Sunday, July 02, 2006

Woman Born In Switzerland Refused Citizenship For Not Integrating

Are you rubbing your eyes, trying to make sure you saw that headline correctly. Well, you did.

The Hallelujah Chorus is playing in my head right now. It's about time a Western nation started pushing back against the tide of immigration. Wow:


She was born in Switzerland in 1983 in Basel but educated herself as a teacher in religion in Turkey. She been working as volunteer teacher at a mosque. Her brother and parents received citizenship. Authorities based their ruling on lack of working, poor skills in German, no contact with the local population! She tried to appeal in vain for discrimination and interference in her right of freedom of religion.

In Switzerland they will not give citizenship to an individual who :"keep their distance to the local population and which consciously and voluntarily will not be keep contact with the people of the host country"


That's great, and it is the way it should be, in my opinion.

My wife is a first-generation immigrant to America. However, she is Filipino, not South American. Therefore, she had to jump through all sorts of hoops to become a citizen, including learning American history, the Pledge of Allegiance, American government, and passing a test on the above IN ENGLISH.

Imagine that.

The problem is, our governments seem to make agreements with certain areas of the world which lead to the floodgates being open with no controls.

In America, it is clear that Hispanics do not have to learn English in order to live here and become citizens. I doubt most first-generation Hispanic citizens could pass a test on American government or history. I doubt they can recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In Europe, the problem is the same but worse. In America, a small number of Mexican immigrants think of themselves as an invading and occupying force which will win out over time. In Europe, the huge number of Muslims think that way.

And yet this case in Switzerland is the first case I have heard of in which a Muslim was called to task for refusal to integrate. Let's hope this is only the beginning.

7 comments:

S Guadalupe said...

portuguese nationality was refused to an indian girl because she couldn't sing the national song??!!

Pastorius said...

I had never heard of that before. That's great, and it is the way it should be, in my opinion.

My wife is a first-generation immigrant to America. However, she is Filipino, not South American. Therefore, she had to jump through all sorts of hoops to become a citizen, including learning American history, the Pledge of Allegiance, American government, and passing a test on the above IN ENGLISH.

Imagine that.

The problem is, our governments seem to make agreements with certain areas of the world which lead to the floodgates being open with no controls.

In America, it is clear that Hispanics do not have to learn English in order to live here and become citizens. I doubt most first-generation Hispanic citizens could pass a test on American government or history. I doubt they can recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In Europe, the problem is the same but worse. In America, a small number of Mexican immigrants think of themselves as an invading and occupying force which will win out over time. In Europe, the huge number of Muslims think that way.

And yet this case in Switzerland is the first case I have heard in which a Muslim was called to task for refusal to integrate.

Kiddo said...

Yep, I'm hearing some Leonard Cohen right about now.

Always On Watch said...

Pastorius,
a Muslim was called to task for refusal to integrate

Finally! This is indeed a good sign, but let's see if it holds up in court. What is the Swiss equivalent of the ACLU?

I know a bit about those hoops through which your wife had to jump. When I was teaching ESL to Koreans, my boss and his wife had to study for their citizenship test; I had the privilege of helping them a bit, and they didn't try to cut any corners. Mr. and Mrs. Kim were so proud when they passed! Once they were naturalized, they took American first-names.

Anonymous said...

If the British government had the guts to do what the Swiss are doing we could get rid of the 1% actively involved in terrorism, the 15% offering support, and the 60% who turn a blind eye. That's 76% of the muslim population stripped of their citizenship. Can't vote. Can't be elected. Can't sit on juries to override our laws. Can't infiltrate or subvert the police and the armed forces.

This is the way forward for Europe!!

Please excuse me while I play the William Tell overture at full volume and annoy the neighbors.

Anonymous said...

Question: What is the denial of citizenship to an unintegrated Muslim?

Answer: A good start.

mts said...

I had a girlfriend who spoke better English (and was nearly accent-free Tom Brokaw English - that woman never did anything halfway) than a lot of my marble-filled mouthed fellow soldiers who were born here, who had a stateside driver's license (gotten on one of her many vacations here), had an "in" for a job, knew as much as anyone about American history and current events (and overall was quite smart), had zero criminal or political problems (she would've made a great Ditto-head had she come), but couldn't overcome the paperwork jumble because she was German, of all things. She's the one who taught me how certain countries had what kind of quotas for US worker visas, and European nations were kept tight. And here she would've been so "integrated" and American that no one would've noticed she was even a foreigner until you got to know her. She just was a seamstress who didn't have a critical skill to be able to stay here.