About 150 kids participated in a free-for-all fight Friday night in Diest between ethnic Belgians and immigrants.
When the police showed up, the troublemakers started fighting them and so the local police called in for reinforcements from Brussels.
The reasons for the fight are unknown. No one was injured, and two people were detained, only to be released later.
Source: De Standaard (Dutch)
The Norwegian Dream
Two teenagers whose parents brought them to Norway from Pakistan and Iran were singled out by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg when he delivered the annual New Year's Day address to the nation on Sunday. The teens' outstanding academic achievement, Stoltenberg said, makes them prime examples of "The Norwegian Dream."
Stoltenberg said he was convinced that both children and adults, no matter their ethnic background, want to succeed at something, and that all deserve to do so. "Our strong fellowship gives each one of us greater possibilities to seek happiness," he said. "That what's become the Norwegian Dream, that more people have more possibilities."
A new study, however, shows that roughly a third of all Norwegians remain skeptical about immigration, even though Norwegians themselves led one of the biggest emigration waves in history, when an estimated 800,000 left Norway to seek a better life in the US. Now others are seeking a better life in Norway, but it's not easy.
Stoltenberg thinks that Norway is the United States, and speaks of the Norwegian Dream, but there is a big difference between the two countries. The Norwegian Dream is not about immigrants coming to Norway and making a future for themselves. It's about Norwegians creating their own culture and making their own future together. That is the essence of a country based on a specific culture. The United States, on the other hand, is a country of immigrants. The natives will never be given a chance again to make the real "American Dream" of living in their own culture. The Americans, being a collection of immigrants coming from various countries, created the possibility for every person to make something of themselves.
Norway can accept immigrants, and maybe in a few generations those immigrants will assimilate into and enhance the general Norwegian culture. But those immigrants should be aware that they're not living the Norwegian Dream until they feel and act Norwegian in their very essence.
Source: Aftenposten (English)
Stoltenberg said he was convinced that both children and adults, no matter their ethnic background, want to succeed at something, and that all deserve to do so. "Our strong fellowship gives each one of us greater possibilities to seek happiness," he said. "That what's become the Norwegian Dream, that more people have more possibilities."
A new study, however, shows that roughly a third of all Norwegians remain skeptical about immigration, even though Norwegians themselves led one of the biggest emigration waves in history, when an estimated 800,000 left Norway to seek a better life in the US. Now others are seeking a better life in Norway, but it's not easy.
Stoltenberg thinks that Norway is the United States, and speaks of the Norwegian Dream, but there is a big difference between the two countries. The Norwegian Dream is not about immigrants coming to Norway and making a future for themselves. It's about Norwegians creating their own culture and making their own future together. That is the essence of a country based on a specific culture. The United States, on the other hand, is a country of immigrants. The natives will never be given a chance again to make the real "American Dream" of living in their own culture. The Americans, being a collection of immigrants coming from various countries, created the possibility for every person to make something of themselves.
Norway can accept immigrants, and maybe in a few generations those immigrants will assimilate into and enhance the general Norwegian culture. But those immigrants should be aware that they're not living the Norwegian Dream until they feel and act Norwegian in their very essence.
Source: Aftenposten (English)
Labels:
Integration,
Location: Norway,
Opinion
Some more on the French Train attack
In France, politicians are accusing the gov't of trying to cover up the attack on a train New Year's day. Twenty or so kids, some at least of Moroccan origin terrorized the train passengers for an hour and a half before police dared board it.
The youth were rounded up by police in Nice and had been escorted to the train, but nobody apparently was thinking about the consequences of putting about 100 raucous youth on a train. Police are blaming the train authorities for offering reduced holiday rates which attracted the kids to Nice in the first place.
Sources: The Independent (English), International Herald Tribune (English)
The youth were rounded up by police in Nice and had been escorted to the train, but nobody apparently was thinking about the consequences of putting about 100 raucous youth on a train. Police are blaming the train authorities for offering reduced holiday rates which attracted the kids to Nice in the first place.
Sources: The Independent (English), International Herald Tribune (English)
Labels:
Crime: Riots,
Location: France
France: train terrorized
A group of about 20 youth terrorized 600 train passengers on the Nice-Lyon line for more than hour on New Year's day when the train stopped in an isolated station. The train was attacked with shouts such as "you're dead, you're going to die" causing severe panic. Several passengers were robbed and a 20 year old woman was sexually assaulted.
The attack ended only when police showed up with massive forces after frightened passengers called them on their cell phones. Only 3 of the attackers were caught, one of them a minor.
I would have expected this to be somewhere in the English speaking news, but I couldn't find it. There is no mention of who stands behind this attack and I'm not assuming it's "renegade Muslim youth".
Source: De Morgen (Dutch)
The attack ended only when police showed up with massive forces after frightened passengers called them on their cell phones. Only 3 of the attackers were caught, one of them a minor.
I would have expected this to be somewhere in the English speaking news, but I couldn't find it. There is no mention of who stands behind this attack and I'm not assuming it's "renegade Muslim youth".
Source: De Morgen (Dutch)
Labels:
Crime: Riots,
Location: France
Norway: importing camels
A Norwegian city has found a novel way to help its asylum seekers integrate. Just bring the desert over to them.. the municipality of Löten is planning to purchase twenty camels in order to keep the asylum seekers occupied.
"They want nothing else than to work and pay taxes" says Wenche Irene Stenseth who's in charge of integration on behalf of Löten.
Löten also hopes that the camels will attract tourists. Meanwhile, they have already asked for financial support for this project from the central government.
Source: De Telegraaf (Dutch)
"They want nothing else than to work and pay taxes" says Wenche Irene Stenseth who's in charge of integration on behalf of Löten.
Löten also hopes that the camels will attract tourists. Meanwhile, they have already asked for financial support for this project from the central government.
Source: De Telegraaf (Dutch)
Labels:
Business and Employment,
Location: Norway
Danish journalists to be educated on Islam
Following the uproar over Danish cartoons (summary by Fjordman) a Muslim group is planning a conference that educate the Danes on Islam. The conference is set to take place in Denmark this upcoming March.
A few interesting quotes from the article:
Fadel Soliman, head of the Bridges Foundation which is organizing the conference says
"The cartoons are becoming worse, as if someone is trying to provoke the Muslim community and youth to do something crazy."
That is, in case somebody does something crazy, then it is simply the fault of those who did the provoking. Of course people shouldn't come out to provoke each other, but what was the reason Jyllands-Posten came out with this cartoon competition? Wasn't it because nobody dared illustrate a book on Muhammad for fear of being killed? Would Mr Soliman discuss this issue in this conference?
Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist and convert to Islam adds:
"As a professional journalist, I owe it as a duty to myself and to my profession to inform myself to write with some authority. I am sick of reading, for example, in the western media that suicide bombers shave their body hair before they go out to carry out their attacks."
I have never read that, but of all things - is that really what should bother her? It seems like such a trivial detail as compared to the fact that she doesn't even need to add "Muslim" before the words "suicide bomber" since it's so obvious.
Source: Islam Online (English)
A few interesting quotes from the article:
Fadel Soliman, head of the Bridges Foundation which is organizing the conference says
"The cartoons are becoming worse, as if someone is trying to provoke the Muslim community and youth to do something crazy."
That is, in case somebody does something crazy, then it is simply the fault of those who did the provoking. Of course people shouldn't come out to provoke each other, but what was the reason Jyllands-Posten came out with this cartoon competition? Wasn't it because nobody dared illustrate a book on Muhammad for fear of being killed? Would Mr Soliman discuss this issue in this conference?
Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist and convert to Islam adds:
"As a professional journalist, I owe it as a duty to myself and to my profession to inform myself to write with some authority. I am sick of reading, for example, in the western media that suicide bombers shave their body hair before they go out to carry out their attacks."
I have never read that, but of all things - is that really what should bother her? It seems like such a trivial detail as compared to the fact that she doesn't even need to add "Muslim" before the words "suicide bomber" since it's so obvious.
Source: Islam Online (English)
Dutch court forces family reunification
A recent court decision in Haarlem finds that the Dutch “family reunification” laws are too strict compared to the EU directive.
The case involved a Turkish man who divorced his wife in 1994 and came to live in Holland. The mother died in Turkey in 2001 and the father wanted to bring his son to the Netherlands on the grounds of family reunification, saying there was nobody else to care for the kid.
Dutch immigration refused to give the kid, who was by now 18 years old, a temporary stay permit, saying that the family link between father and son had in fact been broken due to the long lasting separation between the two.
The EU directive talks about “active family life” which according to the Dutch court means involvement between parent and child. The EU directive wants to prevent a case where children of immigrants use the right of family reunification despite having no formal relation with their parents.
According to the court, the Dutch interpretation, saying that children of immigrants who have lived apart from their parents for more than five years, lose their right to reunification, is too strict.
Source: NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)
The case involved a Turkish man who divorced his wife in 1994 and came to live in Holland. The mother died in Turkey in 2001 and the father wanted to bring his son to the Netherlands on the grounds of family reunification, saying there was nobody else to care for the kid.
Dutch immigration refused to give the kid, who was by now 18 years old, a temporary stay permit, saying that the family link between father and son had in fact been broken due to the long lasting separation between the two.
The EU directive talks about “active family life” which according to the Dutch court means involvement between parent and child. The EU directive wants to prevent a case where children of immigrants use the right of family reunification despite having no formal relation with their parents.
According to the court, the Dutch interpretation, saying that children of immigrants who have lived apart from their parents for more than five years, lose their right to reunification, is too strict.
Source: NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)
Miss Morocco
Astitou, a company organizing events, will be putting up the first Dutch Miss Morocco competition. The event, set to be on June 9th, 2006 is expected to show the independence of the Dutch Moroccan women. The beauty contest is not meant to be a “meat market” according to organizers and therefore will not have a swimming suit round. Instead the event will celebrate Moroccan women in Dutch culture with a Moroccan singer singing a translated Dutch song and a Dutch dance troupe presenting Moroccan dances.
Source: AD.nl (Dutch)
Source: AD.nl (Dutch)
Labels:
Community,
Location: Netherlands
New Year’s violence
Police in Amsterdam are looking for a group of Moroccan kids (ages 16-20) that apparently smashed up about 50 car windows on New Year’s eve. The same neighborhood suffered so severely recently from violence that several residents were forced to move. However, police say that there’s no evidence that these are the same kids.
Source: AD.nl (Dutch), Expatica (English)
Source: AD.nl (Dutch), Expatica (English)
Labels:
Crime: Riots,
Location: Netherlands
A look at illegal aliens
The fire at the Schiphol Airport detention center last October highlights a problem by illegal aliens. They keep on coming back.
There’s an estimated 380,000 illegals moving about Europe, 100,000 of them in the Netherlands. Of the 11 illegals that died in the fire, 3 had been denied entrance as asylum seekers. The others had been kicked out before.
Robert Arah (34) from Suriname used four false names, making it almost impossible to deport him. Surinam would not supply travel documents for an illegal with no passport and a false name. Sure enough, his girlfriend had already bought him a ticket to enable him to come back to Holland after his planned deportation. (isn't there some sort of blacklist for people who were deported??)
Mehmet Ava (41), a Kurd, left Turkey in 1992 and since then has lived life as an illegal. He asked for asylum in Belgium and France and twice in Holland. He lived by acquaintances and earned money doing odd jobs. He managed to escape detection until the law passed last year, obligating a person to show identity papers upon request.
Kemal Sahin (51), a Kurd as well, had been denied asylum already once from the Netherlands. He traveled to Hungary but came back. Again his request for asylum was denied and he was to be sent back to Hungary, which according to EU laws is the country which needs to take care of his case. (and again I don't understand - he first came to Holland, why was he being deported back to Hungary?)
Source: NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)
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