigrants, for the time being, from Tunisia," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi whose currently holds the EU presidency.
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Ship stowaways in Canada must prove identity
Two stowaways discovered aboard a ship in Halifax harbour last week will be in custody for at least another seven days. The Immigration Refugee Board ruled that the men can't be released because they lack proper identification, said Julie Chamagne, executive director of the Halifax Refugee Clinic.
Chamagne, who represented the men at a closed-door hearing Monday at the Central Nova Correctional Facility, said the two men will appear again in seven days to see if they have identification documents.
The men speak Arabic, Chamagne said, but she doesn't know what country they're from. "If there is a lack of identification, the only thing I can do is show they have been compliant, show they have support to try and and find an alternative to detention," she said. "But, if identity hasn't been satisfied, there is no chance of release."
The men were found last Wednesday aboard the Swedish-owned Atlantic Concert after the ACL vessel arrived in Halifax from Liverpool, England.
"I think anyone who gets on a container ship in February and crosses the Atlantic has to be in a desperate situation," Chamagne said. The men are shaken by the crossing, she said, and by being locked up in the province's largest jail.
"Halifax doesn't have an immigration holding centre. These people are not incarcerated, they are detained on immigration grounds," she said. "But they are in the general population of a criminal facility here, and that's got to be a shock to anyone."
The shipping company has to pay $25,000 each time someone hides away on their ships to get into Canada. The Atlantic Concert left Halifax on Saturday for American ports of call.
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Background
Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.
Why is "La Raza" the one Spanish term that is NEVER translated in the American mass media? Because translating it would make it a lot less respectable. It means "THE RACE" -- The mixed Hispanic "race" of Mexico. Racism is fine South of the Rio Grande only, apparently.
The "line" of this blog is that immigration should be SELECTIVE. That means that:
1). A national government should be in control of it. The U.S. and U.K. governments are not but the Australian government has shown that the government of a prosperous Western country can be. Up until its loss of office in 2007, the conservative Howard government had all but eliminated illegal immigration. The present Leftist government has however restarted the flow of illegals by repealing many of the Howard government regulations.
2). Selectivity should be based on "the content of a man's character, not on the color of his skin", as MLK said. To expand that a little: Immigrants should only be accepted if they as individuals seem likely to make a positive net contribution to the country. Many "refugees" would fail that test: Muslims and Africans particularly. Educational level should usually be a pretty fair proxy for the individual's likely value to the receiving country. There will, of course, be exceptions but it is nonetheless unlikely that a person who has not successfully completed High School will make a net positive contribution to a modern Western society.
3). Immigrants should be neither barred NOR ACCEPTED solely because they are of some particular ethnic origin. Blacks are vastly more likely to be criminal than are whites or Chinese, for instance, but some whites and some Chinese are criminal. It is the criminality that should matter, not the race.
4). The above ideas are not particularly blue-sky. They roughly describe the policies of the country where I live -- Australia. I am critical of Australian policy only insofar as the "refugee" category for admission is concerned. All governments have tended to admit as refugees many undesirables. It seems to me that more should be required of them before refugees are admitted -- for instance a higher level of education or a business background.
5). Perhaps the most amusing assertion in the immigration debate is that high-income countries like the USA and Britain NEED illegal immigrants to do low-paid menial work. "Who will pick our crops?" (etc.) is the cry. How odd it is then that Australians get all the normal services of a modern economy WITHOUT illegal immigrants! Yes: Before the pandemic, you usually COULD buy a lettuce in Australia for a dollar or thereabouts. And Australia IS a major exporter of primary products.
6). I am a libertarian conservative so I reject the "open door" policy favoured by many libertarians and many Leftists. Both those groups tend to have a love of simplistic generalizations that fail to deal with the complexity of the real world. It seems to me that if a person has the right to say whom he/she will have living with him/her in his/her own house, so a nation has the right to admit to living among them only those individuals whom they choose.
I can be reached on jonjayray@hotmail.com -- or leave a comment on any post. Abusive comments will be deleted.
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