A Different take from Barcelona

Submitted by Joseph DiFrances (United States), Jun 14, 2006 at 22:34

Comments of Jordi Plaià i Muntaner, translated by Joseph DiFrances

"It seems that, perhaps, Dr. Pipes is not quite well informed as to the degree of immigration in Spain and Europe. The data that he gives on emigration via Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal are accurate and solid, but what he doesn't bear in mind is that this represents only ten percent (at the most) of immigration into Spain. I'll explain.

Here we all know (the topic is, without a doubt, a priority for everyone) that for every black man or Moor who arrives in the Canary Islands by raft or some other vessel (even when on some days they number into the hundreds), ten Blacks, Moors, South Americans, Romanians, Russians, etc. arrive via airports (especially), highways and legal ships. The fact is that these are not so obvious, since they arrive as normal visitors (Bear in mind that we are a super-touristic country and people constantly come here from all over the world), but then they don't leave.

The problem, therefore, is much larger. And if I am to give you my opinion, I'd say that those from Sub-Saharan Africa are the least problematic, be they Muslims or not: For they are timid, discrete and hardly prone to serious crimes (at the most petty larceny). This is openly discussed here in newspapers, on the radio and on TV. I don't know how Pipes hasn't taken that into account, focusing on the more blatant but more innocuous problem."

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