Europe Struggles with Need for Immigrants and Rising Racism

Source: NCM/Pacific News Service

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=7aa7d7e591f5746d4373ec296f938a2a

On April 5, 2005 Pacific News Service reported, "When it comes to immigration, Europe is between a rock and a hard place, damned if it welcomes immigrants and damned if it doesn't. With low birth rates and an aging population, Europe has to open its arms to a growing number of immigrants, and many native-born citizens don't like it. 'A wave of xenophobia has washed across Europe in the last decade,' says Peter O'Brien political science professor at Trinity University...Already, 12 percent of Europe's population are immigrants. Of those, 25 million are Muslim -- some Dutch conservatives believe the real number stands at 32.5 million and could soon reach 40 million. In England, Spain, France and Germany, most immigrants come from Turkey. The Balkans send the most number of Muslims. Many new arrivals also come from China and other Asian countries, and they're often not met with openness by European locals."