Subject: Open borders and pythons
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 17:15:08 +0200


24th July 2000

Dear PoCo Listmembers,

Just a few comments on remarks by Elizabeth Deloughry, Charles Orwolek and
Piers M. Smith.

THE GLIBNESS OF ARMCHAIR LEMMINGS
Firstly, Piers, the master of the hydrophobic put-down. I do feel that his
comments on the enthroned glibness of torrents of lemming-like armchair
prophets are a bit over the top. Maybe we should compare and contrast like
one used to do at school. I've also made snide remarks about the cushiness
of metropolitan academe, but have had my knuckles rapped.

Even though we gallant Brits&Yanks saved Kuwait from Saddam, I think it is
generally realised that the little autocracy is only being sucked up to by
Europeans because there's oil there. If we want to get annoyed, it should be
about the double standards vis-a-vis human rights in countries on whose oil
we depend.

BLAIR AND IMMIGRATION
Charles Orlowek points out the politic mess the Blair government is in. Well
he seems a nice lad, but a dreadful autocrat behind the scenes. I don't
think Blair would last long if he relaxed immigration rules, but I think his
government's days are numbered even if he tightens them, pandering to
popular demand. But surely immigration policy must, essentially be a
long-term policy which all political parties can agree on. You can't keep
changing the rules every few years just to keep yourself in with the voters.
People want clear guidelines and stability, not least the people running
hostels for asylum seekers.

CONDESCENDING PYTHONS
Elizabeth Deloughry makes a good point about Michael Palin (I think it's him
she's talking about). He used to be very funny on Monty Python, but since
he's started travelling round the world, he's become a miasma of
condescension. I can't stand that sort of Brit (they're my compatriots,
remember) who goes around talking down to the natives in whatever country he
ends up. The only TV personality who is even more sickeningly patronising is
Boudewijn Buch who does the same on Dutch TV, but few of you will have heard
of him. You should have seen Buch in Namibia - Palinesque, asides to the
camera, the whole works.

OPEN BORDERS
As for the recruitment or "recruitment" of cheap labour from the former
colonies, yes sure, Britain is guilty of same. But countries such as the
Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, etc., tried the same cheap
labour trick, only with people coming from countries they had never been
lord and master over. (And after World War II, the USA and Australia did a
quiet bit of recruiting ex-Nazi Germans for the nuclear effort and other
industrial matters. I suppose that labour was relatively cheap, the ex-Nazis
no doubt being happy they didn't end up at the Nuremberg Trials. Hiding
Nazis shouldn't only be blamed on Paraguay. Hypocrisy all round.)

As for the ease of getting into the countries of the European Union, that
issue is very simple. While the English Channel / La Manche is still a bit
of a physical barrier against people you've decided, morally or immorally,
that you don't want, there is no physical barrier of any significance
between Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Iran, the Balkans and all the mainland
countries of the European Union. This openness has been facilitated by the
Schengen Agreement which means that there are as good as no border checks
within the EU (e.g. between Germany and the Netherlands, Austria and
Germany, Italy and France, France and Spain, etc). There are no barbed wire
entanglements and tank traps between EU countries, or even between the
former Soviet Bloc and the West.  (Mexicans and USA border guards, please
note!). In fact when sitting on the train it's damned hard to see where the
Netherlands stops and Germany begins. Even in pre-Schengen days, you could
evade border posts and just cycle across between Holland and Germany. Try
cycling across the English Channel.

So once you've got into the EU, i.e. over the Czech-Austrian, Polish-German,
Czech-German, Slovenian-Italian, etc., etc., etc., borders, which are not
all that watertight, you're in the magic empire of the EU. And unless you
have rotten luck, you can be put up by friends, relations (or, in the case
of prostitutes, housed by the mafia with your passport in "safekeeping") or
go into hiding in some other way and stay for as long as you like (or the
mafia wants you), if you can manage to feed yourself. The area is huge:
between the German-Polish border and Portugal, between southern Italy and
the northern tip of Denmark. Hence my wondering why the hell it's worth the
risk sneaking over that bit of water when it's far more likely you'll get
caught and sent back to the misery of your homeland. As I've said before,
there are immigrant communities all over Western Europe for you hide among.

Best wishes,

Eric Dickens




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