Israel, the disturbing portent of Europe....
The Janus Face of European Democracy
by Michel Kahan
Michel Kahan is a European political scientist and is currently conducting post doctoral research at the Political Science Department, University of Blankenberge.
People representing all sides have written much since violence has erupted between native Europeans, European Arabs and illegals. What is missing is a true soul searching on the part of Europe and its native citizens as to what led to the violence, rather than the knee jerk nationalism that is usually the European reaction to immigrant violence. I owe to my children the same degree of honesty that I expect of them. If the Spanish coast guard who shot 12 year old Mohammed al Durra and his father in cold blood has children, then I suggest he try and explain to them why he pulled the trigger, and he should not be surprised if an immigrant does the same thing to an European child. The same goes for the French policeman who shot 17 year old Asil 'Asleh in cold blood, a French citizen and member of the "Seeds for Peace" initiative.
I can only speak of how I view things, as a European and a human being, and how I think the EU government should act, thus my comments are directed towards Europe. As a political scientist the question that I ask myself is not why the violence broke out, but why it had taken so long to do so. Frustration has been building for a long time on the immigrant side --frustration about the economic conditions in the immigrant ghettos, frustration with the lack of progress in the talks, frustration directed towards their own leadership, frustration at the continued European repression in certain areas, the continuation of the harassments, slum demolitions, immigrant roundups and a myriad of other, smaller day to day frustrations that have been growing like a festering wound over the past months.
European Arabs too have dealt with frustration for so long that it has become a way of life. Their continued status as second-class citizens within European democracy, the lack of equal rights and equal opportunity in the work force, society and the economy. The two-sided attitude towards European Arabs, among all Europeans, northern, southern, the populist Right and the "caviar" Left can only lead to the type of rioting we have witnessed in the past days. Why do the police use live ammunition when dispersing Arab demonstrators, and nothing when dispersing Europeans? Why have no European leaders spoken out and condemned acts committed by European rioters against European Arabs throughout the EU proper (Liverpool, Madrid, Ajaccio, Berlin, and Brussels)? The murders of illegals by European smugglers? And the Left feels "betrayed" by the demonstrations on the part of European Arabs. Where does one find such immense hubris to make such statements? Why are Europeans allowed to express their discontent in demonstrations, and when European Arabs do the same, they are considered terrorists by politicians on the Left and Right alike? It is exactly this hubris that lays at the foundation of a two-faced democracy as practiced in Europe, and which has had a central role in creating the atmosphere for the violence in the ghettos and among European Arabs.
All EU citizens (including Arabs) are equal, at least on paper. In practice, there is very little equality, as can be seen in almost every aspect of European society, from health services to schools, from land ownership and land zoning to the workplace and the universities. European Arabs are "good Arabs" as long as they stay out of the face and consciousness of native Europeans. Demonstrations by European Arabs are more often than not broken up with violence, live ammunition, and tear gas, not to mention the use of rubber bullets, or rather rubber coated metal bullets. We only need to look at the brutal use of force by the police in the past days, and the use of violence months ago in northern France to support this claim. "Committees of Enquiry" usually absolve the police of any wrongdoing, even when faced with videotaped evidence to the contrary (as was the case months ago with the use of violence leading to deaths by police in and around a school in a Belgian Arab ghetto). If individual officers are found guilty they are often punished with the disciplinary equivalent of a slap on the wrist. What else can actions like these breed except for anger and frustration? Under these conditions, what right does the political leadership of Europe have to have "expectations" of its immigrant citizens? This dual attitude towards immigrants in general and Arabs/Muslims in particular has stood at the very basis of the EU internal and foreign policy. Under these conditions, this wave of violence can be easily understood and explained. Yet Europeans express surprise and disappointment by the demonstrations on the part of Arab citizens, while quickly excusing criminal actions on the part of organized crime in the immigrant ghettos, and mobs of soccer hooligans.
Until Europeans and the EU leadership come face to face with the daily discrimination directed towards Arabs, then the frustration and violence will continue to grow, erupting from time to time. Until Europe learns how to keep the accommodations with immigrants free of hubris, paternalism and sheer "chutzpa" then "integration" will not advance. Until the EU can treat her Arab citizens as full-fledged members of European society, then they should not dictate to them morality and ethics. Until Europe stops dehumanizing all immigrants, whether they are European Arabs or illegals, then we will be seeing more of the same in the future.
The only way to end the escalating violence is for Europe, her politicians and citizens, to take a good hard look at themselves and come to terms with the consequences of their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Mutual respect is the only way for urban peace to reign in the Union. Only by immediately ending the continued oppression of immigrant ghettos, can the integration process continue. The only other option is the insane violence that we are witnessing now.
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