Fresh Fields.......
......and Pastures new. Having been an immigrant myself on a number of occasions, I have a degree of sympathy for all those who wish to re-locate to another jurisdiction. However, as Britain seems to be in an uproar over those that are arriving on their shores, it occurs to me that when I have needed to do the same to other jurisdictions, there have been hoops I had to jump through.
If I wanted to work, I had to prove that I would not be taking the job away from an indigenous member of the community.
Alternatively, I had to prove that I had sufficient financial resources that I would not become a charge upon the state. Shrewdly, many demanded that I held a return ticket so that I could be shipped back whence I came at no cost to the public should it be deemed necessary.
I always found these conditions, if personally irritating, to be soundly reasoned. The United States were especially fond of the first, when one had to advertise the job you were applying for several times before being assured that you did indeed have some special skill that would benefit the nation and not throw an American out of work.
But it is the second that should surely be applied to those wishing to enter the UK. The attraction for so many (not, I would hasten to add, those that are genuinely seeking work. The standard of service in London bars and restaurants has taken a quantum leap with the arrival of the Eastern Europeans) is that social benefits are easy to obtain, courtesy of the British taxpayer.
On my last visit, I did notice that the authorities have taken a positive step to tighten up on those arriving on their shores. The Immigration Officers now have uniforms! This will clearly be a great deterrent to any undesirable entering the country.
The fall back argument over any stupidity practised by government is that it is the fault of Brussels and the EU. But the Italians, often regarded scornfully by Brits, have shown that this is not so. They have upheld the right of any nation to kick out their undesirables, regardless of EU guidelines. And in this case, they have the support of Brussels. The French have already done so following the riots in Paris and Britain should follow suit.
Talking of Brussels, you may have noticed that this is located in the little, densely populated nation of Belgium.
For the last 150 days or so, they have been without a government and things are running as smoothly as ever, probably more so.
As one Belgian remarked to me, “We seem to be getting along rather nicely without any politicians.”
Now there's a thought!
If I wanted to work, I had to prove that I would not be taking the job away from an indigenous member of the community.
Alternatively, I had to prove that I had sufficient financial resources that I would not become a charge upon the state. Shrewdly, many demanded that I held a return ticket so that I could be shipped back whence I came at no cost to the public should it be deemed necessary.
I always found these conditions, if personally irritating, to be soundly reasoned. The United States were especially fond of the first, when one had to advertise the job you were applying for several times before being assured that you did indeed have some special skill that would benefit the nation and not throw an American out of work.
But it is the second that should surely be applied to those wishing to enter the UK. The attraction for so many (not, I would hasten to add, those that are genuinely seeking work. The standard of service in London bars and restaurants has taken a quantum leap with the arrival of the Eastern Europeans) is that social benefits are easy to obtain, courtesy of the British taxpayer.
On my last visit, I did notice that the authorities have taken a positive step to tighten up on those arriving on their shores. The Immigration Officers now have uniforms! This will clearly be a great deterrent to any undesirable entering the country.
The fall back argument over any stupidity practised by government is that it is the fault of Brussels and the EU. But the Italians, often regarded scornfully by Brits, have shown that this is not so. They have upheld the right of any nation to kick out their undesirables, regardless of EU guidelines. And in this case, they have the support of Brussels. The French have already done so following the riots in Paris and Britain should follow suit.
Talking of Brussels, you may have noticed that this is located in the little, densely populated nation of Belgium.
For the last 150 days or so, they have been without a government and things are running as smoothly as ever, probably more so.
As one Belgian remarked to me, “We seem to be getting along rather nicely without any politicians.”
Now there's a thought!
posted by Diary of a Ghost Writer at 8:51 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home