The western electronic and print media used the November 11 terrorist attacks in Paris to flog Syrian and other North African refugees on suspicions of militant activities. Media commentators and police investigators did not produce any concrete evidence that could link the ‘new refugees’ with terrorist attacks but the way this incident was covered in the press increased suspicion levels among the local population. Molestation of women on New Year’s Eve in the German city of Cologne again made immigrants the usual suspects in the media’s eye.

The resentment against the influx of immigrants in Europe is not a new phenomenon. ‘Far right’ politicians, media and certain circles of society since long have been describing the presence of immigrants, especially Muslims from African and Asian countries, as one of the root causes of terrorism in the West.

Political movements against immigration started in the 70s. The local population in Europe in the early fifties was receptive to the alien music, culture and fashion of immigrants -- who at that time were mostly students and middle level professionals. It was enchanted by the exotic culture of ‘the East’.

Qurratulain Hyder in her ‘London Letter’ described how the British social class was completely taken by the Indian music, dance and philosophy. But gradually it became uncomfortable when immigrants arrived as labour for blue collar jobs. These people mostly belonged to rural areas and were far less educated and refined than those that have arrived as part of the earlier wave of immigrants.

The expectation that immigrants would follow the culture, customs and traditions of the western society and become ‘Bara Sahib’ for their home countries as was a pattern in the thirties and forties was not fulfilled. The new settlers adhered strictly to the culture and customs of their land of origin. As a result, South East Asian, Arabs and North African migrants can be easily identified in Europe because of their dresses and distinctive lifestyle even today; so much so that the generation born and educated in the West, despite their western dresses and adopted accents can be easily identified in trains, trams, buses and streets.

The problem does not end here. Even the "absorbed, assimilated and naturalised" generation, in the later part of their life, starts tracing back ethnic and cultural roots. It must not be a surprise for anyone if Alex Haley traces his connection to his African ancestors even after two centuries and American press finds Barack Obama’s connection to Kenya relevant even after his ascendance to the highest slot.

The pragmatists in Britain and some other European countries have realised that immigrants will remain a distinctive feature in their multi-racial societies. They have also recognised this fact that if immigrants remain connected to political, social and cultural movements in the countries of their origin, they will definitely absorb currents flowing from there. They have accepted it as a fact of their social and cultural history. But political parties belonging to the extreme right -- partially due to their political interests and media allied with them -- consider immigrants to be aliens and create hype whenever there is a chance to malign the latter.

Such groups and the media at large, blame the culture and behaviour of immigrants for any deviation or abnormality in western societies -- without paying heed to the issue that immigrants want to have equal opportunities as citizens of the new country. They ignore the fact that arrival of a few terrorists under the garb of asylum-seekers is not the cause of conversion of immigrants to militancy but non-fulfilment of the dreams and demands of immigrants is the main reason.

The perceived discrimination in job opportunities and in social acceptability generates feelings of resentment. The cultural shock is another major stimulant. Maybe that is the reason the people living in the West or those who have returned to home countries after the completion of their studies are more prone to radicalism. Besides cultural shock, their stay in developed countries nurses an urge to develop their own countries on the western model minus the culture and norms of the West. This is not a new way of thinking. Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Young Turks, Algerians and others all wanted a change in their home societies but according to their own ideals.

In the early decades of the last century, young returnees turned to Marxism since at that time it was ‘the movement of the age’. Sajjad Zaher, Dr Muhammad Ashraf and many other leftists were a few examples. But with the removal of this ideology from the horizon, people are now turning to other sources. Why militancy is only prevalent in the Muslim society is another debate. But the question remains, what to do about immigrants?

Lech Walesa, the Polish leader, in an interview to The Guardian urged the developed world to think about the development in developing countries otherwise the movement of refugees would not be stopped. He was referring to the East European refugees who at that time were flocking like today’s Syrians to Western Europe. He made a striking observation claiming that the number of aspirant refugees from developing countries is so large that if they started moving towards the West with candles in their hands, the heat generated by candles would burn Europe. And we are now witnessing that illegal migration to the West has not stopped despite strict controls -- Schengen Visa measures, creating hopes for aspirants through a lottery system, long tenure visa issuance etc.

After all, now the World has become a ‘global village’ as we proudly call it. Andre Gunder Frank and Samrin and other proponents of ‘New International Division of Labour’ and Dependency Theory have divided the world into cities and villages. How can migration to developed urban countries from under-developed villages be stopped when migration from rural to urban areas within developing states cannot be controlled? The rate of migration will only decrease if serious efforts are made to improve the conditions of ‘villages’. But is this even on the agenda?