I have had a lot of time to consider and reflect while at la Bourboule, spending hour upon hour sitting on a bench or chair, assisting the world by watching it go by. There isn't all that much to do when it rains and/or you have a cold in la Bourboule.
I rather enjoy doing this, it is my version of going on a meditation retreat. Because nothing happens, life is timeless, and it doesn't matter whether one is here for a week or a month, every day is the same. In la Bourboule I can understand people who don't really mind the cessation of an individual's life - if every day is the same, it matters little how many days there are in one's life.
The only thing that continues to disrupt this happy state of tranquility - aside from sinus issues and such like - is the news. I read the International New York Times, look at the BBC website, and the Der Spiegel website, and in addition to the reports also read the comments, which are usually a much better reflection on what the people really think. Currently it is the issue of tens of thousands of migrants heading for Europe that dominates the front pages, of course.
My contribution to the subject is inspired by Stefan Zweig's Book, Die Ungeduld des Herzens. The English title is Beware of Pity, but that is not an exact translation - The Impatience of the Heart is better. The book can be summarized in the quote below:
“There are two kinds of pity. One, the weak and sentimental kind, which is really no more than the heart's impatience to be rid as quickly as possible of the painful emotion aroused by the sight of another's unhappiness, that pity which is not compassion, but only an instinctive desire to fortify one's own soul against the sufferings of another; and the other, the only one at counts, the unsentimental but creative kind, which knows what it is about and is determined to hold out, in patience and forbearance, to the very limit of its strength and even beyond.” ― Stefan Zweig, Beware of Pity
The book describes the lives of two men who display these different types of pity, and shows the disastrous and beneficial outcomes of the two approaches, respectively. The sentimental type, while initially comforting and lovable, ends up by running out of steam and making things worse. The unsentimental type, while at first appearing to be hard-nosed and unsympathetic, holds the course and yields positive long-term results.
Applied to the situation at hand, I would say this. Stop the emoting that dominates the news and prevents rational discussion of the arguments, and get down to brass tacks.
Firstly, determine what every migrant to the country needs, and figure out how to provide it - before letting anyone in, and definitely before inviting even more to come. In the interim, provide help in those areas where the migrants are currently located.
Secondly, make sure that people currently living on the breadline in your own country will not be made worse off by the migrants - otherwise they will turn against them, and integration will become extremely difficult. Housing and jobs are good examples here.
Thirdly, be honest about the costs and long-term issues involved and how they will be paid for and addressed. Emotionally manipulating people into accepting migrants, rather than convincing them to do so with rational arguments and active help, will only result in hatred of strangers and racism once the emotion has worn off and reality begins to bite.
Fourthly, know your limits - there is only so much any country can do, and creating chaos and resentment in the host countries by trying to absorb too many foreigners too quickly isn't going to help the migrants, either - that's exactly what they are now running away from!
Lastly, have an open debate and don't name-call everyone who disagrees; there are legitimate arguments on either side.
Until we replace the sentimentality inspired by heart-wrenching images and reports with a pragmatic efficient approach to those issues we will not be able to successfully address them.
The migration problems we currently face will be dwarfed by those that climate change will create - so arguably we are just doing a dry run right now. Let's learn and prepare!
