Open and Closed: American Borders vs. the EU

Today I made my first visit to the American Consulate in Frankfurt. Almost a year of living abroad has finally nearly filled my passport with various visas and stamps and seeing as I need to renew my residence and work visa for Germany shortly I figured that now was as good a time as any to get some extra pages in my little passport.

As I strolled up to the consulate, a rather large complex surrounded by fences on the outskirts of Frankfurt I was struck by the number of people waiting for entry visas to the U.S. I'm fascinated by the fact that as American tightens up its borders every day, Europe is experiencing the opposite. With the continued addition of new nations to the EU partnership, established European countries are being challenged to open their borders and relinquish control of how people pass in and out of their nations. From what I've read it has in fact caused quite a few problems, but at the same time it is creating a significantly more fluid workforce which should be a benefit to the overall stability of the European economy.

However even as America becomes increasingly xenophobic, so the European nations are struggling with their own issues. An article in the weekend Financial Times just this past weekend talked about how Germany is struggling with an influx of human trafficking now that the borders have opened up more with Eastern Europe. With every change comes new challenges for sure, and I just cannot help but be fascinated as an American watching Europe struggle with how to manage the flow of people, commerce and goods (legal and illegal) through it's borders and still maintain safety and a certain level of comfort among their citizens. I've already seen much of the resentment in Germany by disenfranchised youth against the Turkish population that they feel is taking up valuable jobs that in their minds should be going to German nationals. I have a feeling that as the population begins to shift around even more that this will only begin to happen with more frequency.

Interesting times to be abroad for sure. The topic of America's protectionist stance is the subject for another day. But in short, I think we're doing ourselves a disservice. I'm looking forward to a new administration come next January.