The negotiation of Spanish Government with ETA has only been taken away of the first line of Spanish news by another topic: illegal immigration. There are a lot of stereotypes about immigration: “immigrants come because of misery, because of hunger, because of the wars in their countries of origins...”
Without denying that these can be some of the problems, there are some causes who are not been quietly examined: for example, First World is sending every year money to these countries. But -at least- citizens in the so-called First World do not know really where this money is going. There is no control over this funds. Are the hospitals/schools/etc. been built? Is really the help for culture, women development, doctors, etc. reaching these places? Well, Spanish politicians are not very worried about this particular matter, but are insisting on the mentioned topics.
But if this is particularly appalling, the stories of illegal immigrants being transported over Spain, without any knowledge of the authorities of the place where are taken are just shameful. Because these illegal immigrants are just thrown into unknown cities, without any knowledge of the language, without perspectives of a legal job, because they are illegal and without any health control. As a result, medical authorities are beginning to find some diseases who had been declared eradicated from Europe some time ago: smallpox, scarlet fever, scabies and even some varieties of hepatitis, who can be transmitted by drinking from the same glass, as they are not destroyed by the traditional means of washing with detergents.
El Confidencial Digital described the arrival of a group of 22 immigrants to the Galician City of Lugo:
August 22, 20:00. Bus station ofLugo. A furtive arrival of 22 immigrants of Lord knows where.
At that hour, people are waiting in the bus station and they see how a bus enters the station at great speed. Quickly 22 immigrants descend from it. The driver encourages one of them, who looks like their leader, to disperse as soon as possible, without forming a group. Then the bus goes at high speed again and disappears.
Some of the immigrants change their shirt in the surroundings. Some others waive at each other as a goodbye and go alone through the streets of the city.
A neighbour speaks with a worker about the scene: “Looks like today Lugo has more inhabitants”. And the worker answers: “Nowadays they are peaceful, but there has been more “arrivals” with Africans. You can see that this is not happening in Barcelona or Bilbao”-
Their lives are been endangered by some politicians who have no scruples to lie. Mr. José Blanco, commonly known as Pepiño, Secretary of Organization of Socialist Party, has said that “with Socialists, immigration is legal and organized“.
Now, they are coming from Pakistan to Canary Islands. Just as a note: Pakistan is between India and Afghanistan. Spanish Government is trying to repatriate them. But this is the third ship since August that brings “Asiatic” immigrants to Spain. Senegalese Police and Antiterrorist Forces are investigating nearly fifty Islamists in Dakar, its capital, accused of being linked with Islamic terrorism. And this is the other reason of why we should worry of the lack of control in the immigration flaws: since some time ago, Intelligence forces are worried about the presence of Al-Qaeda in Africa.
The immigrants vision is somewhat troubled, by propaganda. Moroccan immigrants think they are going to be given the legal papers three years after they arrive, by the King. “This is the law in Spain, that is what the King wants“, says Mohammed, an illegal immigrant from Morocco, to an Italian journalist covering the problems of the illegal immigrants in Canary Islands. Of course, the notion of a democratic Government -even one as wrong as Socialist Government is now- does not cross his mind: “Spain is a Monarchy as Morocco, where a Monarch administers as he wants the happiness and the sufferings of his subjects“.
But the best is how he sees Europe: “France is a racist country. Italy, on the contrary is ideal. If you work without bothering, Police just leaves you alone. In Spain, by contrast, if you are detained, you are thrown into jail“. If you ask why this kind of accusations for France -not forgetting last November riots in France-, there are another news regarding this: France has accused Spain of creating a “calling effect” for immigrants. Sarkozy declared in French Public TV Channel, France 2: “This calling effect is the cause of the incapacity to control the secret immigration nets. Just watch what is happening in the Canary Islands”.
The problems in Canary Islands are growing each day: there are 300 “illegal immigrants” by each policeman –there are nearly 8.000 illegal immigrants only in Canary Islands of which nearly 4.000 are from Senegal-, so if there is a violent “incident”, they can be unable to contain the “illegals”. If they see Civil Servants from Senegal working with Spanish police they sing “Spain, Spain, Spain” and “Repatriation to Senegal, no“. Senegalese Civil Servants are beginning to feel panic also. They are collaborating after Spain has paid Senegal 8 million of euros: they were even blocking the operative to control the “cayucos”, but now, with the money in their pockets detentions have begun … by Spanish Policemen in Senegal. A difficult job in a country where the new “aristocracy” is formed by the families of the immigrants who have reached Spanish soil. There are even parents encouraging their sons to make the trip.
Vicepresident De La Vega says the Government “working without resting“, shouting and very altered at Parliament. Looks like she is working a lot and suffering from a lot of stress. But I do really not know if the Government as a whole is working to control and diminish immigration or just for the contrary. Because the massive regularization and expressions like “immigrants do not read the State Official Bulletin” -where the laws are published-, said by the Ministers of Labour and Social Matters, Mr Caldera, are just some of the examples we can point out of the disastrous policy of the Government.
It is not very striking then that some of the related Ministers are eluding the “invitations” to speak about the problem at Parliament. It is not the public opinion, it is not the work of the opposition, it is not the reality what they are fearing. El Pais, the newspaper from Prisa holding, the supporter of the Government, has criticized it about the chaos of the immigration. For a moment I thought they were ashamed. No, they are just fearing the unemployment row.
One last remark: according to a poll, Britain is a worse today than 20 years ago. Can you imagine why? One of the causes is immigration: 430,000 Eastern Europeans in two years –Conservative estimations rise it to 600.000– make people think about the impact of this phenomenon in British life. There is only one differences: their immigration is legal.
In Spanish:
Nuevo Digital:
- Emigration creates an “aristocracy” in Senegal with families who have succeeded in sending one of their youths to Spain.
- Terrorism and crime made British consider their country “worse for living” than 20 years ago amid a strong debate about an immigration”out of control”.
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