Living in Multicultural Cities

Texts of General Interest (link)

Dr. James Manos (MD)

January 1, 2018

Can people live together harmoniously in modern multinational & multicultural cities?

Currently, most cities, such as London, Paris, and New York, are cosmopolitan and are inhabited by people from all over the world. However, many argue that multinational and multicultural cities have many drawbacks and should meet some special conditions for all these people to live harmoniously.

Undoubtedly, most large cities today are overcrowded with people from all over the world who have settled as migrants or immigrants, and their offspring remained there as a second or third generation. However, in contemporary cosmopolitan cities, the lack of integration of the foreign population has caused many problems. These originate from the isolation of people from diverse cultures in neighborhoods that are ghettos. Living ghettoized impedes their integration as they already face racism from the local population. Moreover, it makes matters worse by feeding the vicious circle of delinquency, unemployment, and poor socialization. 

The critical feature for avoiding the negative side of cosmopolitan cities is ‘integration,’ as it ensures that people from diverse cultures live harmoniously with the existing population. That is more important today, especially after the massive migration surges that worsened things. Many countries, including the ones in Southern Europe, were unready to welcome and provide the essential needs of the economic refugees.  

Consequently, some specific conditions should exist so that the inhabitants of different countries can be absorbed and not remain unassimilated. Primarily, the state should have special migrant services to take care of the accommodation and feed the vulnerable foreign population, including the financial refugees who cannot afford to pay this cost.

The state and public shelters can cover their accommodation with special vouchers. At the same time, the state should pay their daily expenses for basic needs, especially for families with children. Vouchers for this purpose can also be used, for instance, to buy supermarket goods.

Secondly, of crucial importance is the education of the foreign population regarding special schools that will teach them the local language and their incorporation into the education system where they will have equal rights with the indigenous students. Moreover, they should have free access to health care services, as this will prevent health issues such as epidemics. Of course, the state should cover the expenses for education and health care, at least for the migrants who cannot afford to pay the cost of these.

Thirdly, the foreign population needs to find work to avoid turning to illegal ways of earning money, such as drugs, smuggling, and prostitution. This is the most important, as the foreign population with a job can afford to spend money on accommodation and basic daily needs. For this reason, unemployment services should take care of finding them a job, and the government may fund some posts. Finally, special attention should be given to fighting racism, such as with publicly funded anti-racist spots in the media and with cross-cultural events, including art performances and games.

To sum up, most contemporary cities are cosmopolitan, and this may be a productive opportunity for people from distinct cultures to meet, exchange their ideas, and incorporate. However, the challenge here is to avoid the isolation of the foreign population in ghettos. For this purpose, the government should take care of their accommodation, basic needs, and employment and focus on fighting discrimination and racism.   

Thanks for reading!