FAILURE OF THE MIGRATION POLICY AND OF MULTICULTURALISM IN THE EU? THE ‘CALAIS JUNGLE’AND THE SETUP OF PARALLEL SOCIETIES

• Published in: Research and science today no. 1; pp. 81 - 93
• Main Author: Mészaros , Edina Lilla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Research and Science Today 2016
• Subjects: Politics / Political Sciences; GATED COMMUNITY; CHRISTIAN EUROPE; EUROPEAN IDENTITY; SPACE CONSTRUCTION; SELF AND OTHER
• ISSN: 2247-4455; 2285-9632

DURING THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS VARIOUS LEADERS FROM CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPEHAVE RAISED THEIR VOICE AGAINST MULTICULTURALISM AND THE INTEGRATION OFIMMIGRANTS, SUSTAINING THAT ON THE LONG RUN IT’LL LEAD TO THE FORMATION OFPARALLEL SOCIETIES. ACCORDING TO THESE STATESMEN, ONCE IN THESE IMMIGRANTS WOULDKEEP THEIR COMMUNITIES BASED ON THE VALUES BROUGHT WITH THEM AND THEN SOONER ORLATER, EVEN IF THESE VALUES ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE EUROPEAN ONES, THE EUROPEANSWOULD HAVE TO ACCEPT THEM FOR THE SAKE OF COHABITATION. THIS WOULD LEAD TO THEEROSION OF THE COMMON EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN LEGACY.LINKING MULTICULTURALISM WITH THE SET UP OF PARALLEL SOCIETIES IS NOT A NOVELTY INTHE EU’S POLITICAL SPACE, AS A FEW YEARS AGO THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVIDCAMERON OPENLY ADMITTED IN ONE HIS SPEECHES HELD IN 2011 IN MUNICH, GERMANY THATTHE “STATE OF MULTICULTURALISM” HAS FAILED IN THE UK, REFERRING TO THE INCAPABILITYAND UNWILLINGNESS OF MOSTLY MUSLIM COMMUNITIES TO INTEGRATE, ACCUSING HISCOUNTRY OF ENCOURAGING DIFFERENT CULTURES TO LIVE SEPARATE LIVES. HE OBJECTED TOALL KINDS OF EXTREMISM AND RADICALIZATION, URGING FOR A STRONGER NATIONAL IDENTITYIN THE UK. ONE OF THE MOST VIVID EXAMPLES OF THE FAILURE OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THEMIGRATION CRISIS IN EUROPE AND ALSO THE MATERIALIZATION OF PARALLEL SOCIETIES ANDTHE SELF AND OTHER DELINEATION SET UP BY IRREGULAR AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS, IS THE SOCALLED CALAIS JUNGLE. THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO ANALYSE THE EU’S MIGRATION POLICY IN THEPRISM OF THE IMPROVISED REFUGEE CAMP AT CALAIS, NICKNAMED BY THE MEDIA AS“JUNGLE”, DEPARTING FROM THE HYPOTHESIS THAT IF THE CURRENT MIGRATION CRISIS WON’TBE HANDLED PROPERLY, THE CONTINUOUS INFLUX OF IMMIGRANTS WILL CONDUCT TO THECREATION OF OTHER CALAIS ‘JUNGLES’ IN VARIOUS STATES OF THE EU, THUS LEADING TO THESET UP OF PARALLEL SOCIETIES.