Migrants in Montenegro - danger or opportunity

"France cannot take all the misery of this world into its arms, but it must bear a part of it", Michel Rocard, former French Prime Minister (30 years ago)

"Don't be afraid of a big step, no one has bridged a chasm in two small steps", Davis George, British jurist and statesman

What to do with the current issue of migrants in Montenegro. Apply Viktor Orbán's fascist variant of razor wire, or Donald Trump's projected wall. Or...

Some people are trying to save their lives from the chaos of war, others are driven by misery and hunger, others are persecuted by the government. All this is not from yesterday, but today migrants (exiles, refugees) are shaking the planet. The Promised Lands to which they are headed (mostly Western Europe) cannot agree on how to deal with this massive human distress.

Digression first. From the beginning of the last century, some of the South Slavic states (mostly Orthodox) accepted a wave of "white" refugees from Russia who fled from the "red" October Revolution. The attitude towards them showed, in the first place, a noble attitude towards a man in trouble. But, in these people, the hosts will also receive eternally grateful and devoted citizens. (I witnessed a situation where one of the former "whites" did not give Montenegro his homeland). They also brought some of the cultural and civilizational content and habits from their environment. They also strengthened the professional staff in some deficient areas...

What the writer of these lines wants to say. Why not think about the option that Montenegro offers asylum to a number of migrants. The international community, Europe above all, would support that, very financially. These days they are planning to invest tens of billions in the care of migrants. By the way, Montenegro was traditionally accompanied by the voice of hospitality. Even in the new era, in the nineties, it opened wide the gates to the exiles. True, with a lot of international help. At that time, we also set some records at the global level: in one period, there were 10 to 15 percent of refugees in Montenegro in relation to the number of its population.

Digression second. Look at the experiences of Western European countries, especially Scandinavian countries, Canada and Australia as well. Their actions towards migrants and granting asylum are an act of humanity, but in that act there is also a factor of interest of those countries. They cover a good part of both manual and professional jobs. (On this occasion, I am not talking about the specifics of immigration from the colonies to the mother countries of the former colonial powers, England, Portugal, Spain...).

And Montenegro? He is currently evaluating the possibility of his participation in the temporary care of a number of children. Why only a temporary action. I remind you of what has already been said - the countries that give asylum to migrants do not do it only out of altruism. Why not Montenegro, when the European Union offers very generous aid. Namely, why not think, first hand, about the unused natural resources of Montenegro, above all about its DEAD VILLAGES. (After the last census, I made a TV documentary about them). Why, at the same time, do not take into account the threat of the "white plague", and the fact that Montenegrins in the new era are fleeing from the hoe as from the devil. Hence the dead villages. Thus, with short stays of migrants in special shelters, it would be possible to check whether there are those who are used to life in rural areas and settle them in dead areas that the state would buy or lease from the owners, also with money from international funds. One can imagine how someone who drank water from muddy puddles would feel when he encountered coniferous meadows, forests, arable fields and clear streams. Life would return to dead villages, and Montenegro would gain a lot of profit. There would also be money from special funds to first hire field teachers of Arabic and similar languages, and then gradually include immigrant children in our regular schools. New residents of Montenegrin dead villages would contribute to productivity in food production and strengthen Montenegro's most realistic commitment to a combination of agriculture and tourism.

We should not be fooled by lamenting the fate of the indigenous citizens of Montenegro. In one hundred, two hundred years, the white plague will decimate us anyway. And, finally, larger nations and civilizations disappeared, the Illyrians, on our soil, the Etruscans in neighboring Italy... We also have an interesting experience with African black slaves who came to Ulcinj when Cervantes came to Ulcinj and their descendants continue to this day.

And finally. In this or any other idea of ​​a longer-term process and significance, of course, one cannot go head-to-head. It is understood that thorough preparations would be made by teams of lawyers, sociologists, psychologists, ethnologists, historians, theologians and who would study the experiences of Western European, especially Scandinavian countries, as well as Canada, Australia and others. And then, the project should be defined by a special law which, among other things, would also solve the important issue of buying or renting abandoned estates and houses without life. In the beginning, these would be, in a way, small enclaves with new residents, and then - life would take its course.

The author is a TV author and publicist

PS We Googled the daily news about the sum of tens of thousands of people who died in the waters of the Mediterranean. And thousands of children among them. It shakes us sometimes when we meet a concrete human being from those impersonal figures, such as the boy's body washed ashore by the waves, or the bloody face of a little girl with a powerless, accusing look at the camera. But that too shall pass. Should.