A modern parable

Chapter 6 - ADJUSTMENT AND SUPPRESSION


The Utopians could understand and accept the basic principals behind refugee and immigration policy:

A. Refugees were given a temporary sanctuary, while waiting for a change in the political situation in their home country, which made it possible for them to return.

B. Immigrants came to stay forever, and in that case the aim was for them (or at least their children) to adapt to the host society and become Utopians.

But this was not how it worked in practice:

The concepts of refugee and immigrant became mixed up. Most came to stay permanently, but few wanted to assimilate and become Utopians. This resulted in ethnic enclaves, with groups that didn't consider themselves to be Utopians and didn't feel any loyalty towards Utopian society. This was not an accident, the game had changed under the Utopians' noses.

The authorities were now speaking lyrically about a 'multicultural society', and the Big Country in the west was their model.


The foundation for this development had been laid in a resolution passed by the Utopian Congress back in the seventies, about freedom of choice when it came to culture. As a result of this resolution Enrichers were encouraged to keep their culture.

Slogans like "All people have equal rights" and "Tolerance" became battle cries in the offensive that followed. In practice the Utopians were effectively denied the right to their own country. The fact that Utopia had been built by Utopians and that every government's first and foremost responsibility was to its own citizens was ignored.

The slogans about equal rights for all were not taken seriously even by those that promoted them. The much heralded "equal rights" and "tolerance" didn't apply to the Utopians. It was proclaimed that every Utopian had a duty to adjust to the newly arrived, no mention was made of Enrichers adjusting to Utopian society.

At the same time the newly arrived were praised as being hard working and well educated, the Utopians were described as dumb and narrow minded. Foreign cultures were glorified, Utopian culture was ridiculed and described as being dangerous.

It became shameful to use the Utopian flag. The Utopian national anthem was avoided and the country's national holiday was celebrated on the quiet. Due to the Enrichers, Utopians lost their common inheritance and traditions - in schools history was correspondingly down graded.

The history of the country was something to be ashamed of. The feeling of solidarity and common responsibility that had built Utopian wealth, safety and democracy was now associated with aggressive and dangerous nationalism.

Immigrant associations were given access to a smorgasbord of organizational and cultural benefits and contributions to special projects, resources that were not available to Utopians. They could be granted access to cheap meeting places and they were given opportunities to broadcast on their own local-TV.

A handfull of Enrichers dominated the public debate on immigration at national level; some even had their own television programmes. The central theme was to blame the Utopians for all ills and to produce a continuous flow of new demands. It was demanded that newly arrived Enrichers should be entitled to the maximum support, without interference from petty Utopian officials and their irrelevant bureaucracy.

These Enrichers, egged-on by the media, acted like Trojan Horses. After they had gained their residence permits they campaigned for further immigration.

Some media-Enrichers were equally militant in their demand for the punishment of Utopians who voiced concerns - all such talk was obviously 'racist' and therefore criminal. Utopians who were critical of the situation were dangerous criminals who should be treated on a par with those who commit serious crimes of violence.

Different measures were consequently used. Violence by Utopians against Enrichers was immediately classified as an act of racism, violence by Enrichers against Utopians was classified differently. The result of this reclassification was that the sentence in the first case was more severe than the latter. Equality before the law no longer existed in Utopia.

The mass media supported the establishment line fully. Newspapers published pictures and names when Utopians were charged with crimes, but nothing similar happened when it came to members of the ADA or Enrichers.

Another important task undertaken by the media was to make teh Utopians accustomed, to makte it clear to them that they now lived in a new kind of society. They were to be taught to see Enrichers as something normal and natural in their environment. Dark skinned people became overrepresented in commercials and TV shows.

In the labour market measures were taken that, in practice, constituted discrimination against Utopians. Regulations and "diversity plans", with the explicit purpose of forcing companies to hire personnel with foreign names, were introduced. An Enricher that had looked for employment but had not been hired could report the company for discrimination and obtain damages. The company was guilty unless it could prove otherwise.

When it came to housing and kindergarten Enrichers were also given higher priority. Areas with high concentrations of Enrichers and schools with large numbers of Enricher students were given extra resources.

In the new Utopia, native Utopians were treated like second-class citizens.