During April I traveled to the UK,  Germany and Switzerland and I was astounded how things have changed since I first came to Europe 20 years ago.

During that time a huge influx of refugees and foreign workers has changed these once insular societies into thriving multicultural communities. 
Europe has become a new melting pot for all races, religions and cultures.

The USA has long been the leader and has given many people the chance of a better life. Although the numbers are small in comparison, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also taking immigrants from all parts of the world.

The recently abandoned borders between european countries has allowed unprecedented movement of people seeking greener pastures. Looking at the big picture one must admit that given time the world can become a peaceful and happy place if we can all learn  to live together in harmony. 

Racism will no doubt continue to slow this process for many years to come. I have found, getting to know people from other countries makes you realize that even though we are all different, most of us still seem to have the same wishes and goals as everyone else.

In my opinion,  education is the key to eliminating racism.  People who have traveled widely tend to be more tolerant of other customs and cultures. Children can learn respect for other cultures at an early age and accept racial differences without question but unfortunately they learn racism from parents and peers. 

Please check out a web site by Neil Walklate in the UK. See the address below. You will find inspiring words of wisdom there..

**************************************************************

Dr John Flynn publishes a monthly HTML ezine called:
"The Xerostar Times" and his motto is:
"caring for creative people"
You can subscribe at: 
http://www.xerotron.com/cgi-bin/mail/mail.cgi
The free eBook "The Xerotron Story" is available at:
http://midi-ebooks.com  mailto: xerostar@iinet.net.au

***************************************************************