Troubled Communities - More selected news stories: Muslims, minorities and the dilemmas of deprived neighbourhoods elsewhere in Europe

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Views on Immigration Differ in Eight Countries
2006/06/08 · Angus Reid Global Scan
Canadians, Australians and Americans are more likely to say immigrants are having a good influence in their respective countries, according to an eight-country poll by Ipsos. 75% of respondents in Canada, and more than half of respondents in Australia and the United States, say so. Conversely, the responses in five European nations—Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain—varied from a high of 47% to a low of 43%.

'The shame of Antwerp'
2006/05/26 · The Guardian
Antwerp came to a standstill when thousands protested against a racist double murder that shocked Belgium. An 18 year-old went on a shooting spree and killed a black woman and a toddler in her care. Belgium has been jolted by a series of violent incidents. A black man was left partially blind and paralysed after being kicked outside a Brussels petrol station, and another black man was beaten into a coma outside a bar frequented by the far right.

Right and Left Extremists Clash
2006/05/22 · Radio Sweden
There were several confrontations between extreme right wing and left wing groups around Stockholm during the weekend. Right wing extremists also showed up at a demonstration in favour of asylum-seekers and a gay party.

Portugal: Brazilian Families Resettle the Heartland
2006/05/18 · IPS
Four Brazilian families came to live in Portugal this month, as the advance party of another 250 families intent on fulfilling their European dream, and at the same time to stem the depopulation of rural areas in this country.

Dutch MP to quit amid asylum row
2006/05/16 · BBC News
Controversial Somali-born Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali has said she will resign after admitting lying on her asylum application, and immigration minister Verdonk said her citizenship might be invalid. Ali wrote the script for Theo Van Gogh's TV film Submission, over which van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim extremist. She has since had police protection, amid threats from Islamic extremists. Hirsi Ali said: "I will leave the Netherlands, saddened but also relieved. I will pack my bags. I will go on."

Dutch MP lied to obtain political asylum
2006/05/12 · Radio Netherlands
Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali has admitted she lied to the immigration authorities to obtain political asylum in the Netherlands. TV programme Zembla has established that, rather than fleeing warfare in her land of origin Somalia, she spent more than ten years in Kenya before applying for asylum. Apparently, fellow VVD member Immigration Minister Verdonk has told her that, if she had been minister at the time and had known the truth, she would have had Ms Hirsi Ali deported.

RIGHTS: How To Be a German
2006/05/11 · IPS
German politicians have hammered out new guidelines on how to become a German citizen. In the latest of a pan-European spate of such debates, Germany ruled that immigrants seeking a German passport will have to pass a language test and attend an "integration course" focusing on the German constitution and German values.

EU faces Balkan terror risk
2006/04/19 · EU Observer
The Western Balkans risks becoming a platform for anti-EU terrorist attacks, a new study by US and Croat intelligence says. Young Balkan muslims make vulnerable targets for recruiters due to massive unemployment, easy availability of weapons and porous borders. Three suspects were indicted in Sarajevo on Tuesday in an investigation that led to eight further arrests in Denmark and the UK. "Bosnia has become a breeding ground for terrorists," said Bosnian intelligence chief Dragan Lukac.

School Chaos Reignites German Immigration Debate
2006/04/17 · IPS
Teenagers swearing at the cameras, police frisking students; images of a violent Berlin school have fanned Germany's immigration debate. Teachers at the Ruetli school had written authorities that they were frightened to go into the classrooms. Not one in the last group of school leavers found a work placement. Politicians are calling for an "immigration summit". In Bavaria, a new law compels children to learn German at kindergarten age, and fines parents who don't send their children to these classes.

Europe: Continental Drift
2006/04/16 · The American Prospect
In western Europe, race baiting has become increasingly profitable at the polls. It does little to address the stunted prospects of a generation of Muslim youth, who are turning against the countries in which they were reared. Terrorism experts are worried: "it’s clear that being alienated and denied opportunity heightens the threat.” There are, however, local initiatives that work with, rather than against, Muslim communities. One Amsterdam borough entered into legal contracts with its three mosques.

Italy: Elections Bring New Hope for Migrants
2006/04/08 · IPS
Berlusconi's government has consistently taken a hard-line stance on immigrants. While Prodi has said the country cannot do without foreigners, Berlusconi said: "I do not want Italy to become a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country". The opposition has put forth a number of foreign-born candidates, while parties in the conservative coalition have not confirmed the presence of any in their lists. A hotly debated issue is immigrants' right to vote. Now, they can't vote in general elections, but do have representatives on the city councils, who however can't cast votes.

Verdonk accused of insulting talk as VVD race heats up
2006/04/05 · Expatica
The 40,000 members of the Dutch Liberal Party VVD will elect an election leader in May for the general election next year. The choice is between junior Education Minister Mark Rutte, Immigration Minister Verdonk and MP Jelleke Veenendaal, an outside chance. Verdonk has thrilled the right-wing of the party with her tough immigration policies and insistence that newcomers integrate by learning Dutch and accepting Dutch norms and values.

Alone in the Slipstream of Violence: Berlin-Neukölln and the Rütli School, a World that has Nothing to Offer
2006/03/31 · Sueddeutsche Zeitung (via Press Interpreter)
The days after the teachers of the Rutli School, in this "flashpoint" neighbourhood, wrote a call for help to the Berlin School Senator, journalists and photographers are at the ready to report scenes of mayhem. Officials come and go. The reality is not as spectacular, but no less complex. 81% of the pupils is foreign; at the neighbouring Boddin elementary, it's 92%. The police fetches pupils who don't show up. Unemployment in Neukolln-North is 40%; 60% of the five-year olds fail the language test.

Greek minister pushes for Athens' first mosque
2006/03/28 · Yahoo! India
The Greek Foreign Minister expressed her support for the operation of Athens' first mosque. Despite a Muslim minority of 150,000, Athens is the only capital in western Europe without one. 'Greece cannot .. press Turkey to respect human rights when it itself' fails to meet them, she said. She added that, 'as long as the Muslims .. do not have a formal place of worship, they will get together in makeshift mosques which are uncontrolled and could .. fall victims of fundamentalists and terrorists'.

Nation divided over migrant student told to pack her bags
2006/03/22 · The Times (via The Peninsula)
Taida Pasic was four months away from taking her final school exams. Now she faces expulsion from the Netherlands and a life of uncertainty in a homeland that she barely knows. Her plight has captivated the nation and provoked a furious debate over the Dutch Government’s hardline immigration policy. The case caused a public split in the government when Maria van der Hoeven, the Education Minister, came out in support of the teenager.

Foreigners to get permanent residence after five years
2006/03/17 · Radio Praha
The Senate approved a bill under which foreigners living and working in the Czech Republic could be granted permanent residence after five years, in a simplified and accelerated process. It is seen as a breakthrough, as renewing one's residence papers every year is often described as a nightmare. But Eric Best warns that "there will be many .. people who will suddenly qualify for permanent residence and subsequently .. for citizenship and they will in a sense be able to do this by default, because the Czechs have never really .. decided on an immigration policy."

Dutch immigration kit offers revealing view
2006/03/16 · International Herald Tribune
An unusual homework assignment: watch a film clip of an attractive woman sunbathing topless and try not to be shocked. "People do not make a fuss about nudity," the narrator explains. The lesson is part of a film the Dutch government made to prepare potential immigrants for a new entrance examination. Those from countries like the US or EU states however are exempt. Opponents called the film an attempt to discourage applicants from Islamic countries. It also features a run-down neighborhood and warnings of traffic jams, unemployment and even flooding.

Dutch minister wants to send gay Iranian asylum-seekers back
2006/03/03 · Middle East Times
Dutch immigration minister Verdonk plans to send gay Iranian asylum-seekers back again. The Netherlands had granted a reprieve after reports that two homosexuals were hanged last year, but Verdonk said it was now clear that there were no "death sentences based solely on the fact that a defendant is gay", since it was never the primary charge. Iranian law imposes the death penalty for repeated sodomy, but Verdonk argued that "it is not completely impossible for gay men and women to function in Iranian society although it is important not to be to open about your sexual orientation".

UN condemns German school system
2006/02/21 · BBC News
Germany's education system was severely criticised by a special rapporteur for the UN human rights commission. Vernor Munoz said the system was excluding children from poor families and immigrant backgrounds from the chance of a good education. He said the problems were caused by the structure of the education system, which usually selects children at the age of 10 to go to a grammar school or a vocational one. This was too early, and meant the potential of many children was not exploited.

Abort 'unloved' Antilleans, says Rotterdam politician
2006/02/20 · Expatica
In the Netherlands, a city alderman of the Liveable Rotterdam (LR) party called for a debate on compulsory abortion and contraception for Antillean teenage mothers, drug addicts, and people with mental handicaps. Children from these groups run an "unacceptable risk" of growing up with "violence, neglect, mistreatment and sexual abuse," van den Anker said; the exceptions "can be counted on a pair of hands." The courts should decide, based on what experts and care workers say. LR's Christian Democratic and Liberal coalition partners vehemently rejected the suggestion.

Press Review: immigrant voters expected to go to the polls in record numbers
2006/02/14 · Radio Netherlands
Immigrant voters are expected to go to the polls in record numbers in the Dutch municipal elections in March. In Holland's major cities, voters of recent immigrant descent make up a third of the population, but turnout had dropped to 25%. The party most likely to benefit is the Labour party; there appears to be little interest in immigrant parties. Meanwhile, unemployment is on the rise among immigrants but dropped from over 22% to less than 20% in one year among Moroccans, the group with the highest unemployment rate.

Expert group to promote inclusion of ethnic minorities in the EU
2006/02/13 · European Commission
The first meeting of a high-level group of experts analysing the social inclusion of ethnic minorities in the EU takes place today. The group, established by the EC under its strategy for tackling discrimination, comprises 10 eminent personalities from business, politics, academia and media. It will focus on issues such as good practices in the integration of disadvantaged ethnic groups in the labour markets. It will report back before the end of 2007 with policy recommendations.

Turkey Reacts to Language Restriction in Netherlands
2006/02/03 · Zaman
Campaigning against discrimination towards Turks and Muslims in Europe, Turkey protested the immigration test in Germany, and the proposal of Integration and Immigration Minister Verdonk that "only Dutch should be spoken on the streets of The Netherlands". Ankara also says the Rotterdam Code, the behavior charter for the city's residents that Verdonk's proposal is based on, does not conform to human rights principles. It was told that "this episode is not a governmental opinion, but the work of the municipalities, and was also protested within the realm."

Comment: Verdonk's folly
2006/01/30 · Expatica
Most of the sentiments outlined in the Rotterdam Citizenship Code that was drawn up by the municipality there are admirable. So admirable, Immigration and Integration Minister Verdonk thinks it is a model for the entire Netherlands. Critics immediately attacked Verdonk's emphasis on one of the points: she suggested Dutch should be compulsory in public. She backtracked later in face of widespread opposition (and ridicule). But it is clear Verdonk sees the code purely in terms of another tool to chastise newcomers.

Politicians heap ridicule on Verdonk's language drive
2006/01/24 · Expatica
After Integration Minister Verdonk proposed a code of conduct to enhance Dutch identity that was to compel everyone to speak Dutch in public, ironic references became rife in parliamentary debate. Using English expressions, a Green Left MP spoke of the "extreme make over" by the health ministry, a List Fortuyn MP asked about the "bling, bling" of a new law, and a Democrat MP categorised legal changes as "pimp my law". Verdonk said that non-native residents need rules to illustrate what is expected of them, but later added that she was not proposing a ban on other languages.

EU law leaves new member state workers in third place
2006/01/20 · EU Observer (via I CARE)
Non-EU citizens will have better access to work in western Europe than people from new EU member states, as a 2003 EU directive on third country nationals enters into force. It gives migrants resident in the EU for five years or more with "adequate resources" equal access to education and training in 22 of the 25 member states. Just five out of the 22 transposed the directive into national law in time for the Monday deadline, however. Eurostat revealed that in 2005, Spain welcomed 650,000 migrants, Italy 340,000 and the UK 200,000. But the EU net immigration figure was still less than in 2004.

Mother Will Be Allowed to Attend Son’s Funeral
2006/01/18 · Radio Sweden
The Swedish Migration Board has reversed its decision refusing a visa to a woman from Afghanistan who wanted to attend her son’s funeral here, citing new information. Originally the authorities said the mother could not be allowed into Sweden because she had not been sent a formal invitation to the funeral. The Board also claimed it had been unclear why the woman wanted to come to this country, but the TT news agency saw a copy of the woman’s visa application, and reported it says clearly she wished to come here for her son’s funeral.

Mother of slain immigrant denied entry visa
2006/01/16 · Radio Sweden
The mother of a young Afghan who was the victim of a suspected honor killing here last year has been denied a visa to enter Sweden for his funeral because of fears that she will seek permanent residence. The Swedish Migration Board confirms that the mother and three of her children were denied visas, saying that they had failed to show they had the means to leave Sweden once they had entered.

Dutch immigrant communities face higher unemployment
2006/01/17 · Radio Netherlands
An official report says unemployment in the immigrant community in the Netherlands is two to three times higher than among citizens of Dutch origin. It also concludes that, since the economic downturn in 2002, unemployment among the Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and West Indian communities has more than doubled. On the other hand, the Bureau for Social and Cultural Planning says the number of self-employed immigrants or those in a permanent job has increased over the past 10 years.

Dutch Christian Democrats want stricter penalties for hate crimes
2006/01/16 · Radio Netherlands
The Dutch Christian Democratic party CDA wants stricter penalties for people, organisations and parties promoting hate or terror. Imams inciting to hatred should be removed from their office immediately, and would also have to hand in their driving licenses and passports. It should be easier to expel undesirable aliens, and people convicted of terrorist crimes should lose their voting rights. The CDA proposal is contained in a report on fundamental rights presented today.

Even in death Muslims face prejudice in Greece
2006/01/12 · Middle East Online
"Discrimination against non-Orthodox believers [extends to] death," says a minority activist in Greece: "For a Muslim, there is practically no chance of burial outside Thrace". Some 25,000 Greek Muslims and thousands of Muslim immigrants in Athens have no choice but to make the 500-mile trek to Thrace by rented taxi or van, says Dede Abdulhalim. "And when the money is not enough, some relatives just declare the deceased to be Orthodox". Greece's Catholics face similar difficulties, and for those selecting cremation the only choice is to travel to another country.

Swedish Driver’s Licences Too Expensive for Immigrants
2006/01/11 · Radio Sweden
According to a new study, only half of immigrants have a Swedish driver’s licence, compared to 80 percent of adults born in Sweden. The cause is primarily economic. Swedish law does not recognize non-European driver’s licences for residents, and it is expensive to go through the procedures for a Swedish licence.

Greek minister denies kidnappings
2006/01/11 · BBC News
The Greek public order minister told MPs there is no truth in claims by 28 Pakistanis that they were kidnapped for interrogation. The Pakistanis say they were detained after the London bombings, had hoods placed over their heads, and were held for up to seven days without access to a lawyer. Some also claim they were beaten. The weekly Proto Thema published what it said was the name of a British spy chief and 15 Greek agents involved in the abduction and abuse of the migrants.

Greece denies mistreating Pakistanis, admits monitoring after London attacks
2006/01/11 · Yahoo! News
Greece's public order minister denied that his services illegally abducted Pakistani immigrants after last year's London bombings. "No Greek government could resort to masks, hoods and other James Bond-style methods...because our (system) permits us to meet our goals legally," Voulgarakis told a parliamentary committee. 28 immigrants have claimed they were abducted, interrogated and mishandled. Voulgarakis did say that over 5,000 immigrants were monitored for possible links to the attacks, and over 2,000 were "legally" interrogated.

New Rules for Muslims in German State Blasted
2006/01/05 · Deutsche Welle
Getting German citizenship usually means signing an oath of allegiance to the constitution. But Baden-Württemberg, now wants to single out Muslims for an interrogation on equality of the sexes, homosexuality, the concept of honor and other issues. Those who fail to satisfy the authorites of their readiness to accept the Basic Law will be refused citizenship, and intentionally fudged answers could lead to citizenship being revoked later. The measure will only be applied to applicants from 57 Islamic countries.

Germany’s Immigration Law Marks One Year
2006/01/03 · Deutsche Welle
For years, Germany shied away from regulating immigration. Then it finally put a new immigration law on the books which seems to have achieved very little. The campaign to lure foreign nationals with cutting-edge knowledge has attracted a meager 900 experts. Some do point to the law's provisions to promote integration of immigrants. New arrivals are now entitled to German language and acclimatization courses. Many asylum seekers whose status had been in limbo received residence permits. Security officials welcome the possibility to deport extremists more swiftly.

'Sex for visas' claims to be investigated
2006/01/03 · The Guardian
The Home Office today announced that it is to investigate claims of a sex for visas racket at its main immigration centre in Croydon, south London. According to The Sun, a former employee at the centre alleged that corrupt officials gave women leave to remain in return for sex. He claimed more attractive female applicants were given preferential treatment.

Asylum Figures Down In 2005
2006/01/03 · Radio Sweden
The number of people seeking asylum in Sweden has dropped for a third year in a row. The migration board recorded just over 17 and a half thousand asylum seeking applicants in 2005 , down 25 percent on 2004.

Migration Officials’ Questionable Behavior
2005/12/22 · Radio Sweden
More press reports have surfaced of questionable behavior among employees at the Swedish Migration Board. STV broadcast a recording of a case officer insulting a blind asylum seeker when he said he was ready to commit suicide. “Dagens Nyheter” reports that an employee was suspended after inviting colleagues to share a cake because a single mother and her three children were being deported. Earlier this week the newspaper revealed that a board employee invited colleagues to champagne to celebrate the expulsion of a family with a severely ill child.

Netherlands considers burqa ban
2005/12/21 · BBC News
The Dutch immigration minister says she will look into the legality of banning the burqa, the robes worn by some Muslim women to cover their bodies. If the Netherlands does decide to ban the burqa, it will be the first European country to do so.

Dutch scriptwriter's next film about gays and Islam
2005/11/17 · CBC
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch politician who wrote the script for Submission, will take on a new hot topic. Submission, a film about Muslim women suffering abuse, was vilified by Muslim leaders. A fanatic murdered the director, Theo Van Gogh, and Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born refugee who renounced Islam, went into hiding. She now says her next script will be about gays and Islam: "In the movie, they are called God's creatures." The new project will carry no credits and the actors will not be recognizable.

The integration of migrants in Greece
2005/11/14 · Kathimerini
The dramatic developments in France have caused widespread concern. How close is the connection between what sparked rage in French cities and what goes on in migrant communities in Greece? Are we at risk of an upheaval? The statistics and news reports do not present such a worrisome picture. Of course, migrants have considerable difficulties and racism has not disappeared. Their situation is not idyllic, but it is similar to that of the poorest Greeks.

Defining a Common Culture - Does Germany Need To?
2005/11/07 · Deutsche Welle
The divisive debate over a German "Leitkultur" has erupted again. The new president of the Bundestag has said it is time to look again at what makes Germany German. There should be a visible common thread that holds society together, and at least a minimal level of "orientation" on the part of everyone, regardless of cultural background. The Greens' Claudia Roth, however, said that he should see Germany's cultural diversity as a defining value in itself. "The concept of a defining German culture is nothing more than an attack on minorities in our country."

Terror Trial Puts Immigration Office Shortcomings in Spotlight
2005/11/01 · Deutsche Welle
A judge who presided over a recent terrorism case slammed Germany's immigration authority, faulting it for not having sufficiently investigated the suspects. Offices blamed each other, highlighting the often conflicting areas of responsibility of immigration agencies. Professor Knösel says immigration officers are working under extreme pressure, including understaffing, outdated technical systems, inadequate training and a huge bureaucracy that allows some people to slip under the radar.