Philippe LeGrain
The human tidal wave that reached Europe from Africa and the Middle East in 2015 matches the human tidal wave that has reached the US from Mexico and other Central American countries in recent years. They present Europe and America with a moral quandary and monumental logistical headaches that trump political or ideological differences.
Endless processions of wretched people making the trek across Europe from the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa—enduring cold and hunger—headed for Germany, France, and Great Britain. Their appearance in the media had the political effect of a force majeure. It surprised Americans who believed that the migrations only happened here.
The utter desperation and presumption of the migrants, that the solution to their problems lies in a distant relationship with their 19th century colonial overlords surprises some, but most never have the courage to mention it. The predictable knee-jerk judgments from liberal-left journalists make dissent or even unbridled discussion of this issue risky for public figures. No one wants to lock horns publicly with the Overblown Moral Imperative coming from the Left, but no one should have any doubt that the misfortune of the migrants—both the enormous number of displaced persons and the wars that have forced their migration—result from unremedied population growth. .
How bad is the moral imperative from the Left? Bad but predictable. Since when has the Left offered original solutions to anything? "Open Up, Europe!" wrote Philippe LeGrain in the New York Times on May 6, 2015. "Let the Migrants in!"
LeGrain has an Estonian mother, a French father, and lives in London. He defines himself as British but is not British. He has ties to all those countries but, personally speaking, no sense of peer-group in any of them. His life's experience speaks of rejected national identity. Not surprisingly, LeGrain has never married, has no children, and no sense of a home-turf.
The experiences have made him a timid, hateful little man. At his death, he will leave no survivors, no hostages to fortune, no nothing! On his deathbed, he will tell the cruel world to f___ off. Since fate has denied to him the privilege of an integrated national home, he has no wish but to deny it to others.
If LeGrain lived in Estonia, he would know that, after occupying Estonia, the Soviet Union forcibly relocated thousands of Russian nationals onto Estonian soil. That might give him a different take on the idea of uncontrolled migrations. The Estonians have had a devil of a time trying to persuade the Russians to leave.
Russian nationals who took over the homes of Estonians, whom the Soviets exiled to Siberia, had to give them up when the exiled Estonians returned home. Estonia gained its independence from the now-defunct Soviet Union in 1988. The Estonian leadership declared on November 16th of that year that Estonian law would supersede Soviet laws. The Estonians simply wanted to reassert control of their own turf. LeGrain cares for none of these details. He only wants to deny to others that which was denied to him—national identity and privilege, and self-determination.
LeGrain berates Europeans for their lack of compassion: "Thousands of people drown, trying to reach Europe. . . . By denying desperate people the opportunity to cross borders legally, European governments are driving them to risk death."
It's all Europe's fault, in other words. His choice of words, "driving them to risk death," is no more than irresponsible browbeating. He likewise describes the American effort to close its border with Mexico as "perverse."
Actually, the migrations have appeared in the German media for many years, as areas of the world become unstable, whether in Africa or the Middle East. Endless lines of refugees try to gain access to Europe. In most major European cities, migrants comprise as much as 40% of the population. So the presence of yet more crowds of refugees have depressed the sympathy of the average European, who says nothing for fear of calling attention to himself.
Nothing that the Third World does surprises me, now. They claim to hate Europe and America for their legacy of colonial racism and exploitation—at the same time treating Europe and America as go-to nations for solutions to their problems. Mostly they just say, "Give us more money!"
Political correctness restrains the European media from commenting honestly or authoritatively on the mass migrations, but no one should have any doubt that the misfortune of the migrants—both the enormous number of displaced persons and the wars that have forced their migration—result from unremedied population growth.