Immigration: Communities and Identity

Many European countries have become melting pot, not to mention the US the biggest pot where you have a blender of all races. UK has a migrating population from its former colonies in Asia like Indians, Pakistanis and Middle-Easters. France’s third world countries immigrants are largely from the French speaking parts of the African continent, including North Africa whose population are racially distinct from the rest of Africa.

France like many European countries with settled immigrants has a mosaic of cultures, embedded with backgrounds from the countries of origin. Muslim communities emanating largely from North Africans have established themselves in France as a distinct community. They still cling to their country of origin. In Morocco, summer is the period for Moroccan immigrants in Europe, to visit to their country. This kind of continuous link has somewhat helped the new generation to have an idea about their country, although a great number of them can’t speak Moroccan Arabic.

One problem that can arise for immigrants is that of identity crisis. The younger generation of immigrants are aware of this origin. Although they can see themselves as integral part of French society, they arte still seen as the descendants of immigrants. This can lead to racial attitudes towards them as they are hotly waged by the Far-Right leader Joan Marie le Pen.

Because of economic hardship due to unemployment or lack of qualification for employment , many immigrants from third world countries – along with their descendants - are left on the margin of society. Spatially there are whole districts in which immigrants constitute the majority and in which they have their distinct ways of life.

Barbés is a live example of France or at least Paris as a melting pot. It is colourful with different races from different parts of the world. But this colourfulness which characterizes France sometimes fade because of the trouble that sparkles among and by immigrants as it happened last year in different French cities.