been gone again!
After plane and bus hopping for 6 days, I was back in the comfort of my dorm room at Colby College on Tuesday night, utterly exhausted.
But the trip - mostly done inside an airplane - across Europe has prompted some thoughts.
- Europe is a very diverse continent; it is internally diverse, form a historical perspective, as it includes a plethora of ethno-linguistic groups, and has been the cradle of many religious movements. Europe is also extremely diverse as a result of immigration during the post-World War II era, which continues today, despite efforts to curb it. This diversity is beautiful, and I have a difficult time accepting statements as to the more homogenous nature of European societies: this is no longer applicable. Having said that, the image European media projects is a lot less diverse than the societies it ought to reflect. For example, take an airline like Lufthansa: in their advertisements, it is rare to see a non-aryan looking face, although their staff and your average German citizen walking down the street in Frankfurt or Berlin is far more likely to be of mixed or Turkish, or African (and so on) descent than Lufthansa's promotional campaign would have you guess. So why not put the different faces of Germany, France (doing better on this point), Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and others on the front pages of magazines and bring the public's attention to the success stories - and the typical struggles - of the immigrants living there? I hardly think such a project would create a backlash, as it doesn't change policy, only attitudes. Then, in turn, 'integration' policies would be easier to create, accept, and enact.
- French unions need to stop protesting. The inevitability of this set of reforms, in one packaging or another, has to be evident to French citizens. Just across the channel, the British government is introducing a budget that, for better or worse, is quite revolutionary for its epoch, from a fiscal austerity point of view - it is seeking to reduce Britain's debt and in order to do so, is slicing chunks off budgets of various ministries and social services, under the umbrella of reducing overall government spending. There will also be a sooner introduction of the new retirement age, 66 for both men and women, as well as some pension reform. There is a risk of stifling Britain's recovery, but in my personal opinion, I think the UK had always managed to use little to achieve a lot, so I'm holding my fingers crossed for their calculated gamble. So this leaves France, with its retirement age still at 60 and generous pensions, seeming like a spoiled, crying child throwing its final tantrum. Yes, it is easy to understand why the French are so protective of their social welfare benefits and their readiness to spill out into the street is admirable, but there comes a point when reflection has to happen. Is it fair for the British, the Germans, and even the Italians and the Spanish to tighten their belts and to work longer (years) in order to give the French citizens the privilege of holding on to an older system of social benefits no longer viable in the world they live in? Not to mention, the French reforms are timid in comparison to reforms taken on by Spain and Greece (and again, Britain) - but then again, let's reflect on what brought the first tow countries to such a desperate situation? I doubt the French people would like to be seen in the same position in a decade's time.
- The wave of nationalism sweeping through Europe is alarming (to go back to the diversity point made above), and it is not even so much nationalism as it is Islamophobia. There is no reason to be afraid of Islam, of Muslims and especially of terrorism on the home turf. Security services and intelligence agencies will, in sha'allah, do their job, and citizens' vigilance will not be the sole source of protection for Western societies. But the irrational association of Muslim to dangerous or hostile or foreign should end, really, because the new diverse Europe is as much Muslim as it is Christian and atheist, and it is better for that; this will become evident when European governments will stop their obsession with integration, but instead become open to intra-state cultural exchange, fostering an awareness and an understanding of 'foreigners' problems' and by extension of issues facing foreign governments of immigrants' countries of origin - all this will equip the EU citizens to better deal with the challenges of the 21st century.
Espousing the ideals of the Fifth Republic and the pillars of French society, or vice versa, floating above the gritty realities of daily life of the 'les gens désabusés des banlieux', French intellectuals of the old mould may just have to confine themselves to drinking their coffee at home.
