Barry, there is an excellent book by Ian Buruma, a Dutch/American author, called Murder in Amsterdam: the Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance. He wrote it about 6 years ago, but it is still entirely relevant and mentions all the Dutch politicians still working today and their positions on immigration in the Netherlands. He is a liberal, but sees the position of the other side as well and the book was an eye opener.
>From what I gather, the issue in the Netherlands is concern with the influx of >Muslim extremists as well as the cost of providing services in a socialist >country for huge numbers of new arrivals who want and need to be cared for - >from schooling to medical care and retirement money and senior care. Then there is Ayan Hirsi Ali's books, especially Infidel. She came from a fundamentalist Muslim background, immigrated to Holland and was friends with Van Gogh and an elected member of the Dutch parliament when Van Gogh was killed. She helped Van Gogh make the movie which mocked the Koran, and is now (and forever will be?) in hiding. She now works for the American Enterprise Institute and speaks and writes on immigration, fundamentalism, the Muslim religion, and preservation of culture and values. So, I guess there is plain old immigration as in the past, and then now new issues of providing financial assistance, and maintaining a safe and open culture when faced with newcomers who don't want that and don't believe in your own country's values - and even plan to undermine them. Not an easy issue. We have traditionally been dealing with immigrants who are desperate to fit in - and that is not necessarily the case any more. I saw Children of Men - excellent. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "TurquoiseB" <turquoi...@...> wrote: > > This shooting incident reminds me of the first time I > saw what I consider one of the most prescient near- > future SciFi films ever, Alfonso Cuarón's brilliant > "Children Of Men." I was visiting Dublin with my > brother, and we saw the film (which depicts a UK in > which immigrants are rounded up, put on boats, and > "sent back where they came from" in an audience com- > posed primarily of immigrants, the very people who > were likely to be rounded up in such a future. It > was a very touching and poignant experience. > > Shortly thereafter, my best friend was herself rounded > up at Heathrow airport, thrown into a holding tank with > several dozen others, and put on the first plane back > to Spain the next morning -- officially deported. She is > American, and was wearing a $2000 watch and with easily > that amount of cash on her, hoping to go to London for > the weekend. Her crime? Her 90-day travel visa for the > EU had expired, by a few days. > > The most fascinating part of this is that the Blair > government was doing all of this *secretly*, and hiding > it even from the English public. They confiscated all > mobile phones from those detained (so that they couldn't > call anyone), and confiscated all cameras. When the > first news media began to report on what was happening, > they were threatened by the government. In other words, > the events depicted as a science-fiction future in > "Children Of Men" were *already* taking place in the > UK, albeit on a far lesser scale. > > I see immigration and the reaction to it by some (many) > people in some (many) countries as the biggest obstacle > to be overcome in coming years to create a world at > peace. I view the anti-immigration madness as the polar > opposite of compassion and human kindness, *especially* > when it comes from people like France's Sarkozy. who > rose to power on an anti-immigration platform, and > who was *himself* the son of a Hungarian immigrant. > The only thing I can say to that is WTF? What has > *happened* to such people to cause them to lose > their humanity that much? > > Here in the Netherlands I see an equal polarization. > Despite Holland's mask of tolerance, the government > consists of an uneasy coalition between progressive > liberals and conservative, near-fascist, anti-immigrant > crazies. And the very nature of "coalition" has meant > that some of their policies are beginning to trickle > down into law. For example, and to address Tom Pall's > screed, all non-EU immigrants must pass a written and > oral test within 3-1/2 years to prove that they are > fluent in Dutch and understand Dutch history and > customs. So Tom, were he to move here, would find > himself a discriminated-against minority. > > Holland also had its own "immigration issue" assass- > ination, oddly the opposite of this shooting in the > US. Pim Fortuyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pim_Fortuyn) > was an outspoken (some would say "rabid") anti-immigration > politician, a total "close the borders" nut who was part- > icularly terrified of Islam. He was murdered by a Dutch > guy who claimed that he wanted to stop him from exploiting > Muslims as scapegoats and targeting the weak members of > society in his lust for political power. > > Shit happens, and in my opinion this particular brand > of shit is happening pretty much everywhere. As I said, > I view it as the opposite of compassion, and an indication > of how unevolved some of the countries that posture as > role models for the rest of the world really are. > > See "Children Of Men." It's your future, wherever you live. > > http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/ > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NikEQy1XxDE >
