The violent riots taking place in France are a stark reminder of the effects that colonialism have had on Europe.

Alarm bells sounded on 7 July, when British-born Muslims of Asian descent carried out suicide bombings on the London Underground and bus network, killing more than 50 and injuring dozens more.

The issue at stake here is that youths of South Asian descent – yet British born and bred – took out their disgruntlement with the system on their own countrymen. This shows us that something is wrong with how immigrants feel about broken promises of equality and equal opportunities.

This attack was followed up by another botched attack in which the perpetrators were caught and arrested.

Things then went quiet, until 12 days ago. Two French youngsters were killed – electrocuted – in an electricity substation. Their families claim they were fleeing from the police, but the French police deny this.

This set off the worst riots seen in the country since World War II. The French immigrants had voiced their fury at the way they were being treated. The way they were not being regarded as equals, the way they felt the police victimised them, the lack of jobs (with unemployment rates of up to 40 per cent in some areas) and “ghetto-

isation”.

That last word has horrific connotations for those Jews before and during WWII – the huddled together ramshackle buildings in which the poorest of the poor lived. In recent times, ghettoes are more associated with 1970s and 1980s New York and other cities. Of course, one cannot liken the situation to that of the Jews, but the concept is the same – lack of jobs, money and no hope of a bright future. That sort of environment is a fertile breeding ground for social unrest.

Following 9/11, we have become very quick to immediately point our fingers at al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism for any problems that arise. But the truth of the matter is that terrorist networks are succeeding in punishing western countries for their own sins against immigrants and their families.

French President Jacques Chirac summed up the argument by deploring the “ghetto-isation of youths of North African and African origin” and recognising “the incapacity of French society to fully accept them or do everything possible to support them so they feel understood and respected”.

This is the stark truth. These people have been neglected. On the other hand, as first hand experience demonstrated – immigrant communities do sometimes fail to integrate with mainstream society and that angers native Europeans. Many have nothing against people of other cultures moving to their native land, on one condition: that they live by the rule of law and integrate.

One thing is clear; somewhere along the line there is a break in the link. Something is preventing some immigrants from taking up a fulfilling and meaningful place in society and at the same time, something is preventing native people from accepting immigrants into the community.

Lessons must be learned and must be learned fast. France has the uneasy task of quelling unrest in over 300 towns. If the first domino falls, God only knows what will happen next. Germany and Italy have huge immigrant communities, as do the UK and the vast majority of European countries. A pledge must be made now to sort this out and fast. European governments need to make a commitment to improve the prospects of these people and not simply quell unrest. It will only go back to sleep and rear its big ugly head another day in the not too distant future.

Malta is no exception – we need to look at what is happening around us. If we do not, as a people, accept the foreigners who are living in our country legally, we will be sowing the seeds of future unrest.