A Previous Entry

This is an entry in my other blog 2 years ago:

My prognosis on the news French Immigration Ministry Draws Fire

Issue Brought Forward:

The creation of the Ministry of Immigration, Integration,National Identity and Co-development (MIINIC)

Figures involved:

Newly-elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Brice Hortefeux, appointed head of MIINIC

What is the MIINIC all about?

During the campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy, he announced that if he would be elected by the French people, he would create a ministry that would oversee both immigration and national identity.This new institution is now tasked with tackling illegal immigration, better integration of newcomers, and protecting French identity.It will run a strict surveillance on immigrants, observe the true intentions of these immigrants on French soil, and the vague connection of the stated issues to National Identity.Conservative voters were won over by the idea and true enough placed Sarkozy onto his powerful position.

What is all the rage about it? Won’t the MIINIC be beneficial to France? Shouldn’t the French be glad to secure their National Identity?

First, allow me to share with you girls (oh, and Chris!) what I’ve deduced upon briefing on this matter. The issue of immigration is now more than ever hot, thanks to the United States and its Border-Control problem. For the first time, France, by acknowledging the need for a ministry to oversee this concern, has unequivocally acknowledged immigration as a problem for herself. I would like to stress that it is not only about illegal immigration that is the concern of the MIINIC, but legal immigration as well. It seems that Sarkozy has realized that maybe the immigrants he so vehemently fears are taking the jobs that should really be for the French people.Wait a minute, but what exactly do the immigrants, both legal and illegal, do in France? That is, what are their jobs that Sarkozy thinks should be exclusively reserved for the French and the French only? Mga pwens, ang mga ito ay trabaho ng long-katuts.AS IN DOMESTIC HELPERS. JANITORS. SIGURO PATI CLERICAL JOBS OR 711 CASHIERS DIN. I mean, what do you think the majority of these immigrants do? Run a corporation as its CEO? Get real.

So there you go. Domestic helpers, or maybe we should call them au-pairs, janitors, sales people, maybe some nurses. According to Mme. Nalangan, blue-collar workers.But then again, these legal immigrants are requested by their companies. They come to France to do the work that the French don’t want to do. They actually contribute to France’s economic growth. So why is that a problem again? And even if the jobs brought into light are of high position, why would the French be fearful of losing these positions if they believe that they are competent enough to get them anyway? Is it not at the disposal of the companies to choose their preferred employees?

If the government is going to intervene, then the companies will have to comply and block the employment of the immigrants, and wait for willing French people to fill in the niche. That is, if they are willing to drop (if this were the case) more competent Spaniards, Britons, Germans, or (o sige na nga…) Filipinos, for second-rate college drop-out French dudes. Not a very advantageous position for the companies. Maybe they should move to China where everything is less costly and workers are relatively competent, this way, they cut on the cost of labor and get to hire Chinese math whizzes. But that wouldn’t be a good thing for France, now, would it? Then again, this is only the extreme of the things that could happen.

Another thing (uuy, Chris, Thing!) being questioned is why would Sarkozy link Immigration with National Identity? Many people consider this taboo. To talk about National identity is to re-assess France’s National Identity. Is it in peril? Has it been lost due to the immigration problem? Sarkozy claims that France is in a state of an “Identity crisis, that this crisis is serious, deep-seated and dangerous.” He added that, “France should choose its immigrants more carefully”, and that “Identity is not a dirty word.”Besides, setting up this institution would overlap with the ministries of the interior, defense, foreign affairs and labor. What if the heads of these institutions were to clash?

National Identity, indeed, is a sensitive issue, and Sarkozy, I believe, is merely using it to kiss the pale white asses of far-right voters. Many of these far-rightists complain that immigration dilutes France’s National Character.Numerous intellectuals have stood up against this powerful new institution.

Gerard Noiriel, a noted historian, said the government had no business trying to impose national identity."There is no official definition of national identity," he said in a telephone interview. "Identity is built in daily life by the people themselves. It is above all not for the state to say what national identity should be."

But what is National Identity, anyway?

A nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.-Joseph Stalin

So how is the Philippines’ International Relations affected?

It will probably be disadvantageous to the Philippines to say the least. Most of the Filipinos in France go there to find work, not just to take a picture of the Eiffel tower. Many of these Filipinos do find work, but only as humble domestic helpers, happy to earn euros.

We are not sure what the MIINIC is formulating for its policies, but as things are coming into picture, we can fairly predict that in won’t be favorable to OFWs. Maybe the government will provide amnesty to the DHs, but of course, that is still considering if the DHs want amnesty. I mean, they don’t want to be French citizens, they don’t plan on living there for the rest of their lives and petitioning their relatives to go there as well, they just want to earn euros so they could send money to their relatives here in the country. When they feel they’ve done their job for their families, they’ll return. So what’s the point of becoming citizens if they don’t want to be citizens in the first place?

The second option is the working visa. They will enter a contract with their employers and just renew this contract after a period of time. But they probably already have this set-up. This is one of the many matters that the MIINIC will take at hand. We are not sure if they will make it easier or harder for the OFWs.This being the case, the OFWs in France will find worry in their minds all so suddenly. They will probably join hands with the other immigrants in France already protesting to such an institution as MIINIC. They will also probably appeal to the Philippine embassy in France. The Philippines, among other countries with nationals working in France, will have to negotiate with Sarkozy’s new strict Government.

How should the Philippines react to this?

I think that given my assumptions above, it is clear that this will not end in favor of the immigrants. The Philippines, with her economy ever so dependent on OFW remittances, will definitely be affected. It is clear that France is most likely to impose stricter policies to legal immigrants, let alone illegal ones.

France, therefore, will not be very friendly to the eye of the ubiquitous Filipino TNT.

I am not suggesting that the Philippines headline the protest against the MIINIC, but we should keep an eye on the matter.

Guys, if you have any comments or suggestions or even corrections, feel free to leave a comment. I will be more than happy to listen, err, read your reactions. I typed this post without thorough research on the matter; I only typed the first thing that entered my exhausted brain. You might want to check on the points of view that I served.ps, kindly leave your name, so it will be easier to determine whose comment/post one is from.

LV