Immigration problems have never been easy for any of the countries involved in this process, as human lives hide behind the seemingly bureaucratic, political, economic, social, religious and all other aspects of this phenomenon. In the history of the Balkans related to immigration, there are episodes that we can be proud of but also some that we do not want to mention. An interesting fact is that a significant part of the population in our part of the world shares the destiny of emigration. At the same time, our countries are subject to immigration that gives rise to a wide range of issues and events.
In this context, we asked, "Under what conditions are you willing to accept immigrants from Asia and Africa?" The poll results are interesting, as always.
Almost half of the votes or 43% of the readers of the Bulgarian page of the website respond that Europe is a small continent and cannot accept more immigrants. Second in the ranking is the option that immigrants come to Europe just to take advantage of its good social policy. This response accounts for 21% of readers' votes. Third with 17% ranks the option that immigrants are welcome as long as they comply with the European civilization norms. 11% of our readers will accept immigrants in their country if they unconditionally agree that religious freedom cannot be more important than human rights. Only 7% choose the option that people in trouble deserve our help.
The English page of GRReproter.info offers similar answers. 42% of its readers point out the small size of the European continent as a reason for our inability to accept more immigrants. The option that every immigrant who comes to the continent has to comply with the European civilization norms of behaviour ranks second with 20%. 19% of our readers believe that immigrants in trouble deserve to be accepted by us. Fourth is the option that immigrants only take advantage of the social benefits of Europe, as 11% of our readers voted for it. The answer that human rights are more important than religious freedom ranks last with 9%.
On the Greek website page, the readers vote is divided between two options, each of them having 50%. The first is that Europe is a small continent and the second that immigrants must unconditionally yield religious freedoms in favour of human rights.
The economic crisis is affecting different groups of readers. The Bulgarian audience of our website is experiencing economic difficulties, perceiving as a burden the waves of immigrants. This is exhausting the tolerance and hospitality for which Bulgarians are famous and which we consider national features. Whether difficult life conditions directly affect the level of commitment is a question that everyone must answer alone. Our film about the Greek political emigrants makes it clear that Bulgaria accepted immigrants, under not very good economic conditions, and cared for them. What has changed since then? What is the difference with the current situation and attitudes? Here are more questions that seek answers.
The English-speaking readers are a bit more tolerant. Although the majority of them believe that Europe does not have enough room for new immigrants, their second answer is that they would help people in trouble.
The conclusion from the poll is that the majority of our readers believe that Europe does not have the required resources and capacity to accept new waves of immigrants.
Our new poll is different, on a topic that is interesting in archaeological, historical and political terms and affects the excavations at Amphipolis. You are invited to share your opinion in it.