Imperialismo, colonialismo, immigration, e fusion cultural

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Le episodios de tumultos urban per milles del filios e granfilios de immigrantes postcolonial a in Francia finalmente ha obligate que le franceses confronta le fructos de lor imperio disintegrate. E le problemas del franceses anque presage crises simile e per le altere paises europee con un historia de colonisation. Illos es incapsulate in le slogan "Nos es in vostre territorio proque vos esseva in le nostre."

Multe europeos e americanos parla de immigrantes como si illes simplemente veniva al territorios national de lor paises de un maniera aleatori. Ma iste fluxo de immigrantes inter le nationes es un processo con radices profunde in le historia. Migrantes generalmente usa patronos de viage jam establite a nove paises. Illes selige paises cuje lingua illes cognosce e ubi illes pote trovar retes social jam establite. Pro multe familias de origine african in le Europa occidental, tal connexiones originava in le colonialismo.

Comenciante in le seculo XVI, diverse nationes europee prosequeva politicas international expansioniste e subjugeva grande territorios e lor populationes a exploitation intense e sovente cruel. Illos divideva inter se "spheras de influentia" e usava lor fortia militar pro facer los respectar.

Le revolution industrial in Europa produceva nove technologias de armas plus potente e de transportation marin e terrestre (naves de vapor e ferrovias) que facilitava iste processo. Verso 1850 intensificava le competition pro territorios african inter le paises de Europa.

Le franceses, le espanioles, le hollandeses, le germanos, le belges, le italianos, e mesmo le daneses essayava dominar territorios in Africa in occasiones differente. Immediatemente ante le Prime Guerra Mundial, quasi omne le continente african esseva controlate per le europeos, e le franceses dominava territorios african tres vices plus grande que illos controlate per le angleses .

Le europeos (como multe americanos contemporanee) justificava lor actiones colonial con le rhetorica vacue de lor systemas de mythologia national. Le franceses esseva specialmente disgustose in lor flatulentia sur civilisation, libertate, fraternitate e equalitate. E le americanos ha adoptate multe partes de iste flatulentia patriotic, addente a illo lor proprie conceptos hypocritic de democratia, con resultatos etiam plus grotesc.

Le franceses proclamava que lor colonias esseva politica- e culturalmente unite con le Francia metropolitan. Illes insisteva que le gente in lor colonias esseva intimemente ligate a illes per un lingua e cultura commun, le quales, theoricamente, les univa in un civilisation international francophone.

Ante le Secunde Guerra Mundial tamen quasi nulle franceses imaginava que eventualmente milliones de personas in lor colonias venirea a Francia a viver in cerca de travalio. Il habeva rebelliones occasional in lor colonias, naturalmente, le quales causava preoccupationes inter functionarios del systema colonial francese. Ma pro le major parte del franceses metropolitan, le imperialismo esseva alique e beneficial e distante.

Le Secunde Guerra Mundial destrueva le era colonial del paises europee occidental e lo reimplaciava con un systema imperialiste bipolar con competition mutue inter le americanos e le russos, le americanos promovente le "libertate e le democratia" e le russos promovente le "fraternitate socialiste".

Con le demandas del expansion economic in le Europa occidental post iste guerra, le franceses habeva besonio de travaliatores. In despecto del pretensiones de unitate cultural inter le franceses e le populos que illes habeva colonisate, le politicos francese sperava que illes poterea importar lor travalitores immigrante de paises con culturas plus compatibile con le lore, nam illes vermente voleva christianos blanc e non gente de color qui appoyava altere religiones. Le prosperitate crescente de Espania, Portugal, e Italia tamen grandemente reduceva iste possibilitate, e le franceses debeva incoragiar un plus grande taxa de immigration ex lor colonias african.

Ma le decada que comenciava con 1970 videva un grande reduction in iste prosperitate economic francese. Le franceses essayava stoppar le fluxo de immigrantes, ma il esseva troppo tarde. Le numero de immigrantes multiplicava. Illes formava familias, e lor filios e granfilios se videva obligate a viver in bidonvilles circumferente le plus grande citates de Francia. Illes esseva neglegite socialmente, con nulle opportunitates pro empleo satisfacente.

Le europeos, como le americanos, crede que iste patronos de migration, como le fluxo de aqua in un manico, pote esser regulate con un valvula. In lor ignorantia illes crede que illes pote beneficiar se con lor travaliatores sin esser obligate a integrar los completemente a in lor societate.

Il pare que le franceses, como le americanos, es ignorante del consequentias final de lor imperialismo. Ante pauc annos le parlamento francese legislava que lor scholas nunc debe dar un emphase special al "character positive del presentia francese in lor ancian colonias, particularmente in Nord Africa."

Un tal curriculo essera un pauco difficile a inaugurar con le historia de tortura e altere atrocitates in le guerra de independenia in Algeria. Vermente, illo esserea simile a justificar in le scholas public american le beneficios cultural del sclavitude pro le ancestres de nostre population afroamerican. E in despecto del seculos de colonialismo "benevolente", un inquesta in 1998 revelava que quatro ex cata dece respondentes francese confessava que illes esseva "raciste" o "assatis raciste", quasi duple le numero de personas respondente a simile inquestas in Britannia, Italia, o Germania.

Le difficultates del franceses, tristemente, nunc es un problema mundial. In un era de globalisation rapide, nationes occidental que mantene spheras de influentia in altere partes del mundo non pote sperar que illes potera derivar beneficios del travaliatores, materias prime, o mercatos de paises distante sin incoragiar migration ex iste paises a in lor proprie territorios national.

Le difficultates de Francia suggere que le problema central del seculo vinti e un non essera como ganiar in guerras de civilisation ma como trovar manieras nove e efficace pro integrar nove immigrantes, con un minimo de violentia, a in lor cultura, que se trova in un processo de evolution rapide, como le cultura american.

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Imperialism, Colonialism, Immigration, and Cultural Fusion

The episodes of urban rioting by thousands of the sons and grandsons of postcolonial immigrants to France have finally forced the French to confront the fruits of their disintegrated empire. And the the problems of the French also foreshadow similar crises both for the other European countries with a history of colonization and for the United States. They are encapsulated in the slogan "We are in your territory because you were in ours."

Many Europeans and Americans speak of immigrants as if they simply came to the national territories of their countries in a random fashion. But the flow of immigrants among the nations of the world is a process with deep roots in history. Migrants generally use already established traveling patterns to new countries. They select countries with languages they are familiar with and where they can find already established social networks. For many Western European families with an African origin, such connections originated in colonialism.

Starting in the Sixteenth Century, various European nations pursued expansionist international policies and subjugated large territories and their populations to intense and often cruel exploitation. They divided among themselves "spheres of influence" and used their military might to force them to be respected.

The industrial revolution in Europe produced new technologies for more powerful arms and for marine and terrestrial transport (steamboats and railroads) that facilitated this process.

Around 1850 the competition for African territories intensified among the countries of Europe. The French, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Germans, the Belgians, the Italians, and even the Danes tried to dominate territories in Africa on different occasions. Immediately before the First World War, almost all the African continent was controlled by the Europeans, and the French dominated African territories that were three times larger than the ones controlled by the English.

The Europeans (like many contemporary Americans) justified their colonial actions with the vacuous rhetoric of their systems of national mythology. The French were especially disgusting in their flatulence about civilization, liberty, fraternity, and equality. And the the Americans have adopted many parts this patriotic bullshit, adding to it their own hypocritical concepts of democracy, with even more grotesque results.

The French proclaimed that their colonies were politically and culturally united with metropolitan France. They insisted that the people in their colonies were intimately connected to them by a common language and culture, which theoretically united them in an International French-speaking civilization.

Before the Second World War, however, almost none of the French imagined that eventually millions of people in their colonies would come to France to live as they looked for work. There were occasional rebellions in their colonies, naturally, which worried the officials of the French colonial system. But for most of the French in France, imperialism was something both beneficial and distant.

The Second World War destroyed the colonial era for the Western European countries and replaced it with a bipolar imperialistic system with mutual competition between the Americans and the Russians, with the Americans promoting "liberty and democracy" and the Russians promoting "socialist fraternity."

With the demands of the economic expansion in Western Europe after this war, the French had need of workers. Despite the pretensions of cultural unity between the French and the people they colonized, French politicians hoped that they would be able to import their immigrant workers from countries with cultures more compatible their own, for they really wanted white Christians and not people of color who supported other religions. The growing prosperity of Spain Portugal, and Italy, however, greatly reduced this possibility, and the French had to encourage a higher rate of immigration from their African colonies.

But the decade that started with 1970 saw a large reduction in the economic prosperity of France. The French tried to stop this flow of immigration, but it was too late. The number of immigrants multiplied. They formed families, and their children and grandhildren were obliged to live in slums surrounding the larger cities of France. They lived in conditions of social neglect, with no opportunities for satisfying employent.

The Europeans, like the Americans, believe that these patterns of migration, like the flow of water in a hose, can be regulated with a valve. In their ignorance they believe that they can benefit from their workers without being obliged to completely integrate them into their society.

It seems that the French, like the Americans, are ignorant of the final consequences of their imperialism. A few years ago the French parliament passed legislation stating that their schools should now give special emphasis to the "positive character of the French presence in their former colonies, particularly in North Africa."

Such a curriculum would be a little difficult to inaugurate with the history of torture and other atrocities in the war for independence in Algeria. Really, it would be similar to justifying in American public schools the cultural benefits of slavery for the ancestors of our African American population. And in spite of the centuries of "benevolent" colonialism, a 1998 poll revealed that four out of ten French respondents confessed that they were "racist" or "rather racist," almost double the number of people responding to similar polls in Britain, Italy, or Germany.

The difficulties of the French, unfortunately, are now a world-wide problem. In an era of rapid globalization, Western nations that maintain spheres of influence in other parts of the world cannot hope that they will be able to derive benefits from the workers, raw materials, or markets of distant countries without encouraging migration from these countries into their own national territories.

The difficulties of France suggest that the central problem of the Twenty-First Century will not be winning wars of civilization but finding new and effective ways to integrate new immigrants, with a minimum of violence, into their culture, which is now going through a period of rapid evolution, as is American culture.