The absurdity is the E.U.

strategy

When the German refugee aid organization Pro Asyl was founded 25 years ago, most refugees were arriving from Eastern Europe. They were fleeing socialist dictatorships or wars in the disintegrating Yugoslavia, and they applied for asylum in Germany. In the words of the Pro Aysl chairman Juergen Micksch, the refugees were harbingers of the impending collapse of the soviet bloc countries. The situation today is similar. The displaced migrants from the south are the messengers of political, cultural and social upheaval. The EU member states, however, are treating the states in and after their upheavals the same way they did before the recent turmoil. The first negotiations held with the new regimes were to maneuver them towards repatriation agreements. Are these really the most pressing interests of European democracies? Is this the picture the Arab Spring ? Is this the fabric of the E.U. and its democracy? I say, that Europe of late is a great and exclusive happening, however, sufficient unto itself? What is happening out there in the Mediterranean every day began exactly twenty years ago, when, in August 1991, refugees from Albania landed by boat in southern Italy. In the streets of Bari, they were chased down by soldiers and detained in the sports stadium. There was barely any bread and water, not even for women and children. An entire state fell into a panic. Military units set out to patrol the Adriatic Sea to intercept refugees already out on the water. At the time, Italys response was considered lunacy. Yet its from that madness that the E,Us, strategy has grown to a failure. Europe should stop trying to put up a new Iron Curtain. It must again offer protection to the persecuted and hold out a fighting chance to migrants. Europe without humanity is no Europe. What is happening out there in the Mediterranean every day began exactly twenty years ago, when, in August 1991, refugees from Albania landed by boat in southern Italy. In the streets of Bari, they were chased down by soldiers and detained in the sports stadium. There was barely any bread and water, not even for women and children. An entire state fell into a panic. Military units set out to patrol the Adriatic Sea to intercept refugees already out on the water. At the time, Italys response was considered lunacy. Yet its from that madness that the EUs strategy has grown.

Europe must stop trying to put up a new Iron Curtain. It must again offer protection to the persecuted and hold out a fighting chance to migrants. Europe without humanity is no Europe. Well, all sounds good an human, however, if I take into consideration the recent riots in England, it seems that all of the above makes nonsenseor does it? The stand-out characteristic of the rioters is their total contempt for authority. But in all honesty, how could it be otherwise? If we look at the avatars of authority in our society what do we see? - politicians - corporate executives - bankers - media owners - police Which of these groups has not been guilty of industrial-scale corruption and mendacity in recent years?...And yet, every time they are caught in flagrante, they, or their P.R spin masters pump out the same bromides: - The time for remorse is over - This is the most humble day of my life - We must learn the lessons and move on The fetid stench rising from the Augean stables of deregulated capitalism and the Friedmanite free (i.e. rigged) market is so overwhelming that one would have to be devoid of all sense of justice not to feel anger and revulsion. And caught between the ruling elite, the serial abusers of authority, and the rioters, the serial despisers of authority, are the ordinary, decent, hard-working working and middle class people, desperately trying to make a half-decent life for themselves and their children. A message for the ruling elites: leadership lives or dies by its willingness to set an example of moral integrity. Otherwise, things can only get worse. And the day that the feral, pig-ignorant hordes break through the bubble that protects you, but not the little people, you will have no-one to blame but yourselves. These people seem to be lacking in basic values, common decency, respect of others. It seems at a low level to get everywhere, whether its rioting or just littering.

How do we fix this? I don't believe teaching subservience to a god would work because the authority figure is very open to questioning, and also we have not seen it work in the Middle East. Would community engagement help? I get value out of voluntary work. If we encouraged people to take part would they feel more invested in their communities? There have been community projects which encouraged people to take charge of caring for their neighbourhood and they did work. Why do people set store in trinkets? As said by someone else on another thread - many of us don't have the fancy status symbols, the posh trainers. We don't feel the need. Is it a sense of security, or a sense of insecurity that needs these symbols? Religions, multiple religions, all approach these questions - but there seems the conflict that they can become dogmatic and can end up producing isolated groups at conflict with each other. I mentioned universalism in a church once and while the response was kindly it strongly discouraged raising questions again. It is not good for a society to stifle questioning - as we have seen in the Middle East and as we have seen in our own religious history. I take morals from various sources, but in general what I see as strong values. I think the vast majority of people out there are decent people as we have seen in the cleanup operations. Why do some seem to not get this? The daft thing is that being good does seem to work, and produce better quality of life for all. These riots are just self-destructive whatever philosophical model you choose to view them in.

Date: 08/10/2011

Mircea Halaciuga, Esq. 0040724581078 Financial news - Eastern Europe