America Seen from the Vantage Point of Luxembourg

By Dana Rufolo 

Americans living abroad in Luxembourg – and, all told, they number 2200 – have the advantage of observing the United States without being submitted to the pressures and discord that is ripping the country apart. Luxembourg is listed as the sixth safest country (out of 181) in the world in 2026 by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Index; it functions as a country that prioritizes and caters to its citizens, even if the Grand Duchy is not technically a democracy.

Whether or not we are also Luxembourgish (as I am) and do not count in the statistics as foreigners, we all benefit from the well-regulated, legalistically founded democratic governance that permits us to walk the streets (with some exceptions) without experiencing fear of being nabbed or identified as unwelcomed foreigners, which is not the case in many parts of the United States which see continuous protests against the menacing presence of ICE officials on their streets. We will send in our ballots by post and do not need to anticipate intimidation if we walk to a polling centre in a traditionally democrat-leaning district of our town or city. We are not caught in one of the ever-expanding ripples radiating out from a source of fear and confusion that cause us to hesitate before discussing current American political scenarios with friends, fellow workers and family, thereby hardening lines of opposition even further. We do not have to lay eyes upon or read and listen to reports about those members of our community who feel targeted by the present US government and who live in extreme fear. 

We do not have to decide whether or not to protest when a person in our state has been shot before being given due process of law or has been forcibly sent away into an inhumane detention centre. Nor do we have to adjust to the extreme reversals of judgment by the present government that cause rebounds in the prices of gasoline or imported foods and automobiles, or the absurd interpretations of the Constitution that desert common sense and long-standing legalistic tradition, and do we need to feel hot under the collar when statements from the President are invalidated by a multitude of fact-checking sources. In short, we are expatriates who are free to examine our country from afar and to decide how we feel about the image that America is presenting to the world. 

I would have been based in Santa Cruz, California if I were still living in the United States of America. It was when my friend Carol from there reported that she had a frightening encounter with ICE that I realized how lucky I am to be living outside of the US and away from the fray, fear and tension that would have been my daily fare back in the country of my birth. 

I asked Carol to give me details, and this is verbatim what she reported: “All I was doing was using my phone … to document the fact that ICE agents had parked their van near a field in Salinas and were walking through the field and asking the people who were trying to make a living picking strawberries to show documentation … The ICE guys realized we were filming on our phones … we were asked very politely to go to the van … We showed our Real IDs … We had to allow our phones to be opened and the ICE agents deleted our photos; they very deliberately erased any evidence. … Fear is very much a factor in making people not want to protest any more. People do die protesting.” 

I don’t live in fear over here in Europe. But back in the US, even though I am white and middle class and would not be preferentially targeted, I’d be living with the fear of retaliation if I protested or attempted to reason with any official armed with a gun. Out of insecurity, I’d anticipate and avoid the intimidation, which would mean that gradually I’d be accepting increasing restrictions on my freedom of expression. As justification, I would “other” the victims: I’d think, “They are not like me, they are browner, poorer, possibly criminal minded. My type will never be victimized.” 

By thinking this way, I weaken the connection to the citizen base to which I belong. In so doing, simply because of my passivity, I hasten the cycle of intimidation and violence. Ultimately, I too might well become the “other”, the person whose refusal to conform to the expectations of this particular American regime is punishable. 

In a recent meeting, Democrats Abroad Luxembourg heard from the President of Amnesty International Luxembourg, David Pereira, that the United States is now on their Human Rights watch list (“Ringing the Alarm Bells: Rising Authoritarian Practices and Erosion of Human Rights in the United States”, 2026:  https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/ringing-the-alarm-bells-rising-authoritarian-practices-and-erosion-of-human-rights-in-the-united-states/.These are some of the violations mentioned: in disrespect of the Constitution, press freedom has been undermined and free speech and protest are punished; judges, lawyers and the legal system are targeted to weaken the rule of law; due process is disregarded; militarization has become a new norm in domestic enforcement; and refugee and migrant rights are under attack.

This is shocking news, but I do not need to have a partisan reaction here in Europe. I don’t need to accept human rights abuses because I am a Republican and wish to give undying allegiance to my leader no matter what he does. Nor do I need to be a Democrat who declares that Republicans are the sole abusers of systems of justice. I can see from afar how, as Carol told me, “The Democrats are just as screwed up as are the Republicans, frankly. It’s become how much can one party take away from four years in office. We haven’t had a FDR, somebody who is morally trying to do the right thing their country, for a long time.” 

All Americans have suffered a slow and accelerating attrition of the legal system, governance as decreed in the Constitution, and a respect for the rule of law. Americans slowly allowed themselves to forget an earlier conviction that a democracy is worth sustaining by voting, protesting, participating in civic or civil activities, speaking out against book bans, police violence, and illegal incarceration. Somehow, the idea that democracy in America is inherent and does not need to be safeguarded became the prevailing opinion for all – the same kind of double talk that my generation of Americans used to justify leaving garbage on the streets: someone, maybe God, is always going to be there to pick up the pieces and make the system work, because America is special and unique. “It couldn’t happen here,” Americans thought, thumbing their noses at the Europeans for their world wars. “We’re different.” 

From my vantage point on the other side of the big pond, the differences seem far less significant than the similarities. American democracy is faltering, and all Americans in Luxembourg ought to unite in understanding that a country run on fear and repression is not the country they want or believe in.  

 Dr. Dana Rufolo is a member of Democrats Abroad Luxembourg