Alwaght- In the past, the migration was recognized as an instrument for automatic regulation of human resources, however, in the recent decades it showed also its negative aspects, and the socioeconomic impacts of this process have become of significance in terms of economic and human development. With sharp increase of immigration from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the massive influx of refugees fleeing the war in Syria and seeking shelter in Europe, in addition to negative and positive economic and demographic consequences, it seems that immigration is leaving deep cultural repercussions in Europe, repercussions that are very likely to continue affecting the Continent even after the end of war.
Despite the fact that the Eastern Bloc has disappeared and the Eastern Europe countries have made economic progresses, due to profiting from a united Europe, they are still, compared to Western Europe, choosing different approaches with non-security reasons for dealing with the refugees. The non-existence of capacities for providing the refugees with job opportunities beside concerns of the Eastern Europe governments over rise of multi-national communities in their countries could be the major reasons that they, just unlike such Western Europe nation-states as Germany and Austria which welcome a diversified and multi-national society, perhaps refrain from accepting the refugees. While the Western Europe countries uphold the idea of accepting the war refugees and deporting the illegal economic immigrants, such a policy have been unsuccessful in stopping the wave of refugees and immigrants from flowing into Europe for a couple of reasons.
First, the number of countries which have been dealing with a state of destability due to war or fall of their governments is continuously on the rise. Second, many of those who are identified to be economic immigrants after reaching Europe decline to leave the EU. For example, only 30 percent of the economic immigrants who failed to get Germany’s acceptation are ready to voluntarily return to their home states. Third, beside a right for residence the immigrants are granted visas for their family members, thereby, it seems that the EU has turned into an attractive destination for the low-income families in the developing countries.
The presence of refugees, in addition to security, economic and social consequences and affecting the EU’s foreign policy, would have uncontrollable impacts on the culture of Europe. The UN’s reports indicate that until 2050, about 30 percent of the European population would be Muslims. Despite the fact that acceptation of immigrants looks necessary because Europe needs to accept fresh and young population due to its ageing population and its crisis-hit economy, even those who advise Europe to continue its refugees acceptation policy think that the refugees and immigrants should show commitment to the European values. This is to a large degree impractical because in the viewpoint of the immigrants many of the novel values are a fruit of modern and post-modern discourses and thus are on a collision course with the established and traditional values in the Muslim societies.
It is for this reason that the community of Muslim refugees and immigrants as a largest migratory community are slow to mix into the hosting societies. Social deprivation, unemployment as well as the rise of right-wing parties are the factors that push these refugees to the sidelines in the hosting societies, paving the way for these socially vulnerable people to join the racist and terror groups. These groups of refugees, to compensate for their weakened national and Islamic identity, join the radical movements in a bid to rebuild their identity. An example is the large numbers of the second generation of Algerians who are living in France and have joined the terror group ISIS.
Furthermore, despite the increase of demands for gender equality and the shift of vision on racial and ethnic minorities and major transformations of Europe’s values and believes, many of African and West Asian immigrants who hold very conservative, ideological and racial values are rarely affected by the citizenship trainings of the civil societies and thus fail to integrate into the hosting communities. It must be seen how these socially isolated micro-cultures would resist the effects of Europe’s anti-terror strategy which is based on the four principles of blocking entrance of refugees and migrants, protection, prosecution and rapid reaction against the terror actions.
Meanwhile, the EU is trying to emphasize preventing the Muslims from entering its states so that it could stop, not only at the present time but also in the future, emergence of radicalism and anti-Semitic movements in the EU’s countries. In post-colonial era and especially after the Holocaust, Europe has faced a new challenge of cultural confrontation. Using a conservative attitude, Europe has highlighted its cultural superiority through global values, individual rights, and international conventions. Moreover, it has always struggled to take advantage of its soft power together with other instruments of power. Now the question rises that how the liberal and secular values in the EU would survive the influences of the Muslims’ massive immigration? It seems that Europe would not succeed considerably in this confrontation due to its geographical position and the easy sea and land access of Asia and Africa to it.
