Migration or mobility?
I wanted for quite some time to write about other things than what happens to my own selfish self. Not that I doubt your interest in all sorts of exciting happenings, but sometimes I just want to share my thoughts, frustration, joy, whatever, to other important things/people in the world.My predictible subjects would go around Romania, Belgium or the UK - just to name the past and present residence places over which I could issue an opinion. And just talking about them would take me a lifetime.
What I came across quite often these days was this great UK "campaign" against immigrants, foreign workers, Europe, and whatever else they are against, now in the form of Romanians and Bulgarians. It came through many articles, that I actually haven't had the chance to read a lot, but the idea was the same: keep away anything that has to do with Romanians and Bulgarians after the 2007 enlargement, because Eastern Europeans ruin Britain.
I sometimes wonder why I left the UK, in itself such a wonderful place. As typical Romanian I was meant to take jobs away from the over-qualified and multi-lingual Britons. Ok, I can be rude, but then I am always harsh to things or people that I sort of care for. I would be just the same if Romanians would involve in something ridiculous, and they are quite often, but not now. Now it's my friends the Brits who try to find a scapegoat for their much bigger immigration problem. P-lease!
I mean, if theoretically half of Romania would consider immigrating for a better life, say in the UK, let us not forget that most likely half of Britain would immigrate to a less depressing country, preferably with a hot climate. I wonder what stops them.
It's called mobility. Something that most of the people reading this have experienced repeatedly. It broadens your mind and defines yourself, no? Whatever the nationality, we are neither thieves, nor beggars. We can chose the place we want to live in. Europe makes it easier (compared to the US let's say...) and the Brits just can't cope with that, they have to be euro-sceptics:
"We have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked but not combined. We are interested and associated but not absorbed".Winston Churchill
Dream on.
posted by Dana @ 3:10 pm
2 Comments:
Wow, quite a lot of new posts. I think at the moment I don't have enough time to read all of them because I'm about to finish my thesis project.
To be honest I'm not that good informed about European and British politics at the moment. I just like to add that I talked to an English friend some days ago (actually looking for a job at the moment but I think that doesn't matter) who told me that their government allowed a lot of Polish people enter their country to work there and they were considered to be "very hard working". Maybe you can tell me if that's true. And if it is true, it would be very unfair considering what you wrote.
Anyway, inmigration always is a topic making people forget "common sense" and let their fears rule discussions.
In 2004 the UK put no restrictions to workers from new member countries, like other "old" ones did. That is why very many people came. And of course they are hard working, otherwise they couldn't integrate, could they? And they are more enthusiastic about doing whatever job than the average British worker, I suppose.
Now they want to set restrictions for RO & BG, cause they expect the same thing happening. But could they find jobs if there were no gaps/weaker points in the job market?
Then you see countries like the UK, recently France, bragging about great economy growth. As if that comes from their aging population...
I think "old" EU citizens take a bit too much for granted what they have, since they know nothing else, and they are not willing to put up a fight for their wellbeing.
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