When Will Someone Do Something?

I had second thoughts about publishing this, for it is far from politically correct.  And I’m sure it shows biases as well as prejudices on the part of some of those whose comments I’m repeating.  But the eerie thing is how much of what they told me years ago has come to pass or is sadly headed that way.

You see, it’s excerpts from interviews I did with EU citizens visiting Mykonos almost five years ago to the day.  I conducted them in connection with a book I was writing on illegal immigration and human trafficking. I wanted a sense of European attitudes, not official ones, but from ordinary citizens.

The book never made it to publication—because my primary bad guy decided to come to life in the form of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, making my book seem a knockoff of the headlines—though elements of it did make it into two other Kaldis books.

Today’s intense media attention, and the official pronouncements of public officials trying to negotiate the political undertow, as well as my MIE colleagues’ interest in these matters, led me to dig up my notes of those interviews.  They shocked me.

Please keep in mind that the following are opinions of ordinary Europeans on the state of immigration as they saw it in September 2010:

“There is a horrid problem in England, one that in five years will be out of control. The biggest problem groups are Eastern Europeans.  Also Indians, who fight among themselves each Saturday, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs. The Somalians also fight with the Indians.  The authorities won’t send white police in because they’ll be accused of racism.”

“Many immigrants come to England to reach Ireland, believing it’s only a short ferry ride from the Irish coast to the US where all is gold.  They actually believe that. Many west coast Irish towns are overwhelmed. A lot are Chinese.”

“The Polish who migrate often leave a better life in Poland than they’ll possibly find in England.  They believe that in a short time they’ll have a house with servants and a BMW. Why is that?  Because their friends who came before them told them that’s what happened to them. They lied, because they didn’t want to admit they’re impoverished and made a mistake.  They want to brag to those who told them it was a mistake to leave. All they have left is pride.”

“Social services are overwhelmed. Authorities are trying to move the immigrants out of London to rural areas.  The Island survived efforts of invasion from Napoleon and Hitler, but it won’t survive this one unless the immigrant flow is stopped.  But that will mean the end of the EU.”

“The goal of the immigrant is to get into Europe through Greece or Italy, and from there to Germany or possibly England where they can receive free medical care and government assistance.”

“Immigrants bring the sex trade with them, especially from Eastern Europe. The girls are told, ‘We have office work for you in Greece that will give you a better life.’  Once they’re here, the pimps tell them if they don’t cooperate something might happen to a younger brother or some other loved one back home.”

“In France, at the big relocation camp near the port, immigrants sneak out each night on trucks and under railway cars to get to England…on the road to reaching the U.S.  People are sleeping under hedges.  The only way to end this is to make the country less hospitable. They won’t stop coming.”

Much of the same thoughts and observations now consume our daily headlines, even if the named immigrant groups are different.  There is fear among the sensible as to where all this is headed, for tensions are rising and no solution is in sight.

So, the bottom line question is, who will step up and do something?  Or should I just schedule this post to run again in five years.

Jeff—Saturday