Addressing the Issue of European Illegal Immigration
Introduction
The current century has inherited several problems from the 20th Century, including destruction of the environment, a breach of social order, the juxtaposition between autocratic and democratic governments and of course illegal immigration.
Immigration flux towards Europe is caused by human mistreatment of the environment, short sighted governments, abuse of Mother Nature, burning coal for electric energy, economic reasons since coal is cheaper than oil and gas. (There is also significant illegal immigration into the United States, however this paper will focus on Europe, although the proposed solutions are applicable anywhere.)
As a result of Man’s activities on the planet, we are experiencing changes in the weather pattern causing a chain reaction in the weather related phenomena.
- Temperature rising;
- Extreme rainfall or drought;
- More hurricanes;
- Destructing rainfall causing floods;
- Uncontrollable forest fires;
- Poor crops causing destruction of agriculture resulting in an increase in food inflation;
- Starvation causing migration to better areas where people can find more food and more job opportunities.
To stop illegal immigration, countries installed razor blade wires, built walls, and have armed guards. However, no measure is going to stop illegal immigration, because there are way too many people in motion searching for food, work, security and a better standard of living.
Mare Nostrum
Mare Nostrum (M.N.) is the label Romans used to call the Mediterranean Sea. Nostrum means ours, since all countries around the Mediterranean Sea were part of the Roman Empire. M.N. separates Europe from Africa, and the Middle East.
The problem today is that illegal immigrants are traveling by boat from the south of Mare Nostrum to the North, i.e. Europe. Italy is in the center of M.N. and as such attracts most of the illegal immigrants coming from Africa to Europe. The influx of illegal immigrants from the southern shores of M.N. to the northern shores arriving to Italy is becoming an unbearable situation for Italy. Illegal immigration cannot be handled by one country only, but rather by all the countries involved with this problem should carry the burden and assistance of illegal immigration.
The problem of illegal immigration is such a complex and costly issue; in addition, no European country has either the vision or the courage to deal with this problem correctly nowadays. Italy has been left alone facing illegal immigration.
Background
I took the initiative myself to try to recommend solving the problem of illegal immigration. I was born in the Middle East (Palestine), was raised in Lebanon, studied engineering in the USA where I graduated and took a master degree in Mechanical Engineering. I then worked in the USA, in Libya, in Tunisia, in Kenya, in Lebanon, in Iraq, in Greece and finally settled in Italy…and business traveled in almost a hundred countries.
I speak four languages fluently: English, Italian, Arabic and French.
After spending weeks, day and night, in trying to figure out a way to solve illegal immigration, I feel today that I can offer an attempt in solving the immigration from south M.N. to Europe.
Mare Nostrum – structure
Mare Nostrum is divided into three distinct zones:
1) The Northern (European countries);
2) The Southern (North African countries); The countries on the southern coast of M.N. are Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
3) The Eastern (M.E. countries). Countries in this area are Palestine, Lebanon, Syria.
And in the center there is Italy.
The Southern countries and the Northern countries should go for a partnership to resolve the problem of illegal immigration. Therefore we can make this partnership solve the issue of people not finding decent jobs, reduce human trafficking and avoid people dying while crossing the sea for no actual reason.
Northern shores of M.N. – Europe. How to solve illegal immigration in Europe
Europe is an envious situation in which, due to the decrease in population, the decrease in birth rate and the aging of population, we need legal immigration to keep the economy going. The present problem is that Europe needs immigration except that we are getting the wrong type of immigrants.
The question is how to get the right type of immigrants who would be an asset to Europe?
Italy should call for a meeting between Europe, North Africa and M.E. to discuss illegal immigration, which is causing tremendous amounts of hardship to the people, death, human trafficking and organized criminals. This meeting should be a Win-Win to all parties involved.
The fact is that the Northern countries and the southern countries in M.N. need each other: the northern countries need labor, whereas the southern countries have abundance of young people who are willing to work, have a better standard of living and aim for a better future.
We need to find a way to reconcile the need for legal immigrants of the northern countries that require the supply for the right immigration from the south.
The solution must be a Win-Win solution:
- To supply good workers to the North;
- To allow immigrants to entry the Northern countries.
EUROPE
The meeting of the European countries should pursue the rate of an agreement among themselves. It should be a meeting of all the European countries in order to discuss and agree upon a unified, win-win, European immigration policy.
Each country should estimate how many legal immigrants it is going to require for the next five years. In addition, it should provide detailed information on what type of professional role it requires:
- Agriculture workers;
- Factory workers;
- Various trade workers;
- Construction workers;
- Road and maintenance construction workers;
- Specialized groups to fill up requirements for society, such as cleaners, carpenters, electricians, internal home repairs);
- Specialized job profiles;
- Health care (nursing home personnel, caregivers, infant care, pre-school care)
Budget
The budget each country has to contribute to in this win-win project is much less than what is currently costing us to deal with illegal immigration.
The budget will include setting up training programs throughout the southern shores of M.N. in order to form young people with specific skills required by European countries. All trade schools will require the students a minimum of education in their countries equivalent to the fifth-eighth grade (i.e. they should be able to read and write). All these trade schools will also include a European language (mainly English, French, German or Italian). The European countries will supply the textbooks, assist school furniture. Retired teachers should spend one or two years abroad or even young people who want to travel abroad for a period of time.
An agreement would be made with the southern shores of M.N. to assist with the teachers and allow all goods coming for the schools duty-free and free from local taxes for European personnel.
All European personnel should be payed a minimum salary besides their pension. They should benefit from a health care insurance, with a contract of two years.
All students employed by these professional schools will be free from any charge in their own country. Also, a small “salary” will be payed to the student (10-20 euro per month) as a pocket money to use public transport.
All students selected to attend the trade school need to have a clean police record.
Any legal immigrant, coming to Europe and yet causing any type of legal problems, can be immediately expelled and sent back home by the police (without any need for a trial).
Legal immigrants coming to Europe will have their first two years as an internship, automatically renewable two years at a time.
Later on, after the end of the two years, the worker will be regularly employed. At the end of a four-year period the legal immigrant can bring his wife and children, to live with them. His wife can look for a job.
Each country will have an employment center for legal immigrants to ensure that the young people are correctly treated and their salary is payed.
Southern shores of M.N.
These shoals include Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Once the meeting in Europe is organized, Italy will call for a meeting with these countries as well, emphasizing that the aim is not to stop illegal immigration, but rather to change illegal immigration into legal immigration. Europe will accept all students who have gone through the European trade schools to work in Europe with a guaranteed job and a decent salary.
The first thing to do is to reduce the birth rate. Europe will send professional women to train local women throughout the area about birth control.
Secondly, the Southern partners should also seal the southern borders as much as possible.
We should stop imports of inflated boats and marine motors.
Finally, sea fronts should be managed in order to reduce illegal immigration. The northern partners will share in the expenses of the abovementioned tasks.
The southern partners should organize immediately a center of legal immigration, which will firstly start looking for empty spaces, old warehouses, to turn them into trade education centers.
Also, they will start looking for students with minimum education (5th – 8th grade) who want to learn new trades. The students selected should have clear police records.
Since this is very urgent and needs to be accomplished on a big scale, probably the military should help in the organization. The northern partners will send language textbooks, training tools, machineries, any type of material requirement for training.
In addition, teachers from the northern partners will come to the South with 2 years of contract. They will be free from taxes and they will be assisted so that they can settle close to the school.
The school programs will be set together with the northern partners (i.e. European partners).
All students who graduated in any trade school will get a European certificate. The schools will include learning at least one European language (as stated above) thanks to native European teachers.
The advantages of such a program to the southern partners are:
- Thousands of young wo/men trained in professions that are going to be very useful to the country;
- More professionalism;
- When they work in Europe they can send money to their family by money transfer on a regular basis.
As far as women are concerned, female jobs will be required and trained before coming to Europe in jobs such as nurse aid, infant care, pre-school children care, retired home care and assistants.
Agriculture training will be highly demanded and it will include vegetable gardens (salad, tomato, cucumber, beans, etc.), care for vineyards, forests, replantation, green houses, etc.
Salaries will be based on the type of work and they will be delivered taking into account if housing is included or not and if room and board are included or not.
The northern countries will guarantee that all legal workers will be treated correctly, paid regularly and health insurance will be granted to every worker.
Legal workers can automatically review their residence and work permit two years at a time. After the first period of two years, they can get married and bring their wives with them who can also find a job if they want.
All children from mixed marriages will be provided with the nationality of the country where they are born. The marriage will follow the local rules and regulations. Marriages between two foreign spouses, when they have children in the northern countries or the child was born in the southern countries and brought to the northern countries when the baby was little, enrolled in local schools, can have the right to ask for citizenship after the 18th birthday.
The northern hemisphere partners will ensure their southern partners that special trade inspectors will assure all legal immigrants are treated correctly, paid their salaries, assist any local problems that might arise.
Countries on the eastern side of the Mediterranean (Lebanon and Syria and Southern Turkey) are not included in this group because of the political turmoil in their countries. It could be at a later date that they join it.
Action
The European countries will meet as agreed in Italy and each country will select and supply maximum 5 wo/men with various educational backgrounds and experience. These wise wo/men will meet in a hotel away from outside interference.
The meeting will start with an official oath of complete confidentiality and the selection of the chairman of the meeting. In addition, there will be a selection of five wise wo/men to be known as problem solving wise wo/men when the majority does not manage to agree on a certain solution. The wise wo/men will have to define the rules and regulations, the salaries, the living conditions etc.
It is preferable that all the wise wo/men speak one language, English; or at least two languages, English and French. The secretaries will be in charge of simultaneous translations. The meeting should not take over a two weeks’ period.
During the meeting, the relationship between the European countries and the Southern M.N countries will be discussed. Finally, they will have to agree on a starting budget.
Conclusion
I will be more than happy to meet any nation, groups of wise wo/men of any country or experts on immigration problems who require further clarification.
Authored by Eng. Giovanni Vincenti
© COPYRIGHT 2025 Giovanni Vincenti
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