GRATITUDE FROM REFUGEES

It seems that the wandering of the Syrian and other nationalities to Europe is not bringing in a response of gratitude expected by women. The latest news I heard from Deutsche Welle is that women in Koln have experienced sexual violations of the highest order. Hence, accepting migrants is now being questioned if it should still be continued. 

I have been thinking that accepting thousands of strangers to one's country could really bring about a kind of culture shock, not only to the recipients but the entrants themselves. It is very easy to discern differences in clothing, but not in mental make-up. And so, I have been thinking that accepting migrants should have been calculated well so that they could integrate peacefully into the country. 

For example, they should not have been allowed to roam freely. Rather, they should have undergone training on the country's history, culture and laws first before being allowed to wander about. 

So now, Europe could be experiencing a direct assault on their cultural set-up with the kinds of refugees coming into their country. It is pathetic that their goodness should be responded to negatively by some men out to have a "heyday" encountering a new race. 

I think that sheltering refuge should be allowed but with grave restrictions especially if the people come from a war-torn country. Many years back, we accepted the Vietnamese refugees who came by boat from their country which was  undergoing liberation war against the Americans then. The authorities allowed them to settle in Palawan, an island off the Visayas and Luzon which must have approximated their original settlements. And so, the refugees were able to settle peacefully and even set up businesses which made them feel like human beings with dignity. Until now, I have read many stories of their gratefulness to the Filipino people. 

Way back in the 80's, from 1981 to 82 to be exact, I was also a refugee in Europe, based in London, for two years. After attending the First International conference of women in film and video in Amsterdam, under the sponsorship of the Cinemien (Annette Forster had facilitated my invitation)  I wanted to stay longer in order to savor life in Europe. But I did not hanker to have a good job with a good salary. Instead, I roamed around and got in touch with many cultural groups -- women's organizations, migrants group, Latin American groups, filmmakers' groups, women and spirituality circles, and many, many more. I wanted to read and read as much as possible because I told my friends, in my country we are prohibited from reading books that would raise our consciousness about economics. What books were they? Communist, socialist, etcetera. But these were not the only books available in Europe at that time. A lot more were about psychology, history, and mass movements. I was reading and getting new experiences which otherwise I would never have had again as the country was under Marcosian military rule at that time. My bases then were the Ujamaa Center, somewhere in South London, London Filmmakers Coop, and Archway Development Center, among others. I also got to meet Latin American refugees who provided me shelter in Paris, France on my way to Rome. Until today, I am very thankful to my many friends that I had met there -- Patricia Thomas, Marie (an Italian), Sindhamani Bridglal, Vanda (Yugoslavian), Strinda Davis, Ms. Oppe, Gilly Lacey (animator), and many many more whose names I cannot remember anymore. 

My stint in Europe all in all was exhilarating. My friends there were welcoming of my desire to learn. In fact, I kinda liked the bourgeois way of life already -- except during winter. Yes, there were more middle classes, very few poor people that I saw in Europe at that time.  But maybe when I write my memoirs I could explain that better. 

Anyway, what happened in Germany is totally shocking to me. I passed by Koln or Cologne way back in 1982, on my way to London and it is a very beautiful city. I was expecting a rather drab-looking (formerly bombed) place but instead I saw very modern buildings and the people -- the children especially -- were well-dressed, chubby and all healthy. Now reading that piece about the assaults on women makes me really feel very sad. 

Hence, I would further suggest that those arrested who had violated the women should be incarcerated for one year before being deported. In prison, they should be barraged with beautiful historical films about Germany and other European countries, classic films of Murnau (Nosferatu), Weiner's Cabinet of Caligari, Fassbinder, and Herzog among others; literary readings in their language of the poems and plays of Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Heine, and others. Many other cultural workshops could be done with these people. 

In other words, we should not allow anti-social individuals to propagate their ideas again to other people but instead re-educate them before releasing them. So that when they get out, they would be good human beings on this planet. 

I think that violent individuals have that inclination to do evil to other people because of frustration over their lot. However, a hard-fist policy on them could boomerang and instead drive them more to depths of degradation. 

Since Europe is a very affluent continent, now is the time for all of them to reach out and do humanizing work among the refugees. Seeking refuge is not only for economic but also cultural reasons after all. 

Also, desire for cultural  upliftment is always an incipient force which could appear or lie hidden unless  conscious individuals and societies recognize its existence.