Most countries with prosperous economies are experiencing the rush of immigrants to their shores. For years, Europe embarked on a policy of multiculturalism in order to accommodate the immigrant rush. This was essentially a policy of accommodation to appease the range of immigrants in order to facilitate multiculturalism which seemed to be an acceptable and workable public policy.As a result of the outbreak of terrorism acts around Europe specifically recent bombings in London and Madrid, this policy is being reassessed by European governments.
When Europe shut down its colonial empire and set those former colonies "free", many former subjects opted to migrate to the former "Mother Country". Some came to work; others came to attend European universities because they were brainwashed in believing they were better, and still some came as they were enamored with European life and culture.
There was a time in The Bahamas when people spoke with a British accent as it was suppose to depict a certain level of sophistication. There was also the view that an American education was inferior to that of a British education. In many parts of Africa during the colonial years, a Tuskegee University trained veterinarian was not able to practice veterinary medicine. He had to qualify as a Member of the Royal Society of Veterinary Surgeons. Individuals with degrees from US Engineering Schools had to pass City and Guilds examinations in order to work. This was the psychological environment in which the colonists had to face in order to survive.
During the 50’s, there was a mass migration of West Indians to the UK. Many were Jamacians and Barbadians who left the Caribbean to man British factories and to perform tasks which were beneath the Englishman. They settled in places like Brixton which, on occasion, was the scene of riots and today is one of the largest West Indian enclaves in the UK. When Idi Amin took over the government of Uganda, there was a mass exodus of East Indians to the " Mother Country" from Uganda. The Indians had opted to retain their BRITISH passports rather than become Ugandan citizens, so they flocked to Britain. In the Netherlands, immigrants from former Dutch Guyana now Suriname and the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia also saw Holland as a haven. In France, the same scenario was taking place as they came from Franco-phone Africa, from North Africa like Algeria as well as Sub-Saharan Africa like Dahomey, Benin and Togo. To Belgium came the Congolese from Zaire. Germany, though not a Colonial power, saw large numbers of Turks immigrate to that country. In virtually every circumstance, these immigrants settled in enclaves where they perpetuated their birth country cultures by eating their ethnic foods, speaking their native languages, practicing their religions which was overwhelmingly Muslim.
In The BAHAMAS during my boyhood , Greek parents would send to Greece for their sons’ wives. They had the Greek Orthodox form of Christianity or the EASTERN Rite of the Catholic Church and Greek children were formally taught Greek. Some only spoke English outside of the home.
The recent circumstances, not only the Iraqi war but the "hate" crime in The NETHERLANS where a Dutch film maker was brutally murdered by a Dutch Moslem who felt that the filmmaker had presented ISLAM in an offensive way in his movie, have exacerbated the situation.
Europeans are now reconsidering this policy of multiculturalism. The question now is whether or not integration and assimilation are the better alternatives. There is a strong and supportive school of thought that immigrants have to be socialized into the mores and customs of their adopted countries.
The Bahamas is possibly the only country in the world where an individual can become a citizen and know nothing about the historical development of this archipelago, its customs, folklore, important personages over the years etc. There is no testing; the main criteria are how long one has been here, whether or not the person is married to a BAHAMIAN and one’s ability to pay.
Like Europe, THE Bahamas has to revisit the requirements of citizenship but also has to look seriously at creating a new category of guest worker which should be a minimum level category which, after a period, one could then move to the level of work permit holder where the individual would have to meet certain requirements if the individual is desirous of seeking citizenship.
When any country allows individuals into a country who only see that country as a place for employment and has no further commitment; then that individual has to be seen solely as a guest worker and treated as such. In the long run, an individual with this outlook could become a security risk or threat because they have not been integrated into the society or have not been assimilated in to the life of the State. This is the dilemma Europe finds itself and one which The BAHAMAS may find itself in years to come.
- Austin DWI - New York DWI