IN every period of globalisation there has been an associated pattern of movement of people related to the labour needs of the global economy. These movements have been large-scale and in many cases have had profound implications for both the regions of origin and the receiving regions.

Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is an insightful analysis of the devastating effect on Africa of the removal of the prime human resources.

Meanwhile, the US economy benefited from successive waves of young, inexpensive labour. The global movement of people is not only an economic phenomenon but a multidimensional process involving political, social, cultural, psychological and ethnic repercussions.

There is always an intermingling and adaption of cultures, languages and religions. When the number of emigrants is small relative to the domestic population there is assimilation, at least by the second generation. The impact on the receiving country is very different when the inflows of migrants are large. In many instances tensions develop, igniting prejudices, racism and violence.

Coexistence is particularly antagonistic when the number of migrants is large; there is unemployment in the host economy; and migrants arrived illegally. This volatile mix can explode when the incoming group does not want to adapt to local customs, laws and language. This is the current situation in Europe with Muslims of both legal and illegal origin, but the issues raised are evident elsewhere to a different extent.

Reflections on the Revolution in Europe

* Christopher Caldwell’s Reflections on the Revolution in Europe is essential reading, and as the subtitle ‘Immigration, Islam, and the West’ portends, the discussion has a wider relevance.

The book provides considerable factual information and courageously discusses the controversial issues. The demographic analysis of the potential far-reaching impact of Muslim immigration extrapolates the trends to forecast that as much as 30 per cent of the populations of most European countries will be foreign-born by the middle of the century.

He considers the social, political and cultural implications of race riots, terrorism from Muslims residing in Europe and the ban on the veil in French public schools. He documents at length the angst among Europeans, and explains why there is resistance to admitting 50 million Muslims from Turkey to accession to the EU.

Among his many depressing conclusions is the demise of harmonious multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies. This raises the question of whether we are witnessing what Samuel Huntington called the Clash of Civilisations. To what extent is the age-old clash between the Christian West and the Muslim East adding to blatant racism and cultural chauvinism?

The dilemma for Europe is to limit the number and skill level of migrants to meet, but not exceed, the demand for labour for the jobs that Europeans will not perform. How to transform a pool of adaption-resistant people into a reliable labour force? What will Europe be like if migrants and their birthrate transform Europe into a group of Muslim-dominated societies?

It’s intriguing to speculate what European policy would be towards the Islamic East if that eventuality were to materialise. The answer is an enlightened approach to integration, but the Europeans are also at fault because of their inflexibility and prejudice. The new arrivals are confined to the worst-paying jobs and are physically concentrated in ghetto areas. This attitude of resistance is amplified as Europeans feel more embattled and overwhelmed.

Ambassador Dr Richard L Bernal is the executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago