It is one of those opportunities that comes once in a lifetime; refusing it means that I am going to live in a never-ending wonder about how my life would have changed because of it, while accepting it means that I am going to live, along with my family, in a constant fear about my safety!
Those were the words of a family friend who was offered a very good job in Europe. It was a two-year contract and he along with his family was supposed to relocate to Europe.
A few years ago, a similar opportunity — a guaranteed job offer and exposure to valuable western/ European experience — would have been treated like a dream job and my friend would not have given it a second thought.
It would have been a life-changing, career-boosting moment that is hardly imaginable let alone deniable. But in the crazy world we are living in these days amid the fear of lunatics with bombs and weapons spreading in every corner of the world, particularly in Europe, these days, it is a tough decision to make.
In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks across Europe, unfavorable views about Muslims seem to have surged, according to a new poll conducted by Pew Research Center.
“In Britain, the figure jumped nine percentage points to 28 percent. In Spain and Italy, unfavorable views jumped eight percentage points each, to 50 percent and 69 percent, respectively. In Greece, unfavorable views were found in 65 percent of the country, a jump of 12 percentage points from 2014, the last time the question was asked,” reported The Washington Post.
“Across the 10 European countries surveyed, a median of 59 percent felt that an increase in refugees would increase the likelihood of terrorism in a country, a figure higher than it is for concerns about the economic effect or crime in most countries.”
The growing fear across Europe these days reminds of the fear the United States had to go through after the horrific 9/11 attacks. In a similar environment of suspicion, doubts, and inclination toward tighter security measures, social interactions that are built on trust and mutual understanding and respect retreat in general, allowing stereotypes to grow and prosper.
The new element in the European case is that people’s fear is not caused by terrorism alone. Before it was the endless debates about migration, and the economic recession that is looming over the continent. “But terrorism is not the only concern people have about refugees. Many are also worried that they will be an economic burden. Half or more in five nations say refugees will take away jobs and social benefits. Hungarians, Poles, Greeks, Italians and French identify this as their greatest concern. Sweden and Germany are the only countries where at least half of the population says refugees make their nation stronger because of their work and talents. Fears linking refugees and crime are much less pervasive, although nearly half in Italy and Sweden say refugees are more to blame for crime than other groups,” published Pew Research Center in its findings.
It is unfortunate that whenever the wave of suspicions and negative attitudes chasing Muslims around the globe recedes, it is resurrected time and over again by none other than those who are exploiting the name of this peaceful religion. We really need to fight the deviant ideology of these terrorists.
Those were the words of a family friend who was offered a very good job in Europe. It was a two-year contract and he along with his family was supposed to relocate to Europe.
A few years ago, a similar opportunity — a guaranteed job offer and exposure to valuable western/ European experience — would have been treated like a dream job and my friend would not have given it a second thought.
It would have been a life-changing, career-boosting moment that is hardly imaginable let alone deniable. But in the crazy world we are living in these days amid the fear of lunatics with bombs and weapons spreading in every corner of the world, particularly in Europe, these days, it is a tough decision to make.
In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks across Europe, unfavorable views about Muslims seem to have surged, according to a new poll conducted by Pew Research Center.
“In Britain, the figure jumped nine percentage points to 28 percent. In Spain and Italy, unfavorable views jumped eight percentage points each, to 50 percent and 69 percent, respectively. In Greece, unfavorable views were found in 65 percent of the country, a jump of 12 percentage points from 2014, the last time the question was asked,” reported The Washington Post.
“Across the 10 European countries surveyed, a median of 59 percent felt that an increase in refugees would increase the likelihood of terrorism in a country, a figure higher than it is for concerns about the economic effect or crime in most countries.”
The growing fear across Europe these days reminds of the fear the United States had to go through after the horrific 9/11 attacks. In a similar environment of suspicion, doubts, and inclination toward tighter security measures, social interactions that are built on trust and mutual understanding and respect retreat in general, allowing stereotypes to grow and prosper.
The new element in the European case is that people’s fear is not caused by terrorism alone. Before it was the endless debates about migration, and the economic recession that is looming over the continent. “But terrorism is not the only concern people have about refugees. Many are also worried that they will be an economic burden. Half or more in five nations say refugees will take away jobs and social benefits. Hungarians, Poles, Greeks, Italians and French identify this as their greatest concern. Sweden and Germany are the only countries where at least half of the population says refugees make their nation stronger because of their work and talents. Fears linking refugees and crime are much less pervasive, although nearly half in Italy and Sweden say refugees are more to blame for crime than other groups,” published Pew Research Center in its findings.
It is unfortunate that whenever the wave of suspicions and negative attitudes chasing Muslims around the globe recedes, it is resurrected time and over again by none other than those who are exploiting the name of this peaceful religion. We really need to fight the deviant ideology of these terrorists.
