"The garden/jungle metaphor arises from an utterly unacceptable colonial mentality that gives the West a right to invade & occupy. That era has long gone. Multipolarity is on the doorstep. EU needs to adopt the realities, otherwise, it will continue to decline & fade," wrote Nasser Kan'ani in reaction to the remarks of Josep Borell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who compared Europe to a garden – and most of the world to a jungle – in a speech last Thursday at the European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Belgium.
“Europe is a garden. We have built a garden… The rest of the world… is not exactly a garden. Most of the rest of the world is a jungle. The jungle could invade the garden. The gardeners should take care of it,” Borrell said.
“The jungle has a strong growth capacity… walls will never be high enough in order to protect the garden. The gardeners have to go to the jungle, and Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us, by different ways and means," he added.
His remarks provoked many reactions. Other politicians from across the world jumped to condemn Borrell’s comments.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, responded to Borrell’s comments on Telegram, saying “The ‘garden’ was built by Europe due to the barbaric attitude to the plundering of the ‘jungle.’ Borrell could not say it better: the most prosperous system created in Europe was nourished by its roots from the colonies, which it ruthlessly oppressed.”
In reaction to the racist statements of Borrell, the Qatari Minister of Interior Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari said that his statements show the racism and cultural-moral decline of the West.
The West lacks leaders who are capable of making courageous decisions, the decisions that must be consistence with their capabilities and the reality of the West after the end of the colonial exploitation of the Southwest world, he said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also described Borrell's remarks as "racist". While condemning the statement, the United Arab Emirates summoned the EU ambassador in Abu Dhabi to formally express its protest.
MNA/
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