;*tr*#ir trj#g 3*#tr*

#ed"ee :3

EuropehasbeentrYrng to integrateits minorities mainstreamfor into th"e decades. Now thoseefforts are beingblamedfor the rising [*tio"t in an increasinglY
ltil srrn onrvl

diverseworld. uP' But dont grve for Therearestill waYs usto all getalong

By jurnanaFarculgr

HIJABScHAt wo MTDDLE-AGEDWoMENWEARING

ttnMeunc

EI 4f
-

soiIn" ttu, Daiudi' Butthisisnt Morocc::T:t l1 musician Moroccan where many of

in tuabic as theY walk down the ;;;;A"r bookstore' r""",, eft."a of them is a Muslim with titles lirof"ui"e ovos by imams and books Miracles i'n the Koran' on one Itu[ il*itnc an' ift"las a halal butcher shop;around *-"t storethat sellsonlv Arab music ;;;;;, by the "*"tic a-concert advertising plu't"'"a posters

suburbs' France. And wdre "ot i" the communities live' African North ;;tginalized ;;;;t in the 18tharrondissement The GouttedOr quarteris right even "This neighborhood'you,wouldnt ;i;; "*pituf. Naresh rltel',a 44-vear-old -e in parisj' s"ays ;;;y;.i under the elevated metro Hindu Indian who runs a stall their North African Muslim tracks."Here peoplepresewe ofbeing French' Francehas done heritageat the expense its immigrants,i' r""i. "- " n""t:ob ofintegrating North African citizens Fiances i; iratel, the fact irat shame'To others' it's much dont feel at home is simply a yearsago'PrincetonUni-*or" Ju"g"rous than tftui' rttt"" to Lewis saidthat' thanl<s ;;;;tq, iltedt" EastscholarBernard
,rr1'^',';.'.'"ff;i1?-'iHJ},i':X:?'i"'itri' i53in*,','^l HooGrEj ANDsE l/@rERs-HoLr

B R A D F O RD

immigration and Europds low birthrate, WesternEuropewill have Musli"mmajorities by the end of the century: "Europe will be part of the Arab West,the Maghrebl' He'snot alone'The fear of a Eurabia (capital Londonistan) populated,by poor' angry fervent Mustims is galninggtound. Islamistsare"determinedto subdueand colBryc9 !1wer, in his book onir" d.ttopJ;;claims American essayist of WesternEuropeis whole the EuropeSl'ept."Noi,nearly Whi.ln for their part, worry that graspi'-Europeans, practicallywithintheir and disits Muslim population can only becomemore segregated the Danand riots France the affected;that the London bombings, new report A to come' just what's of a taste protests are ish cartoon by the British think tank PolicyExchangefound that 13%of British Muslims ased 16 lo 24 agteed when asked if they admired "ordanizatiJnshke al-Qaedhthat are prepared to fight the Westl' "tt'r of Ihe ti*" for a reality check.Muslims make up about 3Vo 10% more than no will figure that E.U. population today,and leach the old through sweep will Islam radical that feai the But Ay ZOzi. iontinent is ryrnptomatic of somethingbigger: Europe'sidentity crisis. Thanls,-in part, to immigration, the relatively high Muslim birthrate and the iising number of mixed-racemarriages,Europeis communities settins more diverse6y the day.Once homogeneous And, as clash' of them some Inevitably, of cultures. L" n# a itmble to figure out what it meansto be European,many Europe struggles ofits ciUzeniire left feeling alienatedand frustrated' Forget Eurabia. the real issuefacing Europe is multiculturalism-uslns that word not asa policy option, but asa fact' The world contains olver5,000 ethnocultural groups' and technolog;t,cheap airfaresand the global economyhave scatteredthem around the in the the immigrantwaves Since planet,in countleiscombinations. for different looking been have nations llOs attd'60s, European waysto blend different people of different cullures into successfrrl, 1'udthe samegoal:a societythat givesequal o"u"ef-,rlsocieties'611 race, creed, color or fpportunity and equal respect,regardless -of But multiculturexist. doesnt still ro.iety th"t on, forqryu"rr f"iifr, alism is witir us to stay.Sothe questionis how to make it work for Europe. This isn't about-at least,not just about-stamping out !sIamiJextremism. This is about the day-to-dayinteractionsof a diverseEurope-at work, in school,on the streets'Here are five ways that in which Europecanturn its multicultural realityinto something enrichesthe Continent-rather than tearsit apart'

SAVE THE VEILS When AishaAwan goesout in crowds,she goesunder cov= er. Shewearsher body-lengthjilbab, her hijab (a scarfthat hides her hair) and a niqab, a Muslim veil that coversalmosther entire face."I feel more comfortable,like I respectmyselfmore when I'm coveredi' she says'The only things Awan leavesexwhole history by posed are her eyes."You can see somebody's saYs. she eYesj' their Iookinginto Bu-t when they look at a veil, all some lawmakers see is

-+

ASCHOOLPUTS FAITHINHARMONY
de la Salle irhe Jean-BaPtiste I schoolis destinedto be atthe I sharpendofthe debateonintegration,sinceit is locatedin a thattakesin northof Paris suburb around10% ofthe roughly to France 140,000 immi$rants eachyear.Yetthe schoolhas largefor the goal,so elusive ly achieved as a whole,of creatingharFrance "Saint-Denis monyfrom diversity. may be the biggestmeltingPotin the worldtoday,andwe reflectthat of ethnicitiesandfaith diversity amongour studentsandteachers," saysschooldirectorG6rard H6loir.He saysthat the schoolis not out to createan institutional but simply form of multiculturalism, to helpstudentsintegrateinto society."Weprovidea widerFrench livesand settingwhereeveryone workstogetherin spite of racialor but without reli$ousdifferences, to becomedividers allowingthose saysH6loir."Withor boundaries," we'dallwinduPin out compromise, our ownghettos."

the Whenitcomesto religion, what it preaches. schoolpractices a Catholicestablishment' Though de la Sallegets Jean-Baptiste applicationsfrommoreand more parentsfrom other backgrounds whowant better instructionand thantheirkidscan discipline receivein the disadvantaged 50% Around schools. area'spublic of studentsadmittedqualifyforthe financialaid the state offersto studentsturningto privateeducation. Thatmeansthat what getsthem in is not moneyor reli$on, but Heloirnotes. to studY, dedication of tls 2,4.36students are Only27o/o to comPared practicing Catholics, Jewsand4o/o 25% Muslims,8o/o the rest don't practice Protestants;

any religion.Reli$ousstudiesare focuson and largely voluntary thoseseekhistoryand philosophY; instrucingthe traditionalreligious tion of theirfaith mayalsodo so in classesled bytrainededucators whosharethose students'beliefs. Theschoolcafeteriais attentiveto dietaryrulesand accomreligious modatesfastingduringRamadan

(lffithCIut **ffipr*rnise, w*'d all wind up in our

CIwrl gneffios.
T rr 2>

--GERARD HELOIR' school direcior

We"'fu r*" *w..-,-"

ffi
&&"'4-

-t"*E

trouble. SinceFrancebannedovert religioussymbolsin its state schoolsin2}O4,veiled women-whether they wear a head scarf, a niqab or a full-body burqa-have been caughtin a storm of debatein Europe.As a British citizen,Awanstill hasthe right to wear by contrast,prohibit Germanstates, whatevershewants.Several in class.In parts of Muslim teachersfrom wearing head scarves at are bannedfrom wearing head scarves Belgium,civil servants work, and the Dutch governmentplansto make it illegal to wear

the niqab or the burqa anywherein public. (The estimatednumber of women in the Netherlands who wear either runs in the dozens.) Islam isnt the biggestpart of the multicultural conversation,but right now it's the loudest. The head-scarf debate-like anything to do with religion-is charged with emotion. France defends its stepto maintainthe naasa necessary banin schools tion's offrcial commitment to secularism,pointing out that it alsoappliesto Jewishskullcapsand ChrisBut Birgit Sauer,a political scientist at tian crosses. the University of Vienn4 saysthe timing of these new laws showsthat Europe is still unwilling to accept Islam as an element of its identity. "All these had trouble balancingreligion with secularism states "So you haveto as\ says. long beforeSept.111'she Why now? What is European and what is not?" hope to answerwith That'sa question Sauerand other resear6hers in eight study ofhead-scarfpolicies the vBIr,project,a three-year countries-including Britain, France and Turkey-funded by the Commission. European home country offersan intriguing casestudy.In AusSauer's tria, votershave historicallybeen kind to right-wing politicians. "All the signswould indicatethat we shouldhavea prohibitivelaw "But it's rarely discussed. And againstthe head scarfi'saysSauer. when it is, everyonesaysthey don't want a banj'That's because Austria officially-and legally-recognizesall religionsequally.It protectsthe role of taith in shapinga persons identity. that Islam-like all need to recognize Europeangovernments religions-is an integral part of the European identity, while Muslims should be willing to bend to certain laws that are in place for A U.S.-style hands-offapthe commongood,with no exceptions. but still givesthe taithful a proachkeepschurch and stateseparate, spacein mainstreamsociety:Iift statewidebanson the veil (and all on dresscodesto inbut leavedecisions other religioussymbols), Sowhile one schoolmight dividualinstitutionsand organizations. prohibit teachersflom wearing the niqab in class,another might not, giving Muslim teachersa choice of where to work. In return, womenwho coverwould haveto acceptthat in certainsifuationstrump personal beliefs control,say-securityconcerns at passport

M&ruV $$AYS$$& u$e $* "}ean"ffiep*$mtw eff*s"w t[$s]w$Y Sa$44 $emwwuts fimtegraEEom or Lent.Studentscan take religous no matter howawkwardly holidays, theysit with the schoolcalendar. Yetforall that, religiondoesn'tplay a big role in schoollife, says 15, who is of Kimbembe, Gregory Africanori$n. 'Youdon't reallynotice religionat all exceptforthe crucifixes in the classrooms." In fact, H6loirbanswhat he expressions deemsnonscriptural of faith-a rulethat's in linewith France's lawagainstreligious symbolsin state schools(except too). to crosses, that lawapplies

"We haveno headscarveshere, no yarmulkes, no turbans,no hoods,piercings ortattoos,"he says."Studentsare here becausethey want to be, so they must adhereto our rules.Effort is made by everyone-that's

andvocational trainbaccalaureate ing-has earneda glowing reputaand compation amonguniversities niesrecruitingtrained workers.lts directorsaysalmostall youths 0 leavethe schoolwith a diplomaor o professional trainingcertificate, andestimatesaround90% ofthose c who receive occupational training findjobs withinsix months.That's no smallboastin an areawhereunemploymentrangesft om 25-4OY, 'Youworkharderhereandthe rules does." arestricter,but that's whyyou what a community AxelBlanchard, come,"explains Whydo parentsscrapetogethBe15.'All I wantisthat lineon myCV er the 3,840-a-yearfees? Jean-Bapthat says,'Graduated causetheywantto givetheir kidsa betterchanceto moveup eventual- tiste de la Salle.'Whatthatrepresociety. Theschoolsentscan changeyourentirelife." ly in French -By BruceCrumley/Paris studentsto whichtakeselementary
I

their faces'In and they would be requiredto show 6etweenpolicy and piety isn't lr*,i"J,,nit Ualance anclrenAll overEurope,governments uncommon. the middle' under *""ti"gIn u'" ;;';;;;d", power

ff;-ilh ffiF;;h

caieslike divorce settlements' i" tTt f" ""ti"ti*inal governmentfunde"Jirt" Nl,n"rlands givesequal on tne conand public schools' ins to faith schools nonreligious strict meet dtfi;; idr,h" faith schools il their curriculums' These concessions ;itlri; relistate;thev just giv.e f,#;ahreat;th","tt'lu' of it' part a be to chance the i'"* J"**""iti"s THE TOP GET A BETTER VIET FROilI poster child a is Sabuni Ntamko il;;;"-t, integration' She-came, to for i*""ttru thewas 12'afterher s*"d;;;;th;cot'go*li"tt

the have religiouicourts

asviu-,N"y*ry"i: l"tTl :Tt^ST^:*l: pollticar claimed father in a country Equality.-But

and Gender irli"ir,"ir- rn'tegration or thechildrenof im[opututio" at" immigrants #;;;t;;i.h; minoritvin the ethnic an 6f -"*u"t irt" ottty #;;*;F,rnii' where'coms*"d"tt isnt the onlv-cogntrv fi?ni;ffiilend "People ofpale' look leaderi pofrl"tio"t' pared to theirdiverse "So' Sabuni' says immigrantsi' of len haveverylow expectaiions the * i*Jpotition' vouiave to bc betterthan t" ffi;;;G" timel' the of'all conscious to be youtt-:ue Its abalance others. it could require "*'il;;;"lik"-"" i*ua"""t' And addressing to use what action' "political parties9ay leed ,"*;';;;J; their accelerate methods -to ;;;";;h, CommisBritains of "ot,ld""t"*tttodo* rhilllpt'h"-"d rrevor says ;*tift;honi' "rhev might try to ensure *'d Ho*"" Rights' ffi i;;A;Ji their candit"pteseniation.in they haveproportionate-ffi"J hasto have list short candidalg tt'"ieverv 'uv ;;;:.'o; .f;t irrigt't people force cant You *rtolttii*ftit" on it' at leastoneperson about to think parties compel can U"t fo" onto constituencies,
their resPonsibilitiesi' there weren't "'"'i;;;;;;;; before' when it became clear introduced Europe uttoss gou"t"'n""tt enoughwomenatthe top, the numbers' Britains Labour boost i"ltiutiu"ito Hffiil.;;;,

risls to make all people e-qual a form of discrimination' But a move shorv studies th"i, irrh","t't differences' For instance' i*;;G of diabetesthan minorities tenJto suffer higher rates ,iL ma{e1 w-l-ro exactly knowing "tfr?i" without So their white counterparts.

to.treat.dg-"*teffectivelv? fto*i' ii possible. ililffi;I"*n, nt"uiao*" lt"i ji* *t:"tttl.P:::::; ethnic Anda detailed vou i^'ffi;:;;it;;i'til andpotentially.become takeits owncourse ",.Ttt1t-.::t:

alsothe only way to-predict standing what citl"ens "eeJ "ow-it's wantto let diversitv "Do tuture'

io, do you want to manageit' be prolctive' and turn it i;il;#fi'il:l-::***"t*l"TffJ:l1l'iTiffi itrifftpr i:l gJing to trv !: q*,it the 1997election' and sa into a benefit? A smart sociew is TiT*T Eu-

tobringmore *1"1 it's dealingwith and' to 120'Withoutsimilarmeasures a""Ui" n'"* OO efit. But that societyhasto-kno* "l*""ttf of the popuswaths hugepositions' power enoughi' know just dorft *f"#iesinto we t"r""" the ;ih";;""t, underestimate i""r'p"*"iirr-..r *ourd'rit i;##";iilil; MulGeoff says UP importance of potiucs aspaJoi tttit "o*"ttationl' PUSHPEOPLE "beLondon' isnt Foundatiol in amulticulturalsocietv tunt tt'" Young i i{;;il;"*" ;;'i, il;;i,ili,'tt dialogue' a have to place "r".9"1itt legitiLate a raceor rerslon" T': i:Y'*T:::t i""t"',tt" n"frtical forumls segregation, *::: Without representation' you t""tt" rti Britain 1re noj the mostdiverse b talk about differenpes,uttJ to'o"' i:".-d";;;;i ,h"r" to likely more much a you're where "butareas Mulgan' have no voice, And, not surprisingly' ,it""ior,,,g Foundations riots French The heard"' make to fourself "t""t;;i"nt turn to violenceor rioUng people of the extremes ;i bu"tt ieplaced with much less securel of 2005 are just th" *";i;;;;nt'glimpse ;'r"d""* "#;ffi thev feel like no onds listening' minorities iuffer' on average'more than duropds *jn;il;d;n --i""irt"i*"y them' count counts? citizenevery But a blanket affirt"t" *un" io "*pi"y-"",:' double the rate ot unempioyment as whites,' collect ethnic data in their cent U' S' is a nonstarter don the. in place countries in some kind Yet the Literally. ;dt*-;;; f olicy like intro"s;ffiih;;;ihat Britain curv-e' the minorities' tThere behind different often do are is such diversity among iffi;;"p. 2001'only to discovin that to census its majority' to white the category even greatly outperforming duceda mixed-race ;,h;";" fastest-grgwing ethnic your skin is of 1o""tty's thecolor of alreadyoifi" you b"ecause was it er that tt""i i"*t aft"tiust benefit or religion is gt""n tt's ilelal to collect dutu.o1 ethnicity In Britain, the averagesalaryfor an Indian *t*ttb ;;ii;-M;igan. tl: mainly Spain' p3t'muttt' and Chinese the Italy Europe' across and' ihat of a Pakistani in France, Belgium, "1 urii.iiooUr" by their '"t" ot faith is' in itsell srounds that identiffinil*tt;
TIME, FEBRUARY26'2007

,:-it;#; j";i-*J",r".rryliT:.J*-:#*":

,HELP WITH AFIRM HAND

he good newstraveled fast. As a leftist,Bologna's incomingmayorSergio Coffemtiwas sure to be a friend to the city'smostmar$nalized' Andso an illegalencampment of Romarefugeeson the city's outskirtsbeganattractingnew "WordwassPreadresidents. immigraing,"recallsBologna "that tion chiefFaustoAmelii' wasgothe newadministration ingtotake careof them." indeed But if Cofferatiwas a friend,he turnedoutto bethe kindwhotellsYouwhatYou don'twantto hear-in this closed!"In 2005' case,"CamP ninemonthsafter his election' the swiftdisthe mayorordered mantlingofthe encampment, pluscheckson the legalstatus andan ofits 120 occuPants housofall unofficial inspection Thecityof ingin Bologna. familiesfind 373,000 helPed accommodation' temporary but made ,egatitaa top Priority. Thetough stance shocked longtimealliesof Cofferati'59' a risingstarofthe ltalianleft after 12 yearsleadingthecountry's biggestlaborsyndicate' demanding But he saYs CGIL. obeYthelawis that immigrants

simplypartof hisjob. "Some peopleseemtothinkthat legaF issues ity andsecurltyareonlY tells forthe rigfit,"Cofferati "But, in today'ssociety, TtME. cregoverning meanshelPing difate the bestconditionsfor ferent peoplefrom different backgroundsto livetogether withoutconflict." Thelocalsseemto agree, with a recentpollPuttingthe ratingat56%. mayor'sapproval That's becauseCofferati'sgetwith is couPled toughapproach toward a progressivepolicY Forits foreig;tr legalimmigranG. the cityProvides residents, ltalian-lanassistance, housing guagecourses, PsYcholo$cal walk-inhelP counselingand for desksin nativelanguages questions. Butthe buieaucratic is greatestboonto newarrivals

((T-i{*isdt*asy f*r imrnigrant$: th* city but 'rtlrt

nelrl" $CIes
*4MAR" *loroccan imt$igrant

employdo better at work and at schoolthan native whites' Soan to help nothing do still quota and ei couldfill its antidiscrimination ladder' the of bottom the at minorities get The bestwayto makeminorities more upwardly mobile is to to Chinese teaching are French The specific-and creative' get into the riftooi.nifat"n in deprived neighborhoodssothey can Meanwhile,in Britain, r9s9ar$ showsthat the gi"UJl*""*y. malesisnt alack and Bangladeshi ftr fiieeesthurdle youngPakistani to netofirtIs, but a mix of discriminationandtrouble gettingaccess tryare neighborhoods Asian predominantly *otto. SoioU.enters in jobs or take in entry-level more to offer employers l* io Instead "o"ul""e employees for someworlqilaceexperience' -3r" pt*itio"al all miat aimed laws and policies of .etvlng on ,*""pi.tg national tailolredtogroupswithin groupscanbetter match ""riti"t.i"ft"*es the right people with the right jobs' In schools,too, the best waY to make sure everyonegets to the same place may be to treat them differently' for EconomicCooperAn Organization (o.r.c.n.)study Development and ation showedthat, when testedon their math skills, lS-year-old first-generation immigrants score on avetagemore *ran oni grade level behind their native peers-this despite surveysthat show immigrants are more enthusiastic about schoolthan nonimmigtants.Part of the reason,saysAndreasSchleicher, Direcfor the o.s'c.o.'s headof analysis

plentifu | work-Bologlra's 2'6% rate is among unemployment Italy'slowest. immigrant Moroccan 39, hasworkedsteadilY Omar, three sinceanivingin Bologna happyabout yearsago.He',s to havea that and relieved placein a city-runhostelfor sin$e immigrantmales,even thoughhe'll havetofind other requarters withina Year.'This ffiY Yl.Hgffisffiw solveda crisisfor me," Omar *sff*r*tH ntoss{$ says."Lifeisn'teasYforimmid*wurffio$*grna'w grants,butthe city doeshelP." t|*egntffiom* **wt6* Dassi'a Raymond whohas livedin Cameroonian since1996 and nov" Bologna associaheadsits immigrant tion, supportsthemayor's toughline-butthinks his reimmispectfor law-abiding grantsshouldgofurther,esPeneeds ciallysinceBologna workers."Weare foreign-bom can't helpingiltaliansl.TheY 'TheY seethat," saysDassi,35. immineedto democratize 'Let's grants.Theyneedto say, old your "' Bologna's ideas. see are learning and newresidents howto livetogether; next comes governingtogether. -BytfitsraeUl@m

UNITYBEGINS ATHOME
whotogetherspeakaround hefik Mehmetcan'ttake is too complex 193 languages, five stepsalongGreen for biggovemmenttohandle lanes highstreet in north gettingalong withoutsomeonestop- from above.Here, London themselves. the is up to People pinghimto chat.Mehmet'a rohaPPYto seem they And in this lived has tund Turkwho The numerousways' in oblige is techareafor over50 Years, tonewSomaliForumbrings nicallyretired,nowthat his son difdozen of a gether members But hairsalon' runsthe familY to ferentSomaliorganizations workingforthe he'sstill busY there'sno overlapof ensure lothe of chair As community. andthat no council services, he cal traders'association, fundingorvolunteerman hours calmsanyfrictionsbetween Under TheLiving arewasted. and residents.In businesses women helPs OneSunProject his sparetime, he workswith often recentlY of manycultures, localpoliceto defuseclashes 'Thereare Britain. in arrived gangs' Plus betweenethnic womenwantto do, at a nearbycol- manythings he's a governor howto start," know don't but lege,wherehe helPsPromote a lfurdishTurk saysAynurErisir, Andhe doesit all integration. whovolunteersfor the Project. 'Hi' "DoyousaY to YourneighDo not? bor,or Yousmileor . .1 l" not?Youdon't knowtheirculturesandcustoms."So each week,womenbringtheirchildrento meetat an adventure ! r )t playground, whereone comhost andteaches munityPlays -SHEFIK MEHMEf,volunteer the othersaboutits culture. Andthen there aresmaller' 'The thingsI do' I do as effective,actsof inbutjust for free. tegration,likethe Kit@PEvi he notgeta Pennyforthem," says."lf I dosomethingformY caf6, which offers free Tuddsh "Wecan benefitfrom lessons. ldo it street, mYcommunitY' that diversity the richness from myheart"' it divideus,"saYs let or brings, London's is in GreenLanes M.P for TottenDavidLammY, whichhasa borough, Haringey ham."Wechooseto benefit"'lt population of 224,300, almost isn'teasy:"Wehavehadto halfof them ethnicminorities. bam howto livetogether South Theborougfiincludes here."Butit's workworthdoan areareTottenham, everylittle bit helps."l College ing---and at University searchers and I don'twant area this love the recently London Proclaimed to see it go down," saYs in diverse mostethnically Mehmet."So if we'reallcookof Britain-and PossiblYall I Putin a ingsomethingand 113 WesternEuroPe-with dropof saltto makeit better' ethnicgroupslivingin it. lntethat"'J.E I'm proudof residents' gratingHaringey's

torate for Education,is that many countriesput their immigrant students through the same system as everyone ekI. "rqualig'has to dowith equalityofoutcomgs.,lgtwith "Nordic countriesarehiglrly seninputl' he says. equality-of sltive to this. fUeir questionis not, How do we do the same Howdowe dothe rightthingthat thingfor all studentJ?but, their potential?" reach to all students "rr"bl"t when it comesto bridging the is top of the class Sweden learning gap between its immigrants and native Swedes, for that turns on how it handleslansoti" oi ttte reason "na guage.While somecountries expecttheir immigrant stuothers taught in the host language, f,enl to learn itt classes hostsupplementary with classes regular combine . swedendoesonebetter.By law,if there areat least lessons language du""rtoi""t from the samecountry in one district, they have the rieht to be taughtin their nativetongue."Andthat is"avery powerfuJway to havechildren valuetheir own culiures, rather than just being confronted The effects Schleicher' with completenoveltyl'says are subtle but promising' While unemplol'rnent amongforeign-Eorncitizensin Swedenis still high (around L\Vo),its lower than in Germany,France or Belgium.And the proportion of immigrants enrolledin Swedishuniversitiesis higher than it was five yearsago.

((nfI dm

sornstnmgT0r my str#*t, I dc it
frcm mY neart.

MAKE IMMIGRATION SMARTER Europe is shrinking. Across the E.U', women are not having enough children to Europe'salsoaging' hotd population levelssteady. gv Zd5d over30Vo will be 65 or oldofEuropeans to reEuropeans er,andthereareritenoughyoung pensions' their pay for or place their labor skills the Lisg"a. f tn" E.U.seriouslywants to achieve bon Agendagoalof becoming"the mostcompetiin tive and dynamic knowledge-driven economythe world'; by 2010,it will need way more highly qualified researchersthan Europe's universities can turn out. The argumentthat immigradon is to blame for the failings of multiculturalism ignores just needmore imthe numbers.Europedoesn't varietyof them' awider needs migrants;it also Yet anti-immigrantmovementsare flourishing in places like eelgium, Britain, Germany-and Italy' Last rn8tttfr,'a group of Jtranationalist M'E'P's finally gathered givingthem morepoenoughmeirbeis to createa formal caucus, funding' SoimmiE'U' for eligible Iiticiclout and making them to bring in the how for Europe: challenge two-part poses a gration feedingthe hysteria' without so to do how and ii needs 'For 'ieople someideas,Europecouldlookto Canada,whereimmigrants of the generalpopulation'Yetpolls showthat the mamakeup lSVo hive a poiitive view of immigntion' Someof this ofCanadians iotiy ir trr*lo to the dedicatedintegration programsthat local governfi:eelanrun. Supportgroups'counselingsessions, ments and NGos guagetuition, evenbuddy systeml!h1t bring ipryrefants together iriili no*-*a-bred Canidians all help smooth the transition for those coming to Canadaand thosewho are there already'But the country is alsopiclcyaboutwho it welcomesin the first place' Immiawardseachapplicantaseries usinga system-that grantsareselected if foints on factorslikeige, qualifications,lnowledgeof Englishand

past emplolment. "The target is young, educatedmigrantsl' says RandallHansen,an immigration and citizenshipexpert at the UniversityofToronto. "Itk basedon atilacting human capitali' France'sInterior Minister and presidential hopeful Nicholas Sarkozyhas advocatedswitching to a points-basedimmigration system. And Britain is alreadytestingits own version,which targets both skilled and unshlled labor to fill gapsacrossthe entire workforce. But Europe has generallybeen resistantto the idea. The main concern is that it would encourageillegal immigration (a problem that Canada, which shares its borderwith the world's richest country doesn't have). There are an estimated 11-13million non-European illegal immigrants in the E.U. But the European Commissionis hoping to slashthat number aspart of a push to harmonize immigration policy acrossthe E.U. One goal is to crack down on illegalmigrants while alsoworkingwith the African coun-

triesmanyof them comefrom. Non-E.U.countries, for example,could be given more access

w EL e s ff E ffing Europ*

jobsif they prorn--- ***m.:flifu"# universities a1d to Europe's

ise to reintegrate their illegal immigrants. If tfieneA$rieans ir*France Europe can improve its policies on immigration, then maybeEuropeanswill improve their attitudes. "There'spublic support for immigration in Canadabecausethe widespreadperception is that the border is firmly under control and everyoneis .espectingthe systemj' says Hansen. "When you losethat perception, public supportcollapses." TlfiilK LOCAIIY, ACT LOCALLY It wasjust over 10yearsagowhen the first sign appeared:
FROM NOW ON WE WILL BE HERE EVERYTHURSDAY.AL'vVAYS AT 4 P.M.-WHETHER THERE IS SUN, RAIN OR SNOW. WE WANT TO STARTA CHILDREN,S GROUPAND WOULD LIKE YOU TO PARTICIPAIE!

The meetingspotwas a playgroundin Cologne's Chorweilerdis-

trict, whosehigh-riseblocksbecame hometo many of the migrantsthat the Ford Motor Co. recruited '70s. into Germanyin the Of Chorweilert 80,000 residents, 60Vohave immigrant backgrounds and a third are on welfare. Lale Akgiin, a psychotherapist and M.P.,knew that the bestway to keepthe peace in sucha culturally diverseareawasto start with the kids. So, in 1995,she founded Kinderndte (Children'sNeeds)with a group of family counselors, and they put up that sign. Today, Kinderncite runs a dozen different groupsfor severalhundred children. Everyweek, they play soccer,go on field trips together,help each other with homework or just throw a party. "Many of the children seethat their prejudicesdo not bear up against realityj'Akgiin says."They see that they can get on with children from other nationalities." When it's time to startup a new group,Kindernriteemployeessometimes visit a playgroundwith just a skipping rope and some chalk (since 1995, they'vegonethrough 352 kg of chalk).'A lot can developfrom thesesimple meansl'saysmanager Nicole Hansen."The children can add their own ideas and creativity right away." A similarprogramin Bradford,England,is all about the kids, too. In a three-dayriot in 2001, hundredsofyoung Asian men destroyeddozens of white-owned businesses, straining relations populationand betweenthe ciLy's lSVoPakistani its white residents. Working for EducationBradford, the private company that runs Bradford's schools, Angie Kotler noticed that the inner-city students, who are over90Vo nonwhite,had little contactwith the studentsattendingthe majoritywhite schools on the periphery.Soshesetup thb SchoolsLinking Project, twinning schoolsand having their students meet up regularly to play sports,put on an opera or plant an allotment. "The youngerkids askabout things like Eid and Christmas,how they are similar, how they are different,"saysKotler."The older kids will show their frustrationswith the tensions aroundthem. 'Why They ask, did we ever get to this point?"' The beautyof both ideasis that they are simple and local. "You can'ttailor integrationmeasures from the top downj' saysSteve Vertovec, director of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Societyat Oxford University. "Integration meansbuilding common ground rules on civility, and this happenson the local level. Cohesionis all about everyday interactions, in the supermarket or on the playgroundi' Successful, long-lastingintegrationtakesplacein community clubs and childrent play groups,bake salesand block parties. Programsdont haveto be big or expensive;Kotler saysEducation 'bn Bradford runs its twinning scheme a shoestringi' "This isrit "Yes,it's aboutrespecting woolly liberal multiculturalisml'she says. difference,but itt alsoabout discoveringwhat it meansto live together and feeling O.K. with a senseof multiple identity.' Because the only way for Europeto get overits identity crisisis to get usedto the idea that there isnt just one. -ttrttlt rerylhreby UIlaPlon/C;openh&n, Gnnt Rosenfu4lParis andRegine WonitulBeilin

TIME. FEBRUARY26.2007