I was listening to an Italian guy on the radio yesterday. He was explaining the effects of this migration on the area he comes from which he visits regularly. It's not rocket science and it is entirely predictable but he talks of large numbers of migrants sleeping rough, begging, intimidating local people, stealing etc. Once quiet, safe, communities effectively under siege by people from all over Africa and beyond.
Nobody in power seems too concerned about any of this, however. They're happy to admit countless thousands of people to wander through Europe trying to survive in one way or another with no thought for where they might wind up, what's going to be done to support them and how host communities are supposed to deal with the inevitable problems they cause. Their heads have been filled with stuff about the west which bears little resemblance to reality and they want to believe it, hence are prepared to take huge risks to get here. Once in the hands of the traffickers they're in no position to argue about anything by all accounts so it's a fait accompli - they're put on leaky boats, murdered, beaten and/or abandoned. I don't blame the migrants one jot. I blame the policy makers who have seen this situation unfolding and done nothing about it. I blame the people who dole out foreign aid to corrupt despots instead of ensuring that aid is used to assist the people who're really suffering. I blame the unwillingness to tackle the traffickers who are largely responsible for this evil trade. People can say what they like about taking in people but there will come a point when enough is enough and if we wait until then to do something permanent damage will have been done to our way of life which cannot be reversed. I really can't help thinking that if all the migrants decided to set up camp where the great and the good live and work something would soon be done about it. Yes, I don't suppose they'd take too kindly to having their property, holiday homes, estates and local facilities swamped by people who have little or nothing in common with them and are going to find it extremely hard to live let alone contribute much. Whilst the main effects are limited to certain areas of Greece, Italy and even France, it's easy for them to turn a blind eye but they have no plan to control, disperse, assist or assimilate these migrants and are therefore simply storing up huge problems which will erupt sooner or later. The fact is that the longer this is allowed to continue the more people will be tempted to come.
Given all the long term costs (social and economic) of dealing with this huge influx of people, maybe the least worst way forward would be to blockade the areas from which they're departing and hope that the message eventually gets home to those who would follow.
