One-sided commitment to 'inclusion'

Submitted by Dutch reader (Netherlands), May 17, 2010 at 12:16

From Wikipedia:

Azra Akın is a Dutch model of Turkish descent with dual citizenship of the Netherlands and Turkey. Akın was Miss World 2002.

She was born and raised in the Netherlands but represented Turkey in the pageant, and allowed her name and image to be used to promote Turkey in a publicity campaign.

There is a lot of discussion in the Netherlands about dual citizenship, and the politically correct dominant opinion is that dual citizenship has nothing whatsoever to do with national loyalty. We are repeatedly told by representatives of the established political parties that we are to regard them as Dutch people who happen to have been culturally enriched by their exotic origin.

Azra Akin's activities in for the benefit country where her parents came from (and still holds citizenship of in addition to Dutch citizenship) are pretty much harmless in comparison to the activities of some of our other Muslim citizens, but I think it illustrates pretty eloquently how 'loyal' they tend to be to the country where they have lived for all or most of their lives and allowed them to earn a better living and have better educational opportunities than in their homelands.

I get the impression that Western countries feel somehow morally obliged to let immigrant participants win every now and then to make them feel 'included'. Those feelings are rarely reciprocated though.

On the other hand, maybe do actually win on 'merit'. I must admit that in most cases, they are suffiently good looking to be plausible candidates.

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