What to do with Sub-Saharan boat people?

The recent xenophobic violence in South Africa against Zimbabwean refugees suggests that it is not a good idea to presume on the generosity of the poor, who are after all the ones really expected to live cheek by jowl with and expected to accommodate the newcomers.

Those of us who live in leafy suburbs would not like the racial composition of our neighbourhoods changed, so why should we expect the white urban proletariat, who have less than we do, to be more generous and hospitable than we are?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6256679.ece reports on a book written by an illegal migrant to discourage others from doing as he did. "Fortress Europe" is not what it is cracked out to be, he says. You are better off in Africa, he tells other would-be boat people. Apparently, those who arrive but hate it here pretend to others back home that they are doing well, encourage them to come and then withdraw their hospitality when they arrive. It was this that shocked me most: the treachery of their betrayal of their own countrymen, just so that they did not have to admit that they had made a mistake.

Sinking their boat sounds harsh, but what other way is there to discourage these people, if they do not listen? It is even for their benefit so they don't waste their time, energy and money trying to get here and risk their lives doing so.

If they still think Europe is the land of milk and honey, their information is very much out of date.



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