Posted on 03/05/2011 10:36:48 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
FLORENCE, Italy -- Svetlana Cojochru feels insulted. The Moldovan has lived here seven years as a nanny to Italian kids and caregiver to the elderly, but in order to stay she's had to prove her language skills by writing a postcard to an imaginary friend and answering a fictional job ad.
"I feel like a guest," said Cojochru. She had just emerged from Beato Angelico middle school where she took a language test to comply with a new law.
Italy is the latest Western European country turning the screws on an expanding immigrant population by demanding language skills in exchange for work permits, or in some cases, citizenship.
In Austria, terms are tougher. There, where native speakers have been sometimes known to scold immigrant parents for not speaking proper German to their children, foreigners from outside the European Union need to prove they speak basic German within five years of receiving their first residency permit. Failure to do so can bring fines and jeopardize their right to stay.
Terrorism pushed Britain to start strictly enforcing a requirement for English-language competency for prospective citizens. Three of the 2005 London suicide bombers were native Britons of Pakistani descent while the fourth was born in Jamaica.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’ll ponder that (g)
Good for you, Italy. Although personally, I think you should be HONEST and just tell the friggin’ Muslims to get the hell out.
It wont be long before Europe starts cleaning house.
You are correct. And as a guest, her manners are deplorable.
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