From: Michael Hamilton (thethemichael@gmail.com)
Date: Fri Nov 04 2005 - 17:45:42 GMT
Platt,
I submit that "Islamic values" are not the problem. Many Muslims live
peacefully in Western societies. I wouldn't dream of speculating where
you got your interpretation of the Paris riots from, but the following
article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4399748.stm
contains some disturbing facts about the realities of life for many
young French Muslims.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Days of rioting in the bleaker suburbs of Paris have highlighted
discontent among many French youths of North African origin.
As part of a series on French Muslims, the BBC News website's Henri
Astier looks at the issue of discrimination, a leading source of
frustration in France's unemployment-riddled ghettos.
Sadek recently quit his job delivering groceries near Saint-Denis,
just north of Paris. He was tired of climbing stairs with heavy bags.
Housing estate in France
Unemployment is high in estates which are home to many Muslims
Sadek, 31, has a secondary school education and aspires to something
better. But he knows his options are limited: "With a name like mine,
I can't have a sales job."
Telemarketing could be a possibility - his Arab roots safely hidden
from view. Of course, he would have to work under an assumed name.
Sadek's story sums up the job prospects of the children and
grandchildren of Muslim immigrants.
They may be French on paper - but they know that Ali and Rachid are
much less likely to get ahead than Alain or Richard.
Racial discrimination is banned in France. But a quick look at the
people working in any shop or office suggests the practice is
widespread.
The impression is confirmed by official statistics.
Unemployment among people of French origin is 9.2%. Among those of
foreign origin, the figure is 14% - even after adjusting for
educational qualifications.
Closed doors
The pressure group SOS Racisme regularly highlights cases of employers
discarding applicants with foreign names.
It says such discrimination is particularly rife in the retail and
hospitality industries - but also for jobs involving no contact with
the public.
"Some companies believe that to be responsible for marketing you must
have roots in mainland France over several generations to understand
the French consumer attitudes," according to a recent SOS Racisme
report.
You feel you will never make it because you are Arab
Journalist Nadir Dendoune
French Muslims speak out
"Doors are closed when you are an Arab," says Yazid Sabeg, a
businessman and writer.
For many young people, the first time they notice the closed door is
when they try to go clubbing.
"The first time the guy at the entrance says: 'You're not coming in',
you accept it," says Nadir Dendoune, a journalist from Saint-Denis.
"But after two or three times, you go home carrying a bag of hatred on
your shoulders."
And when you can't find a job, Mr Dendoune adds, despondency turns to paranoia.
"Every rejection - even those that may not be racially motivated -
undermines your self-confidence. You feel you will never make it
because you are Arab."
Failed approach
France has countless bodies dedicated to helping immigrants - a High
Council for Integration, a Directorate for Populations and Migrations,
several regional commissions for the insertion of immigrants, and so
on.
Samia Amara
Samia Amara questions the need to "integrate" French Muslims
Despite this, France's integration policy has failed, the Court of
Accounts, a government watchdog, concluded last year.
The situation could lead to "serious social and racial tensions", the
court warned prophetically.
According to some, the concept of "integration" itself is flawed.
"People always talk of the need to 'integrate' Muslims. But the youths
are French. Why should they need integrating?" asks Samia Amara, 23, a
youth worker near Paris.
Mr Sabeg agrees that "integration" is just hot air. "What does it
mean? Are some French people supposed to integrate and others to be
integrated?"
Some politicians argue that France should admit this failure and try
something new.
UNEMPLOYMENT WOES
9.2% unemployment rate for people of French origin
14% unemployment for people of foreign origin (adjusted for education)
5% overall unemployment for university graduates
26.5% unemployment for "North African" university graduates
Source: Insee
Manuel Valls, an MP and mayor of Evry, a town south of Paris where
half the population have foreign roots, says France "cannot lecture
Britain or the US" on immigration issues.
His country, he points out, has no black or Arab TV presenters, and
all MPs from mainland France are white.
Mr Valls is a firm believer in "positive discrimination" - a very
un-French concept that is beginning to gain acceptance.
The broad idea is extra help based on geographical and social - but
not racial - criteria. Mr Valls points to an example of such action in
his own constituency.
The Lycee Robert Doisneau is a secondary school surrounded by some of
the country's worst housing estates, with unemployment in excess of
30%.
Students at Lycee Robert Doisneau
The Lycee Robert Doisneau offers students a shot at success
About 70% of pupils have foreign parents or grandparents.
Despite such a challenging intake, the school offers a way out of the ghetto.
"The students come here to study and to succeed," says head teacher
Genevieve Piniau.
She has pioneered partnerships with elite schools, whose high-fliers
groom local pupils to develop their aspirations.
The school also takes part in a scheme run by Paris' Political
Sciences Institute, providing special access for students from
deprived areas.
The result is 89% success in school leaving exams - well above the
national average - and a record of success at university level for
former students.
Distant dream
Of course, youths from poor suburbs need more than an education - they
need jobs.
Efforts are being made to encourage employers to take them on. Unlike
the failed legislative approach, the emphasis is now on voluntary
pledges by employers.
Mr Sabeg is among the sponsors of a new "diversity charter"
encouraging companies to "reflect the diversity of French society" by
hiring qualified non-whites.
It remains to be seen how this will be implemented.
Mr Sabeg is looking across the Channel for inspiration, noting that
the head of Vodafone, one of Europe's largest companies, is an Indian,
Arun Sarin.
"When this happens here, we will know France has changed," he says.
Meanwhile in Saint-Denis, Sadek would settle for a temp job at the
post office - but that remains a distant dream.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
Mike
On 11/4/05, Platt Holden <pholden@sc.rr.com> wrote:
> To All:
>
> Riots have been going on now for eight days in Muslim enclaves surrounding
> Paris. In the name of multiculturalism (uncritical acceptance of all
> cultures regardless of their values) the EU has fostered a policy
> guaranteeing that Muslim immigrants in Europe would not be compelled in
> any way to adopt the customs or values of their host countries. In fact,
> the policy deliberately encouraged the formation of Islamic enclaves
> wherein jihad ideology is spread unchallenged.
>
> This EU policy has been sanctioned wholeheartedly by Muslims. The Arab
> European League states, "We believe in a multicultural society as a social
> and political model where different cultures coexist with equal rights
> under the law. We do not want to assimilate. . . We want to foster our
> own identity and culture . . . . In order to achieve that it is imperative
> for us to teach our children the Arabic language and history and the
> Islamic faith. We will resist any attempt to strip us of our right to our
> own cultural and religious identity . . ."
>
> What is the ideology of "Muslim cultural and religious identity?" For one
> thing, it's an ideology that condones stoning for adultery. For another,
> it is an ideology that condemns to death anyone who blasphemes Islam -
> the justification used by the murderer of Theo Van Gogh in Holland. For
> another, it is an ideology that calls for homosexuals to be thrown head
> first off tall buildings.
>
> Those, I submit, are NOT the values of Western society.
>
> Thus the current riots reaffirm the conservative position that
> multiculturalism -- the belief that groups can coexist within a nation
> without sharing basic values -- is a dangerous hoax that inevitably leads
> to social unrest as is currently happening in Paris and threatens to
> engulf all of Europe. .
>
> In other words, what is happening in Paris is a clash of social level
> patterns, resulting in an outbreak of biological patterns that society is
> supposed to control.
>
> "And this is a war in which intellect, to end the paralysis of society,
> has to know whose side it is on, and support that side, never undercut it.
> Where biological values are undermining social values, intellectuals must
> identify social behavior, no matter what its ethnic connection, and
> support it all the way without restraint. Intellectuals must find
> biological behavior, no matter what its ethnic connection, and limit or
> destroy destructive biological patterns with complete moral ruthlessness,
> the way a doctor destroys germs, before the biological patterns destroy
> civilization itself." (Lila, 24)
>
> It remains to be see whether French intellectuals understand Pirsig's
> warning.
>
> Platt
>
>
>
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