Monday, November 7, 2011

Riots Rock Antwerp, Asylum Seekers Pile Up

This problem really is getting out of control. Only recently there have been many stories about the centers to house those seeking asylum in Belgium are over-filled to bursting with over 2,600 more people coming in just in the month of October. And the government is trying to deal with this problem while the national debt is growing larger and the EU-economic crisis becomes more extreme every day. And, at the same time, while more and more people flood Belgian shores, there is rioting in Antwerp between rival immigrant groups; Kurds and Turks, that the authorities have to deal with. The big riot on Saturday in Antwerp was the third such disturbance in only one week. Bus shelters were torn apart, store windows were smashed, cars were vandalized, at least one person was stabbed and many have been taken to hospital. Each side blames the other for responsibility for the violence. Surely anyone can see that this problem is not going to disappear, take care of itself or become better instead of becoming worse. There are Muslim groups now taking to court the government for discrimination (the burqa ban) and rioting in the streets, yet each month thousands more arrive wanting asylum in Belgium. This cannot be a good idea, especially for a small country where, as we see painfully today, even the native population has some problems getting along with each other. Nothing will be done it seems like, at the moment nothing can be done I guess because of the political deadlock but I am afraid these riots and things will only get worse as we have more people coming in and now bringing their own  ethnic feuds with them.

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