The return of border controls

Every time I visit Great Britain, the country of our colonial masters of yore, I have had to bite my tongue and tolerate invective on several occasions at the immigration control counters at Dover, Heathrow and Gatwick. The worst of such experiences — which I can, on no account, forget was when I visited London for the first time, in 1985.

I was on a UN assignment living in Paris and had a red United Nations Laissez-Passer (UNLP) diplomatic passport. My papers were in order, so there was nothing the immigration officer could do to stop me from entering the country. Those were days when a visa was issued, on arrival.

But this stout, beer-bellied Englishman wanted to provoke me and resorted to sarcastic, spiteful, snide remarks, dim-witted questions and sneers before he stamped my passport and made it look like he was doing me a great act of kindness.

I am now watching, with glee, the karmic principle of “as you sow, so shall you reap”. The underlying law of cause and effect and cosmic justice is at play within European nations, particularly the ones that, for centuries, colonised, dominated, oppressed or threatened other nations.

Yes, the British, French, Dutch, Italians, Portuguese and Spaniards are now experiencing the far-reaching consequences of their past actions of colonising and pillaging, destroying the culture, mores and ethnicity of substantial parts of the world.

So, what is happening?

First, there is a ‘reverse colonisation' of some European nations by non-white aliens. Native whites are beginning to understand that they are being colonised, and they are starting to resent it. Europe is at the receiving end.

Secondly, several European nations are witnessing what can aptly be termed ‘mass emigration' — proficient and skilled Europeans leaving Europe. Ethnic resentment is not going away any time soon, and the reverse colonisation taking place is a prelude to civil unrest.

Take Great Britain. Tens of thousands have left, or are leaving — another million and more will be gone in the next five years — the largest class of them being young, skilled, professionals. Tens of billions of pounds sterling are lost each year because of the many thousands that leave, never to return.

At the moment, Britain has the same circulation of affluence that it did before the General Strike in 1926. The economic situation is dismal and pathetic. And there are millions of jobless people on subsistence wages, thousands of chronically ill stuck with appalling health-care, tens of hundreds forsaken elderly who have no hope of a better life, cuts in allowances of disabled persons and families struggling to keep their jobs and the kitchen fires burning.

End of Borderless Freedom?

Until just a few weeks ago the European world seemed to be in order. The freedom of travel assured by the Schengen Agreement was an operational system and an enormous, unassailable symbol.

Today, political parties are peddling anti-immigrant sentiments that are gaining ground in the EU. This seems like the beginning of the end for borderless freedom of movement in Europe.

While the European Commission has announced that it will reform the Schengen system, pressure by means of political blackmail appears to bear fruit in Europe. Last week, Denmark unilaterally announced the re-introduction of border controls, much to the consternation of progressive countries like Germany.

Yes, it is a fact that the external borders of Europe have been under strain for some time. In Greece, the debt-stricken government has struggled with an influx of migrants sneaking in from bordering Turkey. Sentinels were sent in from other EU states to help manage the European frontier.

Of late, with the Arab uprising and the NATO attack on Libya, European nations such as the UK, France and Italy have lobbied, rather belligerently, for the temporary return of internal border controls — after Rome issued interim residence permits to illegal migrants, allowing them to travel freely throughout Schengen.

Curiously, it was France, the UK and Italy who forcefully and vehemently supported the NATO attacks on Libya. Today, these same countries are fighting hard to cope with the number of refugees flowing in, fleeing the unrest in Libya.

Although, very few people so far are risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean and come into Europe, it is enough to make the EU home affairs commission sit up and think about how to deal with this incursion.

Euro cynicism

This, combined with the rise and spread of far-right parties, has raised the spectre of a return to internal border controls in the Schengen travel area.

Europe's most celebrated achievement — the Schengen zone — which allows unfettered travel across 25 states, may peter out soon.

Moreover, bigotry, social stereotyping, ignorance, being singled out and picked on — in other words, fanaticism, prejudice and racial discrimination — are growing within Europe, especially in Great Britain, France, Italy, The Netherlands and the Nordic countries.

I think some nations of Europe are still living in the glory of the past. Average economic growth in many African nations is 6-7 per cent. Average growth in Europe is less than one per cent.

To me, this is the best time for Europeans to allow their lands to be flooded with immigrants, who will contribute enormously to the future of Europe. But most EU nations are too naive to do this. And this despite the fact that there is a desertion of their skilled people and their birth rates are alarmingly low.

(The author is a former Europe Director CII, and lives in Cologne, Germany. >blfeedback@thehindu.co.in )

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