Recent events have demonstrated to everyone, even those convinced of the essential relevance of multiculturalism, that under conditions of inordinate strain, the system is bound to fail. The basic problem as I see it is not with the concept itself, but with the impossible conditions imposed on it.
While it is obvious that multiculturalism has worked in countries like Canada and Australia, it seems to be failing dismally in Europe. It is therefore reasonable to ask under what conditions can one expect the system to work, and more importantly, when it is likely to fail.
Historically, vast countries with a great need for manpower necessary to develop their potential wealth have been eager to increase their population, and the quickest and surest way of doing so was to encourage immigration on a large scale. It is obvious that one essential component in this formula was that both host country as well as the immigrants themselves had a lot to gain from this arrangement.
The result is that 50 decades later, half the population of countries like Australia were born overseas, or had parents who were born overseas. The fact that they speak 200 languages yet live peacefully together is a triumph of multiculturalism.
It is also an acknowledged fact that a sovereign country has the right to protect its borders. Some countries have built walls of barbed wire to keep out those they consider to be invaders. Others, like Australia, have opted for the equally inhuman way of turning back the boats and exiling those caught attempting to enter the country and keeping them in conditions unfit for human beings, while proudly declaring: “We have stopped the boats!”
Compared with this, the decision by some countries like Germany to open their borders and welcome fleeing migrants with open arms would appear to be a great humanitarian act which warms the cockles of one’s heart, a gesture worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize.
And yet, this could not last. The gates had to be slammed shut sooner or later. No country, even one desirous of bolstering its manpower, can allow an unchecked flow of humanity. The need for border control has become an issue with all countries of Europe, threatening the Schengen concept if not the whole idea of a united Europe.
It is impossible to integrate newcomers within society when the influx is prohibitively large
It is obviously ridiculous to talk about multiculturalism in this context. It is impossible to integrate newcomers within society – which is the essence of multiculturalism – when the influx is prohibitively large. This scenario is more likely to confirm the patently absurd right-wing views that racial purity is paramount and that any mixing with people of a different race is likely to be deleterious in the long run.
While one cannot but admire the humanitarian approach to mass migrations exhibited by some countries as well as many individuals, there is still a niggling feeling that this approach is merely band-aid in nature and will not solve the problem which, as everybody will agree, lies deep within the countries of origin.
Western countries have decided that the best way to solve this problem is to bomb targets while they stay out of harm’s way thousands of kilometres high up in the sky. Europe should know better than to expect fighter jets to win wars. They destroy cities, they terrorise populations, they produce millions of refugees trying to flee from the Armageddon they create, but by themselves they do not win wars.
The Poles during World War II accepted the responsibility of forming an effective fighting force to liberate their homeland. Would it be too outlandish to suggest that efforts of the Western powers should be directed at organising and training such a force of volunteers out of the hundreds of thousands currently feeling lost and helpless in various camps in Europe and the Middle East?
This may not resolve all the problems associated with the current upheavals not experienced since the aftermath of World War II, but may set in motion the beginning of an effort to tackle the problem at source, while at the same time providing some economic as well as the equally important psycho-social support to those currently lost and searching for an identity in Europe.
Professor Maurice Cauchi has written extensively on Maltese migration.