Racism within the northern region of the EU continues to grow, with its direction clearly pointed toward blacks, particularly migrants, refugees, and illegal immigrants. Extreme situations have flared up in particular areas in Finland, Austria, and Germany, igniting social pressure upon a pressure cooker of racist tension. These actions also come from a hidden historical backwash of hate and suspicion towards the many people who have relocated on their own from North Africa, the Middle East particularly Syria, and even the Balkans.
The European Union of Fundamental Rights (FRA) commissioned a survey and analyzed its findings over the past 6 years. They found a large proportion of respondents felt high points of racial discrimination directed against them or their family members. In the past year, these feelings have increased by 10% more to a point of 34% feeling threatened or having been assaulted by native EU Citizens. People of African descent face even more discrimination than a year before, and it is worse in Finland with 54%.
While crimes by those of African descent increasing, with young men committing these crimes, the public’s patience has been slipping, and resorting to violence on their own behalf. Community groups parade through the community in the night facing down groups of young Africans numbering in the hundreds at times. Police view these incidents but cannot initially do anything about it since they are clearly outnumbered.
So the extreme right with nationalist groups respond with their own forms of violence and intimidation. Drunken young people come out of the nightclubs and bars at night hunting these African groups. Ask a police officer about the situation, and they’d tell you they feel helpless at times, with the politicians and Council handcuffing them in their abilities to fight both levels of this crime.
The lowest levels of this discrimination and crime were found in Portugal, Sweden, and Poland, where the justice system and police take immediate action to arrest criminals and show no preference for those who commit a crime. Justice is supposed to be blind and very specific. Commit the crime and off to the jail you go. Those nations with harsh treatment of these two types of groups suffer the most discrimination and ethnic violence. Various EU Officials continue the process of expelling troublesome illegal migrants and criminals. Nationals are forced to spend time in prison and with a psychologist.
The kind hearts of Europeans offering their assistance during the crisis in Syria and Africa have opened the door to mass migration still today, and the unfurling of nationalistic flags to be out in the open. Nazis have existed in Europe, and are now coming out of the closet along with their young stormtroopers. Right Wing Parties are the most popular at this time, with membership on the rise. Wealthy Corporations support some of these political parties with the hope of driving the Africans off the continent back to their homelands. The average European may well see these African Migrants and refugees as leaches tied to their social national networks of charity, welfare, and assistance. Most African Migrants do not blend into the EU Demographic at all, but like most foreigners prefer to mix with their own people causing continual ghettoizing of their community. Ultimately when you do not know ” the other”, you suspect them, fear and distrust them. National and local governments have not been able to bring “the other” together with their nationals in a working manner.
Uniting EU Nations, their organizations, and national peoples was one thing, but building a living society that complements itself and all its population is a very difficult thing to do. Once a recession hits the EU, what do you think will happen, who will become the national scapegoat to blame and attack? Nazis and the Right had the Jewish population long ago. Russia too had the pogroms to expel and steal from the rich and Jewish population. Economic stress and a crash could cause an ethnic upheaval as well. There are millions of Africans in the EU, many still in desperate financial situations. Their poverty could direct them towards extremist views and actions.
Racism has a powerful pull on us all. Historical wrongs continue to bring about ethnic hate and disparity. How can the EU reshape itself and its immigration policies to better shape a new and better tomorrow?
Steven Kasab
Bradford, Ontario
[email protected]
