On Friday, we brought you the latest in a series of cartoons and pictographs designed by European authorities to help Mid-East refugees better understand European society.
Judging from the integration “guides”, migrants are having a hard time coming to terms with quite a few things, but the two main problems appear to be publicly beating women and small children and randomly groping women’s behinds.
European officials have also endeavored to pen lengthy instruction manuals to accompany the visual aids with pointers on everything from where to urinate to how to properly enter a room (hint for refugees: you should not storm through a closed door without knocking).
All jokes aside, Europe is quickly running out of time to address the worsening migrant crisis. As one unnamed German politician told Reuters earlier this month, “there is a risk that February could start a countdown to the end.”
"We have passed a tipping point where the influx reduces the capacity of the countries to assimilate or integrate the refugees," George Soros said this week in Davos, echoing the sentiments of those who sense the death of the euro is at hand. "There is panic," he added.
French economy minister Emmanuel Macron, speaking to an audience in Davos, had the following to say about the situation: “We have a few weeks to concretely deliver our options... otherwise you have country-by-country solutions (and that is) the beginning of the dismantling for sure.”
Yes, "country-by-country solutions", like those pursued by Hungary’s Viktor Orban who simply build a giant razor wire fence and sprayed tear gas and water at migrants as though they were angry zoo animals trying to claw their way out of their cage.
Or like a new approach adopted by Austria, where Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz now says any refugee who refuses to attend “special integration training courses” may not receive social benefits.
“Those who are not willing to learn German, who do not want to be part of the labor market, who are not ready to attend an integration course, will face social benefits cuts,” Kurz said in Davos, before adding that “it is an absolutely necessary next step.”
“The migrant inflow should be reduced but those, who do have the right to get asylum, should be integrated into society,” he continued.
As RT notes, Markus Wallner, the head of Austria’s western Vorarlberg region, concurs. “Here can eventually be no avoidance behavior. Specifically, if someone avoids attending the values training course, [his] social benefits should be reduced,” he said.
“Eight-hour ‘value and orientation’ training courses aimed at teaching refugees Austrian laws and social norms are a part of the broader integration program developed and agreed by the government and the heads of the Austrian regions on January, 20,” RT goes on to say. “The first courses will start in February [and] will cover the basic values embodied in the country’s constitution, equal rights and equal treatment of men and women as well as other democratic principles.”
These classes will cost the Austrian government around €5 million.
Recall that Austria has temporarily suspended Schengen and has become increasingly frustraed with its role as a corridor on the crowded Balkan route to Germany. Tiny Slovenia said that as a result of the Austrian border controls, it too would need to close its border with Croatia in order to avoid a migrant logjam.
When it comes to measuring the "success" of Austria's new migrant training courses, Wallner says check back in three months: "We will see, how it will work in the first quarter [of the year], and can extend the offer if necessary."
As for the chances that Austria (or Europe as a whole for that matter) will be able to successfully Westernize millions of Mid-East asylum seekers, Kurz isn't optimistic.
"Let’s not delude ourselves," he said. "We have an intensive long lasting integration process ahead of us."
Yes Frau Merkel, let's not "delude ouselves."