The piece below is a translation of an article by Afshin Ellian that appeared in the Dutch Elsevier online newsletter on 21 December. Afshin Ellian is an Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam. He regularly blogs for elsevier.nl. Professor Ellian is forthright – to put it mildly – about the issue of open borders. This is a subject that is of vital concern to most Australian who believe our borders must be rigorously protected and are frustrated that the media commentary is mostly from those critical of the Abbott policy of protection. They see the policy still holding under Turnbull, but suspect the will is not there and the support is tenuous. Australians would be more confident about the security of their borders if there were more like Ellian in the media to tell of the ‘existential threat’ that open borders present. Ellian’s piece parallels the problems in Australia’s management of border protection and is in line with Abbott’s Thatcher speech. The translation is literal which results in a little clumsiness and stiffness that contrast with the well-written Dutch text.
EUROPE WITHOUT BORDERS THREATENS TO END IN DISINTEGRATION
by Afshin Ellian – elsevier.com
The migrant crisis of 2015 will continue without let-up into 2016. It is becoming a serious matter. That’s why people are speaking of a crisis on a European scale.
Of course, the movement of peoples is an ongoing process.
The migration and asylum flow was also happening in the last century. It began with the problem of asylum-seekers. The right of asylum was often used by people who were not political refugees. Thus the right of asylum formed a basis for migration.
In the 20th century we see a new trend: the displaced people fleeing war are no longer primarily seeking safety, but prosperity and a better future.