Author excelled at both fiction and true tales

It was only a matter of time before immigration would again panic Europe. The issue has roiled the continent’s politics ever since its 2015 migrant crisis, when 1.3 million unauthorized migrants crossed its borders that summer. They exposed a broken immigration system in the process, triggering a populist backlash that hasn’t dimmed.

All those same tensions were reignited in late July, when 72,000 migrants converged on the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in just 24 hours. The city — a holdover from Spain’s colonial era — is Europe’s only land border with Africa, nestled next to Morocco. It was almost instantly overrun.

Dozens of people died in the chaos, while the reasons for the sudden influx remain unknown. However, virtually all the arrivals were sent back to Morocco almost immediately; some spent a few days in makeshift holding centres. None were recorded as finding their way to mainland Europe.

Still, the episode inflamed divisions in a region caught in existential limbo. Ultranationalist political parties are ascendant — yet low birth rates and stagnant productivity mean Europe’s future largely hinges on accepting more newcomers.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I am bisexual. I was in love with another woman for half the summer, and now I’m not. How can that be? I thought she was perfect for me, and now a great guy has come along, and I’m in love with him.

I don’t mean to sound weird, but that’s how my crazy feelings are. I’m 17 now and in Grade 12 this fall. Maybe I’ll be totally different when I’m older. My parents just shake their heads and smile — they are no help at all. They are open-minded people, but they don’t totally get me, and they don’t seem to worry about it. I’m a weirdo with a new idea about who I should be every month.

My grandma, an old hippie, says she loves me the way I am, and with all my changes. The problem is I just don’t “get” me either, and I can’t talk to anybody else about me. She says it will “all come clear” in the end, but I’m not so sure about that.

— Totally Confused, West Kildonan