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Shell funds anti-immigrant campaign

-- | 18.09.2003 12:08 | Anti-racism


Shell funds campaign for immigrant ban in the Netherlands, Shell managers help run the campaign.


In the last few months there has been a wave of proposals for immigrant bans in Dutch cities. Rotterdam is considering banning foreigners from moving into the city - that means either immigrants, or people with one or both parents born outside the EU. The cabinet is now considering forced dispersal programmes, to evict immigrants in cities and rehouse them in suburbs or new towns.. Perhaps more on these immigrant bans later, but there is clearly a lobby of some kind promoting them.

One of these lobbies is a foundation financed by Shell, the Rabo Bank, and the Fortis Bank. It apparently began as a lobby for assimilation programmes, but now sees immigration itself as the main problem. In an interview last week, its director said: "The flood of no-hope immigrants must be stopped".

Shell has an extremely racist corporate culture, which has been ignored in the many campaigns against the company. In the Netherlands, it refuses to employ immigrant minorities, such as Moroccans, in senior functions. The company's political liaison manager said bluntly "Moroccans don't have the talent for that sort of job". With these attitudes, it is not surprising that Shell wants immigrants out of Dutch cities - especially out of Rotterdam.

Anti-racist campaigns generally ignore the role of business in stirring up hatred against immigrants in urban areas. Immigrants are usually poor, and depress retail sales and property prices. Expulsion of immigrants would allow wholesale redevelopment and/or gentrification of the areas where they lived. It would reverse 'white flight' and bring high-income households back into the city. All that makes expulsion of foreigners attractive to business. Additionally, they are a political threat in the long term. Shell would not like to see its largest refineries fall under a Muslim-majority council, although it would be at least 40 years before that scenario takes effect.

One response to Shell racism is a boycott. Unfortunately, boycotts don't just happen, they require much organisation, and it doesn't look like any organisation is prepared to do that at present. Politically, Shell has nothing to fear in the Netherlands. The cabinet supports a hard line against foreigners, so does the Labour opposition, which is led by a former Shell manager.

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Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

sources please

18.09.2003 16:22

ok. but _please_ provide us with the sources, so we are able to check what you write.

'lo

Shell Oil arms supplier

19.09.2003 15:51

no small suprise then that dutch shell or shell doesn't mind discreetly supllying guns and ammunition to the same nigerian police force that severely and brutally oppresses/intimidates/tortures/kills most if not all of the south eastern tribal groups of igbos/ijaws/efiks etc who seem to inhabit the land where shell sucks all the oil out of.....killing two nigger-birds with one stone perhaps......
I think you'll also find that wherever there is enormous wealth there is also immense suffering and fascim etc....
We should not also forget that millions of jews were sent to thier deaths at various nazi concentration camps from a train station in Rotterdam that exists no longer....
The site of this staion is by Wlheminaplein metro stop{the blue line}there is an old section of wall that ran along the sides of the railway track,and there sits a brass or bronze plaque written in dutch commemorating these terrible events.....
This wall is but a few feet away from the old drawbridge building,which still stands today,close to Albert hein supermarket,and suprise suprise this area where Jews were sent to there deaths is a wealthy trendy bar and yacht ridden marina type area...tsk tsk..
also in amsterdam there is a buiding opposite the cinema round the back of the Leidseplein[tourist area like leicester square} which used to house the Gestapo headquarters of that time......
Old habits die hard then...
The truth is also that alot of Nazi germans and SS officers interbred and married with the dutch population which is why many dutch caucasians have this "perfect aryan " look..
no small suprise then that the self same egregious policies of the twisted half jewish mad man from austria have survived to this day....
The dutch conservatives are some of the most utterly racist hypoicritical bunch on this planet.....
There are different types of white people in Holland ,the ones who love and hang out with all races and smoke pot,and the bastard types who hung out with Pym Fortuyn who was fortunately shot dead by design or accident.....
no suprise that this twisted far-right facist homosexual member of the dutch parliament openly admitted to a liking for "sleeping with young morrocan men"
so that's alright then
yours truly
'shit stirrer'

bollockschops

Shell Oil - Arms Supplier - random rambling?

23.11.2003 00:06

The article on "Shell Oil - Arms Supplier" seems to be self defeating... It has one paragraph of unsupported allegations with no mention of any sources followed by the most amazing rambling about connections to the Nazi party. One can only assume that the connection is that Shell has an office in Rotterdam (the location which the writer rambles on about Nazi attrocities). I feel that this belittles the suffering which was endured by so many during the second world war. It is also possible to see a little homophobia in the writers comments - something which was exhibited by the Nazi's - so obviously the writer has a connection with their ideaology - not something to be in the slightest bit proud of.

In summary - Yes, Shell may be a bad company (or it may not), but to use them as a pretext for such bizarre rambling only makes people disbelieve your comments.

Ewok