Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

The European illegal immigrant crisis – resistance is growing

By Russell Grenning - posted Tuesday, 16 January 2018


As the consequences of allowing anywhere between one and two million illegal African and Middle Eastern immigrants into Europe become increasingly clear, there is an increasing resistance to allowing any more to arrive.

Germany which flung open its borders in 2015 and allowed more than a million illegal immigrants to flood the country is now counting the cost. A recent study by the German Government has found a direct correlation between this mass influx and the rising level of violent crime.

The criminologists identified crime statistics recording an increase of only 10.4% between 2012 and 2014 before the migrant crisis compared with a 92.1% increase between 2014 and 2016. The researchers said that migrants had been shown to have committed far more violent acts proportionally to their size of the population and that migrants accounted for being identified as suspects in one and every eight violent crime cases.

Advertisement

The study identified immigrants who were "most likely" to commit violent crimes including murder and rape were men aged fourteen to thirty. Their female victims ranged in age between a child of seven and a grandmother in her eighties although the overwhelming majority of women were aged from their late teens to about thirty.

Cities including Cologne, Hamburg and Stuttgart have seen mass attacks on women by immigrant youths and young men during celebrations such as New Year's Eve. Police have not been able to protect vulnerable women and have been reduced to advising women not to go out, especially at night. Women are being urged not to wear any revealing clothing including swimsuits to pools and beaches where many attacks occur.

Every country in Europe which has illegal immigrants has reported an upsurge in violent attacks on women. Initially, there were attempts by governments – especially the German Government which is still apologising for the Nazi horrors and is fearful of being seen as "racist" – tried to deny this reality and the mainstream media were complicit in the cover-up. Attacks by immigrants which were reported were put down to "special considerations" such as mental health issues, a lack of cultural awareness (by the victims, not the attackers) and lack of female companionship for young African and Middle Eastern men.

The German Government, among other governments, tried to appeal to the general populace by saying that they should be more "understanding" and "forgiving".

Throughout Europe there have been some shameful and absurd attempts to deny what is happening. The Police Chief in Sweden which has the highest proportion of immigrants in its population admitted that they were under government orders not to identify the ethnicity or nationality of attackers because this would only play into the hands of the Sweden Democrats, a conservative political party which advocates closing the borders and send immigrants home. Just how they can expect public assistance in catching alleged attackers when no full description of them is given is unclear.

Only recently, the Czech President Milos Zeman said that the European Union could get ten million illegal immigrants over the next few years unless borders were strengthened if not closed. He said that "the integration of the Muslim community is practically impossible" and called the migrant crisis an "organised invasion". He has said that the migrant culture "is not compatible with European culture, which is what immigrants themselves understand."

Advertisement

The Czech Republic along with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have resisted the European Union's forced redistribution of migrants. The President of the European Parliament has told Hungary and Poland that they must leave unless they open their borders. He said that these countries had "no place" in the EU for countries with allegedly "illiberal societies".

In Austria, a government report has shown that the number of crimes committed by "foreigners" increased to an astounding forty per cent of the total in 2016. Austria has taken in more than 150,000 refugees – more than one per cent of its population – since 2015 and the Interior Minister has said that a "strict asylum policy" is needed to tackle the crisis.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, has recently passed a law that prevents residents who have been on welfare in the past three years from becoming citizens unless they pay back money they received from the government. The new law also requires migrants to demonstrate a much greater level of integration than before including proving they have a certain number of Swiss friends and at least an "intermediate level" of language proficiency.

The rising tide of resistance across Europe has been reflected in the largest public opinion survey ever taken in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. An overwhelming seventy-four per cent believed that the illegal immigration flood is, or will be, negative for the continent.

Central Europeans were most opposed with eighty-nine per cent of Slovaks and Hungarians having a negative view of immigration closely followed by eighty-eight per cent of Czechs. The migrant relocation scheme was forced through the European Parliament in September, 2015 regardless as to whether all nations agreed.

Several nations including Hungary have balked at the order. Hungary constructed a border fence along its southern frontier to stem the flow and, since then, has reduced its illegal immigration by a reported ninety-nine per cent.

Meanwhile refugees continue to arrive from the Middle East and northern Africa with no sign at all that the flow will be reduced or even contained.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

19 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Russell Grenning is a retired political adviser and journalist who began his career at the ABC in 1968 and subsequently worked for the then Brisbane afternoon daily, The Telegraph and later as a columnist for The Courier Mail and The Australian.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Russell Grenning

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 19 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy