Saturday, February 27, 2010

Turning tide for migration in Europe?

Salamu 'aleykum min Londonistan! I am sojourning here near Hyde Park, home to one of the most infamous mosques in the world, in case you don't know. Got a chance to visit the splendid Greek Orthodox Cathedral Church today and it was truly splendid. Meanwhile, some interesting information has surfaced regarding immigration. You judge for yourself:

In country after country, immigrants, often from Muslim countries, are being targeted. More than at any point in recent decades, fear is becoming the dominant force in European politics, warns the French commentator Dominique Moisi. The immediate cause for this fear has been the economic crisis, which has stoked worries about outsiders stealing Europe's jobs and overburdening its welfare system. But the animosity reflects a deeper shift. Immigration to Europe has exploded in recent years, so much so that the EU has overtaken the U.S. as the world's premier destination for people seeking a better life abroad. Since 1990, 26 million migrants have landed in Europe, compared with 20 million in America. There they have helped fuel economic booms, reinvigorated the continent's declining birthrate, and transformed cities from Madrid to Stockholm. The European Commission estimates that, since 2004, migration by Eastern Europeans alone to Western Europe has added a net €50 billion, or 0.8 percent, to the bloc's GDP each year.

Yet not everyone is convinced of these benefits, and the migrants are provoking deep fears that Europe's racial and religious identity is being lost. Driven by such anxieties, governments are starting to turn against the newcomers. Many states, including Britain and Italy, have put new limits on immigration, while others, such as Spain and the Czech Republic, are paying migrants to go home. As a result of such measures and the downturn, labor migration to Europe plummeted last year.


From HERE.

Abu Daoud's prediction? Migration will not significantly decline. Maybe legal immigration will, but that's just one slice of the pie. As Muslim countries (Yemen, Pakistan) continue to disiintegrate look for many, many more immigrants/refugees. They will arrive and will do anything they can not to leave.

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