Babel

BabelThis morning, on the bus from Huarte to Pamplona, I met Babel. A Senegalese Muslim, father, and one of those rare people who, in just fifteen minutes of conversation, leaves you feeling like you've made a real neighbor in a world full of strangers.I sat next to him almost instinctively. We started in French — I correctly guessed he came from Francophone Africa — and quickly moved into a comfortable mix of Spanish and French. Then, quite naturally, he suggested we continue in Basque (Euskera). I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been studying it patiently: with customers at my restaurant-café, with Basque radio and television here in Navarre. He is learning it too. He has friends who are fishermen on the Gipuzkoa coast, and there, immersed on boats out at sea, Basque has come more easily to him. We spoke for a while in Euskera, both of us laughing at our mistakes as fellow learners.Babel speaks Wolof (his mother tongue), French, Spanish, English, and now Basque. He is hardworking, entrepreneurial, emotionally stable, and intelligent. It’s clear he came with his family and children. He has integrated genuinely. That is no small thing.Europe, the MagnetEurope is a small continent, one of the most densely populated on the planet, yet it seems everyone wants to live here: Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, people from other parts of Europe… Why? The answer is as obvious as it is uncomfortable for some: quality of life, freedoms, democracy, the rule of law, and the cultural, philosophical, and legal traditions that — despite all their flaws — remain a beacon.Babel embodies the kind of immigration that works and that we need. Families arriving together, committing to the local culture, learning the languages (yes, including Basque in Navarre and the Basque Country), working, and creating. People who don’t come merely to occupy space, but to contribute.Recently I posted a photo of African men sleeping in a park in Pamplona and wrote that it is not normal. It is neither normal nor desirable. Human beings, regardless of race or culture, have basic passions, needs, and drives. Bringing predominantly young males in their peak testosterone years, without family roots or a clear project, creates predictable imbalances. The “coincidence” that so many unaccompanied minors (MENAs) are almost always 17-year-old boys also raises questions about immigration mafias and certain ideological groups that, under flags of compassion, fill their coffers while distorting migration flows.The Immigration We WantThis is not about closing doors. It is about choosing wisely which doors we open and to whom. We should prioritize professionals, complete families with young children, and people willing to integrate culturally, linguistically, and civically. That strengthens Europe instead of straining it.When we said goodbye, I invited Babel to come for coffee one afternoon at number 47, where I work. I hope he does. Conversations like this are worth more than many speeches.And yes, it perfectly matches what I’ve been writing these past weeks: Europe must defend its model without complexes. At the same time, as the Pope recalled in the Canary Islands, we must work in the countries of origin. True generosity is not only about welcoming people, but about helping them live with dignity in their own lands. “Europeanizing” the planet — not in a colonial sense, but by spreading freedoms, prosperity, education, and good governance — is the most ambitious and realistic moral horizon.Babel is named after the biblical tower. But in his case, he does not symbolize the confusion of languages. Quite the opposite: he represents the human capacity to cross borders, learn languages, and build bridges when there is will, effort, and family involved.Welcome, friend. May there be many more like you.