Immigrant Nations

Immigration Nations, first published in Dutch in 2007, tackles in a comprehensive manner an important subject at a time when many Western countries are criticizing mass immigration and turning away from multiculturalism.
Despite his academic background, the author is professor of Urban Studies at the University of Amsterdam, Paul Scheffer has written a series of nine chapters cum essays that are lively, entertaining and can also be read separately. Although he is known for his famous article, “The Multicultural Drama” published in 2000, criticizing multiculturalism, he adopts a constructive tone and remains subtle and balanced throughout the book.
This book is in fact the product of the public debate that followed the publication of “The Multicultural Drama” which Scheffer dubbed “the greatest threat to social peace”. Many people, today, see immigration as the most visible aspect of globalization, which gives them a sense that their familiar world is vanishing.
“The city walls of old were not just a way of protecting a place against intruders from outside; they also enclosed a community, an animated inner space… The walls that shelter us are growing ever thinner in a world were borders are fewer and people have been set adrift… the social ties that protect people are gradually dissipating without anything new arising to take their place. Modern man is suffering moral panic, finding himself a kind of vagrant in a chaotic world” says Scheffer.
Human migration is one of the most visible side effects of what we know as ‘globalization’. It was estimated that in 2010 this figure would reach the 200 million mark. Experts predict that by the middle of this century, a quarter of the US population will include Hispanics and Europe’s population is also shrinking for the first time in peacetime. Low fertility and high immigration result in a higher proportion of migrants in European countries. The British economist, Nigel Harris compares the immigrants' remittances to a form of development aid far more effective than the activities of governments and aid organizations. However, experts on the subject believe that the aging of European populations is not a reason to allow the immigration of large numbers of unskilled workers.
On the other hand, rich countries give only around a quarter of one percent of their gross domestic product. But the crux of the matter lies in two words: Trade policies. There is a pressing need for European countries to lower European trade barriers to boost economic growth in poor countries. According to the World Trade Organization, richer countries fund heavily their agriculture; subsidies reach at least, a billion dollars a day, which is more than six times the total amount they give in development aid.
The author also underlines the pressing need for a morality of mobility, at a challenging time when the destruction of the natural environment, the gap between rich and poor and the resulting migration movements are changing the way people, in Western democracies, feel about how to integrate immigrants, especially those with Muslim backgrounds.
Scheffer conveys what many Westerners feel, when he says: “We’re assured from many sides that Islam is a religion of peace that preaches tolerance and respect. At the same time pictures roll across our screens of Muslims who say they’re engaged in a ‘holy war’”.
European countries are still debating, how Islam can become part of their national identities. For their part, Muslims immigrants in the West, have to define their role, in a secular environment. According to Swiss Muslim philosopher, Tariq Ramadan, Muslims must not see themselves as a diaspora and “cease to see their presence in Western society in the light of their origins or indeed their possible return”.
However, Muslim immigrants are being pressured to focus on ideals of freedom and equality while certain liberties are being curtailed. The question of the veil is particularly confusing: Why religious freedom does not grant you the right to wear a head-
scarf? This is the case, for example, in France.
One of the biggest challenges facing Western democracies is the defense of public order and public safety that comes at a price: Greater controls on citizens within their respective countries. “The alternative” remarks Scheffer” is a spiral of violence. We live in a world without an emergency exit”.
This book, a mix of reportage, memoir, analysis and history, re-examines how immigration is reshaping our world. It also highlights the conflicts affecting European countries. Segregation, in particular, is growing, according to British writer, Trevor Phillips who is concerned that “in recent years we’ve focused far too much on the ‘multi’ and not enough on the common culture. We’ve emphasized what divides us over what unites us”.
Anyone who wishes to understand today’s Europe should read “Immigrant Nations”. Europe has touched the world with its grand voyages of discovery and the creation of colonial empires, “and as a consequence it is now being touched by the world”, says Scheffer who concludes that the arrival of migrants forces us all to rise above our prejudices, and the changes they bring about need to be addressed by everyone.