Monday 14 February 2011

auswanderlust

Senior leadership in France recently announced-- joining a public chorus of others, the UK, Germany and Australia-- the failure of multiculturalism (multi-culti, as the Germans say). It’s a grim pronouncement to make, but it is possible that concessions and accommodations have been proffered in ways that have erred in many circumstances on the side of neutrality in efforts to please everyone, which usually, inevitably, please no one.
Still, no one should throw up their hands in frustration and failure and repair to austere assimilation, quotas, or worse yet intolerance. What policies and practices might work better I don’t know. Such a series of declarations of malfunction, however, may betray a secondary, self-interested motive for Western governments’ ringing support for the budding reform movements in North Africa. For everyone’s sakes, fostering real development and support for improvement make opportunities more viable in these countries and make it possible for individuals and families to thrive without having to leave their homelands. Economic considerations are not the only driving-factors for immigration, but countries able to retain their domestic treasure and talent with the invitation to stay on are better positioned for growth and continued advances. Domestic tranquility, however, should never be an excuse to erect barriers and rescind the truly valuable elements of diversity and cultural exchanges.