First of all let me start by making it clear that these immigrants, coming from whichever country, are human beings and are not inferior to us westerners; therefore they deserve to be protected from any violence, discrimination or racial hatred!! Those caught mistreating these people should be made to pay a bitter price in prison like any other criminal! In my opinion, the problem of immigration is not the individuals per se but the authorities who seem to be completely impotent in the face of this ever-growing problem!!
Shouldn’t we have an Immigration Pact working right now? Didn’t the minister claim that this Pact would benefit Malta in the sense that it would create a sense of urgency among member States to help Malta? Where is the urgency? Who has come to Malta’s rescue and taken a number of immigrants? How loud is our government’s voice where it matters most to make sure that EU countries share a part of our huge burden? Why have we become the Cinderella of Europe, with the much larger countries ignoring us while the UNHCR slaps our face over and over again, humiliating us in front of the international community? If the EU knows that we have no more space and is doing next to nothing to alleviate our problems, isn’t it responsible too for the poor state the open and closed centres are in?
Why does Malta have to put up with the kind of pitiful charade we were made to witness in Birzebbuga where a group of illegal immigrants went to the shore, phoning and welcoming the immigrants on board a jam-packed boat? Isn’t it obvious that this is organised crime? Is it not obvious that these people wanted to come to Malta? Where is our maritime security? Is it not serious that our authorities realise that a boat full of immigrants is on its way to Malta when it reaches our shores thanks to some onlookers? What about the much vaunted Frontex? What is the government doing to make sure Frontex works? How many ministers and MEPs does it continuously nag to see that the EU takes this operation seriously!!
No, the problems are not these poor individuals who are fed a dream that does not exist; the problem is that our government, as proved by Gonzi’s utterances in Parliament, thinks that this is not an urgent problem. In fact he thinks that Joseph Muscat was being a touch too melodramatic when he spoke about the need for an urgent debate in Parliament. The problems are not these victims of this despicable crime but those who write on the papers calling people who genuinely worry an “illiterate mob” to try and push their politically blinded agenda of shutting everyone up! The problem is that Malta has everything but the promised strong hands on the rudder!
Albert Gauci Cunningham
BUGIBBA