THE VOICE OF RUSSIA RADIO - (ANALYSIS) 'POLICY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN EUROPE HAS FAILED'

The UK is experiencing a deficit of Caucasian people in the regions where the majority of the population is made up of immigrants and ethnic minorities. In the last 10 years more than 620 thousand white Brits left the capital of the UK, where Caucasians are now a minority making up only 45% of London’s population. The policy of multiculturalism in Europe is experiencing a crisis, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel admitted, as did UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron. At a meeting with young activists of the Christian Democratic Union in October 2010, Merkel declared that attempts to create a multicultural society in Germany have failed completely. According to The Daily Mail the UK is experiencing the same problem as is evident from the recent Demos studies. Trevor Phillips, former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, claims that regions with a high concentration of ethnic minorities prevent newcomers from integrating and adapting to life in the UK. The situation is no better in France, where a case was recently opened dealing with racism targeting Caucasians. Two young people asked a passer-by for a cigarette and, faced with a refusal, started to verbally assault him in French and Arabic and then beat him up. As a result, the victim was severely wounded. Modern Europe has experienced a fair share of ethnic conflicts, like the Paris unrest in 2005 and the London riots that took place in Tottenham in August 2011. Ethnic tensions in Europe are growing worse with each passing year, political analyst Sergei Mikheyev says. “The policy of multiculturalism in Europe has failed. Immigrants are not integrating into the Western society; on the contrary, they do everything to lead a segregated lifestyle and establish closed communities with their own rules. They use the material luxuries that the Western countries provide, but they want to live according to their own laws and beliefs.” The common belief is that there are two ways to solve this problem: either to accept that the policy of multiculturalism has failed, or try to establish a much stricter European identity. Whether Europe is ready for either option is a big question. It would be very difficult for the EU to overcome this conflict in a smooth way, expert at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Vladislav Belov believes. “Europe needs to limit immigration. There will be resistance, but the government has enough resources for stricter control in situations when resistance surpasses the boundaries of what is deemed civil in the European society.” It seems that today a reverse integration is taking place: it is not the immigrants who adapt to the local way of life, but the natives who try to modify their lifestyles in accordance with the immigrants’ demands. Experts predict that if this trend continues, in 30-50 years Europe as we know it will cease to exist. Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_05_07/Policy-of-multiculturalism-in-Europe-has-failed-expert/