From the McCracken Archives

This post by Patti McCracken one of my favourite bloggers talks about immigration rules in some European countries have targetted muslim immigrants with some absurd requirements.

Quote "The Netherlands made headlines in recent weeks when it announced it would force applicants from Muslim countries to view videos of topless sunbathers and homosexual contact, to determine if they were ready to immigrate to the liberal Netherlands. And the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg wants to follow suit with its own video on gays and nudity, and already has composed a controversial questionnaire that has some leaders up in arms"

Now as much as someone has the rights to bathe in the nude or to indulge in homosexual contact, people have a right to be opposed to these things too. Now would Netherlands or Germany throw out all those who find this behavior offensive? I'm sure they'd have to start with a lot of grandmothers & grandfathers then (not to mention a million or two of conservative folks).

Sadly though the real issue is not of 'European Values' but of segregation in the immigration norms. Especially because people from a non-muslim background aren't subjected to such tests.

These immigration issues reminds me of an old story I was told as a kid. Once upon a time, there was a travelling community which wanted to settle down in a rich Indian kingdom. They sent a messenger to the Rajah (King) of the kingdom with their request to settle there. The Rajah's advisors told him not to allow these people since they were not known to them. The Rajah, thought over it, then he summoned for a vessel filled to the brim with milk. He told the messenger to take this to the leader of the travellers. The leader received this vessel of milk and he added some sugar to the milk, mixed it and sent it back.

The messenger delivered this sweetened milk to the Rajah. The Rajah drinks the milk from the vessel, smiles and tells the messenger that the travellers were free to stay in his kingdom. The people around were astonished and asked the Rajah the meaning of the all this. The Rajah said that I sent the vessel filled with milk to their leader to tell him that we already were filled to the capacity with people in this country. To which the leader of the travellers had replied by adding sugar and mixing the same, meaning that the travellers would become a part of the society and by this make the society even better. (I think this is a Birbal story, someone correct me if it isn't). I can't think of a better immigration test than this one or modern ones in this vein.

When communities, (whatever maybe their background, black or white, muslim or christian, european or asian) start building walls around themselves, they end up not just keeping others from coming in but also end up nurturing ignorance and ineptitude within their own. One needs to understand the differences that are part and parcel of each culture, respect that and give people the freedom to follow their beliefs. Having said this, petty beliefs should not get in the way of commonsense and in the way of doing the right thing. I guess it's time a lot of folks started shelving their apprehensions and start being good neighbours.

I think the we all could do with the good old fashioned Indian motto of 'Unity in Diversity'.

(Please do read the archives of Patti McCracken's blog, she is a gifted writer and a journalist living in Europe. Her blog, which is a terrific read, often feels like a walk through the real Europe without the rose tinted glasses).