Last week Hillary Clinton shocked the world by saying that Europe needs “to get a handle on migration”. She then added that the continent’s leaders should send a message that they are no longer “going to be able to continue to provide refuge and support” for displaced and vulnerable people.
These comments, made during an interview with The Guardian newspaper, apparently form the foundation of her strategy to tackle the global rise of right-wing populism.
Mrs Clinton's words may appear to fly in the face of the liberal politics she has espoused throughout her career. However, they perfectly illustrate the fact that centrist politicians are often driven more by the prospect of success at the ballot box than by firm ideological commitment.
Their province is not one of messy and urgent, real-world problems, but one of power and high office, secured as the representatives of big-tent organisations that, by their nature, demand compromise and broad appeals to the voting public.
To underscore this point, the former Democrat candidate for the US presidency later took to Twitter, stating that if mainstream political parties refuse to crack down on migration, the fate of democracy “hangs in the balance”.
To anyone engaged with issues of migration at ground level, Mrs Clinton’s pronouncements are not just reductive, they completely ignore present realities. The truth is that the European “migrant crisis” is largely a thing of the past. The number of people fleeing conflict or poverty arriving on European shores has fallen precipitously since its 2015 peak, with some points of entry reporting drops of more than 90 per cent.
Still, the issue of how centrist politicians counteract the upsurge of right-wing populism remains real and present. Whatever the answer to that question may be, it should be obvious that they should never use its language or seek to appeal to its base – even when doing so appears to be a pragmatic electoral move. After all, engaging with the politics of prejudice in even the most watered-down manner can only ever help to legitimise it.
It is also ironic that the failed policies of centrist politicians are exactly what got us in to this predicament in the first place. For decades, generations of European workers have laboured at the sharp end of the free market, enduring rising levels of inequality, declining job security and falling standards of living. Under such straitened circumstances, people are often tempted to look for a scapegoat, and that is precisely what migrants have become.
It also appears to have escaped Mrs Clinton's attention that Europe has already taken a hardline stance on immigration. This summer in Italy, the far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini denied NGO rescue boats the right to dock in the nation's ports. Italy has also banned aid organisations from operating in its territorial waters. Last week, a prosecutor in Catania, Sicily, even alleged that the rescue ship Aquarius was carrying "toxic waste", based on the preposterous notion that the discarded clothes of migrants could carry the HIV virus.
In June, the Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban’s far-right Fidesz party passed, as part of its “Stop Soros” laws, a bill criminalising groups or individuals providing any kind of assistance to undocumented migrants.
Meanwhile, Austria, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, is led by the anti-migrant chancellor Sebastian Kurz, in coalition with the country’s far-right Freedom Party. Kurz has made migration a priority of his premiership and is seeking to create a system in which the EU migration agency Frontex co-operates with third countries in North Africa, in order to prevent “illegal” departures of migrants to Europe.
Italy has already instituted such a policy, enlisting the Libyan coastguard to "pull back" migrants, even as an increasing number of reports show that they face serious human rights violations – including beatings, rape and starvation – or death in Libya's squalid internment camps.
In light of all this, it is clear that what supposed liberals such as Mrs Clinton should really be asking European leaders to “get a handle on” is their appalling border policies.
Since 2015, the EU has built a vast infrastructure to keep migrants out, letting many of them die in the Mediterranean Sea as an apparent deterrent. Two years ago, it reached a controversial agreement with Turkey to stop migrants – a large number of whom were fleeing the conflict in Syria – crossing the water into Greece.
The EU’s aim is to push the migration trail back to transit countries, where camps have been set up to detain migrants and process them for return to their countries of origin. It has made deals with countries such as Sudan and Niger, both key staging posts for sub-Saharan migrants on the way to Libya. So far, the results are grim, with thousands – among them many children – left stranded and helpless.
The vast majority of migrants tend to stay in regions where conflict and economic hardship occur. In Africa, for instance, 90% of all migration is intra-continental, meaning that only a small number ever even consider undertaking the arduous journey through the Sahara and into Europe. Yet right-wing populists have worked hard to propagate the false idea that everyone from the global south is determined to eventually make their way to Europe, and that in so doing they will irrevocably alter entire societies.
The correct response to growing currents of chauvinistic nativism is not to cave in and endanger the lives of migrants. It is to stand up for what is right. If Mrs Clinton wants to understand why she lost the 2016 US election, Brexit or why wider European discourse has ended up where it has, she needs to turn her attention away from desperate people in need of help, and look instead to the disastrous social and economic policies that she and others like her have clung to for so long.
Ismail Einashe is a journalist based in London and a Dart Center Ochberg fellow at Columbia University Journalism School
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
How Beautiful this world is!
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
