For the moment, Donald Trump’s plan to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the Mexican border is still an unfunded promise. But look to the southern borders of Europe and you will find fences and walls springing up like mushrooms after rainfall.
Quietly, without the Trump bombast, Hungary has strung barbed wire along its southern frontier. Macedonia has closed its border with Greece to migrants and is fortifying it with a fence. The same is true for Slovenia, which is stringing razor wire along its border with Croatia.
The result is that refugees hoping to get to northern Europe to claim asylum are either stranded in sub-zero weather in the Balkans or blocked inside the borders of Greece, where 62,000 live in tents, abandoned buildings or other inadequate conditions.
Greece is struggling under a six-year regime of austerity which is designed – so far without any sign of success – to reduce its crippling burden of debt. The Greek government has to cope with a humanitarian disaster at a time when its coffers are empty and national morale is at a low ebb.
The way Mr Trump is setting about fulfilling his promise to “regain control” of US borders has – with some justification – been criticised in Europe as racist, inflammatory and overtly anti-Muslim. But in the eyes of the Greeks, the only difference between Washington and Brussels is the tone of his remarks.
Nicos Devletoglou, an economics professor at the University of Athens, accuses European Union leaders of rampant hypocrisy. How can Brussels criticise the United States, he asks, when the EU “continues to turn a blind eye to the formidable barbed wire fortifications erected all along the northern frontiers of Greece by its neighbours?”
The hypocrisy is made more apparent by an opinion survey of attitudes to immigration in 10 EU countries. In response to the statement, “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped”, more than half of respondents – 55 per cent – said yes.
The figures need to be put in some context. The survey was conducted after Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to refugees in 2015, allowing 1.1. million to enter the country and at a time when right-wing parties are exploiting the migration crisis and fears of further terrorist attacks.
Bizarrely the most Islamophobic country, with 71 per cent agreeing that all Muslim migration should be halted, was Poland, which has a Muslim population of 0.1 per cent, and is not on any migration route. So the respondents were not talking about their personal experience, probably having never seen a Muslim except on TV.
Some of the lower levels of Islamophobia were recorded in two countries with prominent Muslim populations – Britain (where 47 per cent agreed with the statement) and Spain (41 per cent). Nevertheless the message is clear: if there was a European Trump who, like the American president, suspended refugee arrivals and imposed a 90-day ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries – an order since blocked by the US courts – he would have a lot of support.
So the shining halo that Europe likes to parade over its welcome to refugees is a fantasy, except for one exception: Mrs Merkel’s decision to open Germany’s borders to all comers in 2015. But that decision may prove to be a costly one for her in the general election later this year. In any case, Germany is now about to resume applying the asylum rules which it had suspended in a generous act of compassion. From March asylum seekers who apply in Germany will be returned to the first EU country they landed in – usually Greece or Italy.
The US and the EU are united by a grossly exaggerated perception of the size of the local Muslim population. According to polling last year by Ipsos-MORI, in France the average guess is that 31 per cent of the population is Muslim, when it is actually 7.5 per cent. In the US, perceptions are similarly inaccurate, with average guesses of 17 per cent against actual figures of 1 per cent. It is as if the size of minority populations is seen to be in proportion to their coverage on TV.
There is more than just Muslims worrying these populations – most likely a feeling that governments are not in control of their countries in an age of globalisation, and certainly not in control of their borders. This is painfully true of Europe. The EU allowed passport-free movement inside most of its member states before thinking of a hard external border.
The contrast with Canada is illuminating. Nowadays the smiling face of the youthful and progressive prime minister Justin Trudeau welcoming refugees from Syria represents Brand Canada. For nine years until 2015, Canada had a right-wing populist government, but it did not clamp down on accepting refugees for the simple reason that Canadians had confidence in the vetting process: refugees cannot reach Canada by land or in leaky wooden boats, so all arrivals are carefully chosen. Many are sponsored by religious or community groups, ensuring they can integrate speedily. The top six source countries in 2014 were Iraq, Eritrea, Iran, Congo, Somalia and Syria, four of which are on the proposed US travel ban list.
Canada is blessed in its geography. But there is a lesson here for all countries. Relatively high levels of immigration can be tolerated if people believe that the government is in control of the borders and the process. This is clearly not true with the EU: its quixotic abolition of internal borders without a hard external frontier is undermining trust – perhaps fatally – in the whole European project.
As for the US, the vetting of refugees seems robust already, and ought to inspire confidence. But Mr Trump has fatally confused the refugee vetting issue with the porous southern border with Mexico. This is a legitimate issue of concern, but he has eased his way to power by stoking distrust of Islam.
Alan Philps is a commentator on global affairs
On Twitter: @aphilps
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Napoleon
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Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Indika
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
