The Exodus Begins

Middle class Dutch have begun to leave their nation, heading West.

An exodus of native-born Dutch in search of a new life abroad has reversed immigration flows for the first time since the post-war era.

Last year more people left the Netherlands than arrived as migrants or asylum seekers, even though unemployment remains low at 4.7 percent and per capita income is higher than any major country in Europe.

	Ellen and Peter Bles are planning to leave their home near Tilburg for Perth, Western Australia

Lawyers, accountants, computer specialist, nurses, and businessmen are lining up for visas to the English-speaking world, looking to Australia, New Zealand and Canada as orderly societies where people have the space to breathe.

I am reminded of the Elves of Tolkien, a merry people, who driven from the Shadow flee into the West, never to return. With them goes the memory of ages past, and sorrow and loss are soon the only things felt of their presence in the land. Those now leaving the Netherlands will likely never return, as their absence will quicken the the decay in their native land. Soon all with any sense, and any ability to, will leave their nation, unless the deterioration is quickly checked. That may yet occur, and the Netherlands may yet be saved. But I am not so sure. I see signs which tell me that the Old World is crumbling before our very eyes.