Germany on the Brink
by Ross Douthat
Jan 9, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/opinion/sunday/germany-on-the-brink.html?comments#permid=17173940
It seems Ross Douthat is auditioning for a cabinet position with Donald Trump - his nutty "Merkel must go" fits right in with the craziness of The Donald.
To be sure, Germany has probably bitten off more that it can comfortably digest. Although 1.2 million refugees is a very large number, one needs to keep in mind that a fair number of refugees are being sent back, especially from some of the Balkan areas, which are not consider war zones. Also, the large numbers that flooded in during the second half of 2015 will not continue for a number of reasons - the path through the Balkans is being increasingly shut down, and negotiation with Turkey are starting the slow down the flow through that country.
The assimilation/integration process will be extremely difficult - Germany, and Europe in general, do not have a good record for integration, especially of Muslim immigrants and refugees. Many of the apocalyptical scenarios painted by Douthat are certainly possible. But instead of reacting in the Trump/Cruz and general GOP hysterical fear-mongering fashion, it would be good to encourage Germany in its attempts to deal with this huge issue.
It is interesting to speculate about the holier-than-thou column Douthat might have written had Germany closed its borders and we would have had to watch on TV the chaos and misery of starving refugees at the borders, or, for that matter, if Germany now chose the follow the "Trump Doctrine" and shipped all 1.2 million refugees back to Syria.
To be sure, Germany has probably bitten off more that it can comfortably digest. Although 1.2 million refugees is a very large number, one needs to keep in mind that a fair number of refugees are being sent back, especially from some of the Balkan areas, which are not consider war zones. Also, the large numbers that flooded in during the second half of 2015 will not continue for a number of reasons - the path through the Balkans is being increasingly shut down, and negotiation with Turkey are starting the slow down the flow through that country.
The assimilation/integration process will be extremely difficult - Germany, and Europe in general, do not have a good record for integration, especially of Muslim immigrants and refugees. Many of the apocalyptical scenarios painted by Douthat are certainly possible. But instead of reacting in the Trump/Cruz and general GOP hysterical fear-mongering fashion, it would be good to encourage Germany in its attempts to deal with this huge issue.
It is interesting to speculate about the holier-than-thou column Douthat might have written had Germany closed its borders and we would have had to watch on TV the chaos and misery of starving refugees at the borders, or, for that matter, if Germany now chose the follow the "Trump Doctrine" and shipped all 1.2 million refugees back to Syria.
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