From Dr A. Grech.

I had the “unique opportunity” of meeting a coloured person, one of those who seem to roam about freely in this country.

I offered him a drink, which he courteously accepted. Talking to him I found out that his big problem is finding work (he calls it “hidma”). In other words, he wants to trade his skills for money. His skills, whatever they are, as he believes that he, as a human being, has got something to trade with or to exchange; his labour, his talents, whatever.

But unfortunately, the world he finds himself in, the world of organised society, cannot provide him with a job because of its strict organised rules. This is the world where you can deliver your goods, even as a simple labourer, according to the dictates of the State, (Labour legislation), against payment. Therefore, the State, our State, our form of organised society, cannot take this poor creature within its borders. Consequently, as in the beginning he is an “alien”, he comes from somewhere else, he is not one of us and that is where he is going to remain.

This is the logic of an inclusive society. This is the logic of an organised State, which is the Maltese State. So much for the organised society we brag about! Can we trade his goods for our goods? If not, somewhere down the line there is something completely faulty.

Alfred Grech

GOZO