I’ve been thinking a lot about what Maghrebism said, “Why can’t a Moroccan share the same views as Sarkozy, based on her own evaluation and experience?” I think I spend so much time trying to convince others that all Moroccans aren’t corrupt/possible terrorists/grasping thieves, that my expectations are skewed to the positive. I admit that Ms. Dati (see below) should be allowed to make up her own mind, but I don’t believe that personal political beliefs can be entirely divorced from background and cultural values. It’s not about color, so maybe I shouldn’t have used “oreo,” it’s rather inflammatory.
That brings up the whole tangled problem of immigration. Jill states, [bolds mine] "I tend to agree with Sarkozy on immigration; for both France and the US. I don’t see why any country should allow illiterate people or unskilled workers in at this point in time. They will not help the economy, nor will they benefit the country in any other way. I hate the US “Diversity Lottery” - it seems like every year, I meet the stupidest Moroccans at the Consulate who received their visa because of it. Hardly any of them speak English. The cyber cafes in Meknes have English speakers who volunteer (or get paid) to fill out applications in English for others. Doesn’t anyone else see how this kind of immigration is harmful?"
You know what I think is harmful? There are far more serious immigration problems than “stupid” Moroccans, such as Indian companies in the U.S. that hog over 30% of H1-B visas. [...nine Indian companies are amongst the highest users of H-1B visas — between them they used 19,512 of H-1B visas (or 30% of the 65,000 visas allowed) in 2006. {link}] I could go on, but this would end up being a very long post.
As for the poor Moroccans, the problem is not that they’re stupid, but how to integrate them into society when they get here. I don’t believe that I can determine someone’s future capacity to contribute to American society based on their lack of English skills – one would hope they’d have an opportunity to improve once they arrived.
P.S. I thank God that my carte de sejour was not based on how much darija or French I spoke, because I would have surely been rejected.