The way irregular migration has been portrayed in the media lately is a far cry from the way it was reported last year and earlier this year.

Last summer, the government was embroiled in an international dispute with Spain over 51 irregular migrants who were picked up by a Spanish trawler in Libya’s search and rescue area and requested to enter a Maltese port. The government refused entry on the grounds that the immigrants were picked up in an area closer to Libya than Malta.

The international media had a field day in its negative criticism of Malta during the week-long haggling over who was to take responsibility for the migrants.

In the end, Spain sent over its planes, took the whole lot, awarded the Order of Merit to the trawler’s owner and gained international admiration at Malta’s expense. On the other hand, the Maltese government claimed victory at home, while it was lambasted by the international media.

Later, Malta was back in the limelight in two instances. The first was the shocking photographs of Africans clinging to tuna pens, and the other was the dispute over the corpses that were fished out of the sea by a French frigate.

Such incidents have clearly tarnished Malta’s reputation abroad, and rather undeservedly. This is very evident upon tuning in to some Italian TV news bulletins. As soon as Malta and immigration are mentioned, the reporter starts using negatives and conditionals.

However, help has arrived from the least expected area: music – an art that has more often than not been intertwined with politics. The French national anthem is a prime example of how a tune can crystallise the status quo and propose action through its lyrics and rousing music.

Yet help did not come from some Malta Song Contest entry, but from two international artistes, Akon and Claudio Baglioni.

R&B artiste Akon was born in the US, but he spent his childhood in Senegal and runs his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. He extended a visit to Malta, which had originally only included his performance at the Isle of MTV – Malta Special, and accepted US Ambassador Molly Bordanaro’s invitation to visit the many Africans living in the open and detention centres in Malta.

Sporting a T-shirt with “Believe in the future of Africa” printed on it, he praised Malta, stating that the Maltese could have put would-be immigrants back on their boats and sent them back, even at gunpoint. He praised the Maltese for “believing that these people belong to your same family. We are all one big family and this is how we can help one another.”

He also suggested that the US should increase its intake of asylum seekers.

Another artiste who takes an active interest in the migration issue is Claudio Baglioni. Tonight in Malta, together with fellow Italian singers Riccardo Cocciante and Gianni Morandi, Baglioni will stage his latest concert aimed at making people aware of problems stemming from the illegal migration issue. In fact, what five years ago was only a Baglioni concert in Lampedusa, has now evolved into a foundation organising much larger concerts that have also left their mark on Brussels.

Baglioni has denied that he will be visiting detention centres, arguing that he is not a politician but a singer and can help out much more by singing about problems on stage.

Two top-notch artistes have already done their part. Will anybody also take on the challenge of brightening Malta’s reputation abroad?