Weekend Roundup: Refugees Redefine Europe

America was once regarded as a welcoming immigrant nation where races and religions mingle freely, a geo-cultural therapy for history's wounded masses who could leave their woes behind once they arrived on its shores. It is thus a jarring twist to witness the nativist rants of Donald Trump boosting his political fortunes at the same moment when Germany, where the ideology of racial purity reached its apogee, extends a tolerant embrace to refugees and redefines its identity as a multicultural state. The scope of this shift will surely generate its own backlash in the times to come. Writing from Berlin, Alex Gorlach sees "a reversal of history" as Germany becomes "nation of immigrants" and suggests America should "dedicate a new Statue of Liberty to the [European] continent." From Stockholm, Göran Rosenberg explains why Sweden takes in more asylum seekers per capita than any other European country. Embedded in his piece is the orientation video for asylum applicants provided by the Swedish Migration Agency. Writing from Budapest, Miklós Haraszti sees political cynicism driving the anti-immigrant policies of Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The family members of Syrian refugees famously tripped and abused by a Hungarian journalist tell their story to HuffPost Arabi. HuffPost Greece gives us a glimpse of a day in the life of Afghan refugees in Athens' Victoria Square. Danae Leivada writes about the potential worrisome advance of the anti-EU, anti-immigran...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news