Europe should learn from RI<\/p>\n
Confronted with the riots of the last weeks, France and other
\ncountries in western Europe could perhaps learn a lot from
\nIndonesia. But first let's not forget that the multicultural
\nprinciples of Europe and those of Indonesia are fundamentally
\ndifferent.<\/p>\n
In the case of Indonesia, it is purely an Indonesian pan-
\nnationalism based on the unifying principles of Pancasila. This
\nmeans for instance that Indonesians of Chinese or Indo-
\nEuropean descent -- in spite of their centuries-long presence in
\nIndonesia and contributions to its culture -- are effectively
\nconsidered alien elements.<\/p>\n
Full rights as resident civilians are in fact also denied to
\nminorities who are pribumi (indigenous) but don't belong to the
\nmainstream recognized religions. This, it can be said, protects
\nthe harmonic society from dissent and disintegration. Indonesia's
\nimmigration policy is based on the principle that there should
\nbe no immigration except in the very exceptional circumstances
\nwhen it benefits the state -- or the people that run it.<\/p>\n
Foreigners cannot legally own land or houses, they can't send
\ntheir children to public schools, they don't have the right to
\nwork or import elements of their culture that conflict with local
\ntraditions, etc. In contrast, multiculturalism in western
\nEurope is based on the principles of human rights, which
\nguarantee freedom of faith, expression and -- at least in theory
\n-- freedom from discrimination.<\/p>\n
The right of asylum is considered holy, regardless of the
\nattitudes of the asylum seekers toward their hosts and their own
\nacceptance of human rights. For instance, it is easy to give many
\nexamples of people prosecuted for their radicalism in moderate
\nIslamic countries who have found refuge in Europe. Still, most
\nimmigrants are simply motivated by their desire to have a better
\nlife and immigrate legally or illegally for that reason.<\/p>\n
For humanitarian reasons several western European governments
\nhave legalized large groups of illegals on a couple of occasions.
\nImmigrants can easily become legal residents with full citizen
\nrights to own land, work, benefit from social security, get other
\nforms of state support, study, etc. Sometimes they even have
\nvoting rights and can easily acquire their host country's
\nnationality while keeping their original nationality.<\/p>\n
Immigrants are usually not required to demonstrate their
\nloyalty to their new home country either. Of course some people
\nhave taken advantage of this whole situation. Nevertheless, when
\nsome policymakers try to harden the rules and actively pursue
\nimmigration law violators, the left-wing dominated press cries
\nfoul and accuses them of xenophobia and racism. The riots in
\nFrance are sometimes attributed to angry young men whose
\ngrandparents immigrated from North Africa and are rebelling
\nagainst real or perceived discrimination and injustice.<\/p>\n
JESSICA LIEM
\nIvry-sur-seine
\nFrance<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/europe-should-learn-from-ri-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}