The German Marshal Fund is a think tank financed by both local governments of the EU and the European Union as a whole (and a bunch of corporate and private donations). This week they released their annual report about “Transatlatic Trends on immigration” across the US and the EU (link to PDF). The report polls public opinion about the perception of immigrants and immigration. In a relatively short 30 page report, the words “burden” and “burden sharing” are used no less than 26 times to refer to immigrants, specifically those from countries that are currently experiencing the Arab Spring.
Additionally, the report repeatedly seeks to highlight the need to “share the burden” of these immigrants. Which leads me to obvious observation: these people are not being referred to as “human beings” but as a taxing load that States should endure in solidarity with each other. And of course, my immediate realization that this stance has been supported with public funds, of the kind that these “burdens” also contribute to.
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