“Workers for international relief agencies say that the TV crews never see the real smugglers and their cargoes. They operate from remote French and Belgium towns and quietly arrange for transport to Britain without anyone noticing.
Instead of concentrating on them, public hatred is focused on the most visible and vulnerable migrants. When I arrived at the Calais camp, I could sort of see why. You feel you are in an African slum when you get here. I confess that I was grateful to be with a group of reporters rather than on my own. But my trepidation did not last. I realised my fears were silly as soon as I started talking to the polite and serious refugees around me.” Nick Cohen reminds us of the fact that, one way or another, our common ancestors were migrants.
Tag: europe
Grenzen dicht — Europas Pakt mit Despoten
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“Es gehört ja zum ewigen Credo deutscher und europäischer Flüchtlingspolitik, daß man die Fluchtursachen in den Herkunftsländern bekämpfen will. Doch was ist damit eigentlich gemeint? Mehr Demokratie oder mehr Unterdrückung? Und wer soll da wirklich bekämpft werden? Die Diktaturen oder die Flüchtlinge? Bisher haben Europas Regierungen ihre konkreten Pläne zur Zusammenarbeit mit afrikanischen Staaten unter Verschluss gehalten. Vielleicht auch deshalb, weil ein Pakt mit Despoten so gar nicht zum Bild einer Europäischen Union passt, die für Freiheit, Demokratie und Menschenrechte stehen will.”
Deutschland braucht Flüchtlinge
“Um es klar zu sagen: Es ist ein großer historischer Glücksfall, dass Deutschland just in dem Moment Menschen in großer Zahl aus dem Ausland anzieht, in dem diese Gesellschaft sie braucht.” Henrik Müller sieht in der aktuellen Zuwanderungswelle eine große Chance für Deutschland und die Deutschen.
Secrecy concerns around TTIP
“Shrouded in secrecy, our world leaders are currently negotiating a deal that will let multinational corporations wield power over national governments; lower environmental and safety standards across the EU; bring workers’ rights down to appalling US levels; and threaten the NHS as we know it.” Jim Sheridan expresses his concerns about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its implications for the United Kingdom. Similar anxieties exist in Germany. Is Europe about to be sold down the river?
The eurozone, the ant and the grasshopper
“When the ants and the grasshoppers are distributed across the division separating surplus from deficit nations within a badly designed monetary union, the stage is set for a depression that sets all against all in a vicious spiral from which only losers can emerge.” Yanis Varoufakis explains why he thinks that countries in the euro zone can neither bail out nor be bailed out of the current crisis.