refugees) terror Renaissance

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1 Europe was founded as a community bound together by solidarity. Member states agreed to work together closely because they knew that together, we are stronger. Europe grows closer together in crisis. Now, the opposite seems to be true. We are now experiencing a wave of eroding solidarity, first of certain societies and then entire governments. At the same time, we have two giant new challenges to meet: the migration movement and terror. And then Great Britain is negotiating with the EU. We are in the middle of a tough, ideological conflict that is being waged across the entire continent. On the one side are those who say that global challenges like migration (refugees) and terror cannot be met with national parochialism, which is a political state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of provincialism. On the other side are those who would like to see a Renaissance of the nation-state.

2 The nation-state system came about in medieval Western Europe as a result of the waning political dominance held by the feudal lords and the Catholic Church. Both the Renaissance and the Reformation were breaking the back of the Church s political power. The men of the Renaissance (the rebirth ) began to look to the classical forms for guidance in learning. As for the Reformation, it proposed that men need not get to heaven through the Church. Each believer was a priest before God. So now, both the road to knowledge and to heaven need not go through Rome. The Protestant Reformation would also work to bring about a state transformation throughout Europe. The Protestant Reformation helped shatter the religious unity of Europe, and it was linked with the emergence of nation-states with their own boundaries, legislatures, jurisdiction and therefore laws. It was a time of growing national consciousness. I believe that the majority of people in Europe want to demonstrate solidarity with the refugees. We have seen that in the overwhelming willingness to help. Sometimes one gets the impression that the people are much more advanced on this question than their governments. I was for a whole week in a refugee harem in Karlsruhe in Germany, in September 2015, where I became very close with a 9 year old boy from Afghanistan called Nour. The harem was completely funded by members of the community, mainly young professionals between the ages of 22 and 35.

3 They had rented out a warehouse on the outskirts of the city and there they spent time with 84 kids from broken states, teaching them languages, sports and giving them the basics of education, in the attempt of course to nurture them into possible citizens. In a progressing and ever so terrorised era we are living in, Europe is closing its borders. Not just with the outside, but also within. Organised terror is gathering momentum and corrupting the minds of many that do not believe in addressing the problems with a liberal and open mind, rather it enhances aggression and repulsiveness. We really need to work on solutions, not on surveillance. The EU could finally act on its dawning understanding that if it is to survive, it has to offer concrete answers to the citizens needs and fears. It does all add up, though, to a lot of ifs, mays, buts and coulds. A wind of anxious, resentful, anti politics-as-usual change is blowing across Europe. It would be surprising if it does not claim at least some more establishment victims. I ve been living in Great Britain on and off since 2009, when Europe was hit by one of the biggest economic crises. Moreover, in London currently since January Being half english, I ve always regarded England to be my home too, but not being a nationalist I regard anywhere I go as

4 potentially being home for me. As long as I m well and I can find beauty in what I see and get, then I call it home. I ve always felt like I would live a part of my life in London, I wasn t sure when, but It was going to happen somehow. London has this energy that drags you towards it. Comparable to Rome in the Roman Empire. The dimensions of the city, diversity, beauty, green spaces, architecture, opportunity and above all the freedom and equality that it gives you is not easy to find anywhere else.

5 But like any large city, it comes with a lot of struggles. Its one thing visiting as a tourist, however in order to conduct a normal life one has to be able to counterpunch a lot of everyday stress and lack of time to do the things we love the most. The ever so rising prices of the city make it a big struggle for students and young citizens. The unemployment rate is low but in order to live well one must be able to work for a good business or has to make a good living with what one does. The city however, gives you those opportunities and network connections that can boost your confidence and experience in order to gain ground and facilitate yourself up the ladder. Nonetheless, Great Britain covers your health care, wether you are a UK citizen or not. I have never spent anything on a dentist, for a blood test, minor operations or prescriptions. As I m a filmmaker my network of people are majorly artists of any typology, from fellow filmmaker to film and theatre actors, life performers, painters, photographers, graphic designers, tattoo artists, art directors and so on. What London gives you a part from fundings and economic aids to start out, one example would be that the British Film Institute funds first time feature filmmakers, in order to make there first film, it gives you hope and credibility, it gives you and audience. Having that you can grow in confidence as an artist or anything new you are willing to start with. Its a city that permits this, not only because of the economic status it boasts, but because its somewhere where you can be yourself and you can thrive in the soil it gives you. As Samuel Johnson famously said: When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Great Britain in or out of the EU, will remain a beautiful country full of opportunities, ideas, cultural ferment, innovation and openness, but what one needs to never forget is that in these transitions of history where repetitions are always happening, closing in and setting new borders

6 always comes with a price to pay in terms of not brooding further our minds. Unless its horizons are overseas as once the British Empire had. Understanding others makes possible a better knowledge of oneself: any form of identity is complex, for individuals are defined in relation to other people - both individually and collectively - and the various groups to which they owe allegiance, in a constantly shifting pattern. - UNICEF The world is experiencing an identity crisis, not of the adolescence kind. Young people have lost their orientation and sense of beauty. Historians start to refer to us as the Lost Generation. But why

7 is this happening? Is it just a lack of stimulations, a too broad access to information? An ever so volatile state in not being able to determine ourselves within society? What was interesting is that only 36 % of the voters between age 18 and 24 voted for the Brexit referendum. Of which 75 % voted to remain in the EU. From and objective point of view, not taking into consideration the pros and cons of what will the schism bring. If that age portion was to double their votes, bringing it to 72% and of course still taking into consideration the previous turnout percentage of 75%, then the outcome of the elections would have been completely different. This proves and goes to show, how young people have more power than they think they do. In a second world war and after war scenario that age group was the one that was winning the war, that age group was the one that was changing the course of history, that age group was the one that re lifted, re built and evolved, creating and migrating to new horizons. We are talking about, The POP Culture, The Beat Generation. One must not forget about how valuable we are to society.