It was a meeting of two mayors at Mumbai's Mayor's Bungalow at Shivaji Park on Wednesday morning.
It was a meeting of two mayors at Mumbai's Mayor's Bungalow at Shivaji Park on Wednesday morning. Mayor Shraddha Jadhav met the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb (The Netherlands second largest city after Amsterdam), as a first step towards what the Mayor of Rotterdam called, "building trust".
Both mayors were meeting towards signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) that promises greater co-operation in several fields for both cities.
Marijke A van Drunen Littel, Consul General of The Netherlands, A Aboutaleb and Shraddha Jadhav
Several points are supposed to be covered in the LOI like urban development, including waterfront development, low cost housing, preservation of historic buildings and in the field of logistics for ports and shipping. There was also renewable energy, which was covered. Economic and scientific co-operation was mentioned.
Aboutaleb claimed that there has to be an element of trust and meetings prior to signing of the LOI were, "first steps in getting to know each other."
Speaking about Rotterdam's green efforts, he said that there were new approaches to water management in Rotterdam, new ways being looked at for preventing flooding and people were exploring different sources of making energy like from the heat emanating from factory pipes in the Dutch city.
Yet, it was when Aboutaleb touched upon culture that it was sit-up-and-take-close-notice time. He spoke about the large Hindu Community in Rotterdam, and then stated in conversation, "I was not born in The Netherlands, I was born in Africa."
As the meeting ended and Aboutaleb exited the magnificent Shivaji Park building, he smiled as he said to this reporter and photographers, "Do a Google check. There are lots of pictures of me on the Google search."
The Google threw up much more than pictures.u00a0 It gave a slew of reports about how Aboutaleb was actually one symbol of immigrant success in Europe. Morocco-born Ahmed Aboutaleb is the first Muslim immigrant to lead a major Dutch city. He was appointed in 2009.
Given the journalistic penchant for slotting people into catchy phrases, reporters compared his achievement to that of US President Barack Obama dubbing Aboutaleb, 'Obama on the Maas' (Maas means river), though some reactions stated that was, "stretching it a bit too far."
Rotterdam, has the largest immigrant community in The Netherlands. Tensions were simmering a couple of years ago,u00a0 after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, by an extremist. Gogh, a filmmaker,u00a0 had made a film called Submission which was critical of the treatment of women in Islam.
Rotterdam was also the power base of a controversial politician, Pim Fortuyn. Fortuyn, an out of the closet homosexual had also criticised Islam.
Fortuyn was murdered by a man called Volkert van der Graaf, who claimed in court he had killed Fortuyn to stop him from exploiting weak members of society in seeking political power.u00a0
Then, there is Dutch politician Geert Wilders, yet another flamboyant Dutch politician, who reports stated has criticised Aboutaleb in the recent past.
Though this political mosaic may not be immediately relevant to Aboutaleb's Mumbai visit, it is glimpse of au00a0 man on whose broad shoulders lies the onus of doing a tricky juggling act, in a country which is battling to strike a balance between immigration and integration.
About Rotterdam
Rotterdam is a city in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated to the west of The Netherlands. The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. From 1962 to 2004, it was the world's busiest port until surpassed by Shanghai. Rotterdam is on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas, one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name Rotterdam derives its name from a dam in the Rotte river. In The Netherlands, Rotterdam has the highest percentage of foreigners from non-industrialised nations. Nearly 50 per cent of the population are not native to The Netherlands, or have at least one parent born outside the country.
Is Europe shutting the doors?
Do Western countries think that they have been too generous, too accepting and maybe even too spineless when it comes to protecting what they term, a Western way of life and liberal values? Tighter immigration policies, the need to integrate and laws banning face coverings -- besides some straight speaking by politicians gives an indication of how many in Europe thinks its famed tolerance has gone a bit too far and is diluting some cherished values. These are messages couched in political correctness, but they do address fears and talk about the need for people to integrate fully into Western society.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
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Cameron talks straight
On February 5, British Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech in Munich that re-ignited debate about multi-culturalism in Britain.u00a0
These are only excerpts but give a flavour of starkness of the PM's speech, which began by him saying that he wanted to focus his remarks on terrorism.u00a0
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Cameron said, "The biggest threat to our security comes from terrorist attacks some of which are sadly carried out by our own citizens. It's important to stress that terrorism is not linked exclusively to any one religion or ethnic group.
u00a0Last week at Davos, I rang the alarm bell for the urgent need for Europe to recover its economic dynamism.u00a0 And today, though the subject is complex, my message on security is equally stark. We won't defeat terrorism simply by the actions we take outside our borders. Europe needs to wake up to what is happening in our own countries.
"Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream.u00a0 We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.
We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So, when a white person holds objectionable views -- racism, for example -- we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them."
Denmark
Denmark has recently tightened its immigration laws again, with something called a points system designed to make it more difficult to bring foreigners into the country through marriage. There are new stricter requirements for would-be immigrants, and for those already in Denmark, who wish to marry a Dane.
France
France jails and impose huge fines on anyone who forces a Muslim woman to wear a full-face veil, a law passed last year said. "No-one may wear in public places clothes that are aimed at hiding the face," said the text of a new law.
Switzerland
The Swiss in 2009, banned the construction of minarets, in a referendum drawn up by the far right though the Swiss government had opposed it. The Swiss government said it would respect the vote and sought to reassure the Muslim population that the minaret ban was not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture.
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