Asia Bibi Has Landed

Asia Bibi. Photo from Sky News. But as it appears widely on the we, I'm guessing it's fair use.

I am surprised and delighted to hear that Asia Bibi is now in Canada.

At the same time, this seems to me to show the flaw in Faith Goldy’s so-called “white nationalist” opinions on Immigration.

I watched a long YouTube video from Goldy last night, in which she laid out her immigration platform—that is, her desiderata from the federal parties in Canada’s upcoming Fall election.

There was nothing hateful about it. Moreover, she never mentioned race. It is a legitimate position that ought to be discussed. Along with more modest requirements, however, Goldy wants: 1. A moratorium on all immigration, and 2. A moratorium on accepting refugees.

I understand why Goldy feels this way.

It seems to me obvious, nevertheless, that we have an absolute moral obligation to come to the aid of anyone, like Bibi, actively persecuted because of their religion or ethnicity. Just as we have a moral obligation to come to the assistance, if we can, of a stranger we see being attacked on the street. Consider the fate of the Jews of Germany in the 1930s. Shouldn’t we have thrown the doors wide for them? Don’t we all wish we had?

There is a problem, true, with false refugee claims by people who are really economic migrants. Let’s not get suckered. Still, it is not hard to see that Christians, Jews, Bahai, Parsis, or Yazidis living in the Middle East, say, or Christians or Falun Gong in China, face a real threat of persecution or even genocide. We ought to let them in. Especially those of minority faiths who really have nowhere else to go—there are no majority Yazidi nations where Yazidis might feel more secure than Canada. For Christians, there may be other nations, but none more secure for them than Canada, and none with as much room for them.

I note that the same concern does not extend to Muslims—even though Muslims are indeed being persecuted in China or in Burma. In their case, they do indeed have many majority Muslim states to emigrate to, in which they should feel more secure in practicing their religion than they would in Canada. Any desire to emigrate to Canada instead therefore looks economically motivated.

Persecuted minority groups, moreover, make ideal immigrants. Because they knew persecution in the lands from which they came, they will genuinely value their new allegiance and their new land. They will have no lingering divided loyalties.

Those who come for economic reasons will. The moment it seems more in their financial interest to move on, they will move on. While here, they are likely to do their best to make it more like their home country. They have nothing to lose. If this ends up screwing Canada up, they can always go back.

At present, we seem to deliberately avoid prioritizing such minority religious groups. Which is immoral madness. Imagine, again, it is the 1930s, and we refused to prioritize Jews over other Germans. Besides denying Jews needed help, we may be importing the problems of Germany from which they are fleeing.

The problem Goldy sees with immigration is really, I believe, a problem with multiculturalism. She is missing the mark here. Canada is not a country based on race; the race of any immigrant should not matter. But Canada must also be more than just a geographic entity, or it has no reason to exist and soon does not exist. Canada must be a culture, a set of traditions, and shared values.

We need all immigrants to subscribe to these traditions, this culture, and these values, or Canada is lost. To anyone who thinks Canada is on the whole at least a smidgeon better than the average country in the world, a better place to live than Somalia, say, or Laos, or Nicaragua, this must be a concern. For anyone who genuinely loves Canada, this must be a vital concern.

That said, we also need immigration. We are not having enough babies. And, even if we were, Canada is underpopulated. Canada would be doing better both culturally and economically with more people. People are the most valuable resource.

I can see limiting immigration on the grounds that too many people coming at once makes assimilation less likely. But the main problem here is multiculturalism. We are actively trying to prevent newcomers from assimilating.

But what we want, if we have any morals or intelligence, is precisely those rejected from whence they come. The

huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.

All others stay home. You're fine at home. For that matter, your home probably needs you.