But for many people, the concept of immigration is not a prediction but a reality. This reality exists for a small town in Belgium that perhaps not many have heard of. Maasmechelen is a town of hard working immigrants. After World War II, this town received Italian inmigrants to work on the coal mine. When the children of these immigrants refused, for obvious reasons, to work on the mines, Turkish immigrants arrived to do the job. Like this, many years passed and the town grew and melted to form a unique mix of languages, flavors and people. Acquaintances became friends and friends became family.
The town has preserved its herritage of a mining town. The entrance to the mines are still there, the bar where the miners used to drink and the church where they received sunday mass. There is even a small monument built for those that lost their lives working on the mine.
So what does this mean for the rest of the world? In my opinion, this story is simply an example of how easy it is to adapt to immigration and immigrants. There is nothing scary, cultures will not be lost but rather enhanced. People can cross borders and both integrate and preserve. Borders are merely immaginary lines for we all come from nomads. Who knows where your children's children will be!
