LETTER: Mass immigration leads to subjugation of indigenous culture

Mia Swart comes across more like a left-wing politician than an academic (“What immigration says about our capacity to be cruel,” March 6). Instead of simply condemning right-wing parties in Europe for their “cruelty”, should she not attempt to understand the fears caused by uncontrolled immigration and perhaps propose solutions rather than condemning people for wanting to ensure the survival of their own culture and traditions by protecting their borders?

Mass immigration, however peaceful, represents an invasion and the subjugation of the indigenous culture to foreign cultures. I would suggest that Dr Swart visit the railway station in Milan, Italy, where there is a huge concentration of immigrants with no access to housing or jobs, and witness the resultant squalor and effect on the personal security of the indigenous population.

Yet when the Italian interior minister stated the obvious, remarking that the combination of Italy’s low birth rate and uncontrolled immigration would lead to “ethnic substitution”, he was condemned by left-wing politicians as racist.

In the UK, former home secretary Suella Braverman warned that current immigration levels “cannot go on” or Britain would become “unrecognisable”. Is this what Dr Swart and left-wing politicians want? If so, should they not be honest enough to say so.

As long as people feel their culture and way of life is under threat from uncontrolled immigration they will put their own interests first and inevitably resort to cruel measures to control what they regard as a scourge. It is surely the responsibility of academics such as Dr Swart to propose strategies to address this complex problem through showing as much respect for the rights of the indigenous population as they do for the  rights of immigrants. 

Ian Robinson
Parkhurst

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