Any article that is written about immigration needs to set out from one crucial standpoint – saving human lives comes first. The government yesterday reacted to the rescue of some 300 immigrants by ranking up the rhetoric in terms of solidarity from the European Union in dealing with the problem.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the circumstances were exceptional and that action was required. This is very true. While the arrivals did not consist of thousands, as happened in Lampedusa following the Tunisia crisis, 300 is still a large number for Malta’s infrastructure to handle at one go. Of course, with Lampedusa, the impact was less. The islanders still complain that the motherland (Italy) does not do enough, many were shipped off to the mainland and were processed into society there. With Malta, it’s different. There is nowhere for them to go unless other nations take them on. At present, the concept of burden sharing is a voluntary one and ironically, it is a non-EU member that takes on the biggest numbers and that is the US.

Other European nations have helped out, some more than others, and other have not taken on any arrivals at all. Make no mistake, when the government of Malta (both this and its predecessor) asks for solidarity – what it really means is “take them off our hands”.

Dr Muscat announced that he had called European Council president Herman van Rompuy to give him a formal notice that Malta “will be using all legitimate means at the European Council” to express its lack of satisfaction at the present arrangements, and to demand further solidarity. He said that Malta did its duty in rescuing the people but also added that Malta would not leave its doors open wide and “welcome boats from Libya and elsewhere as if nothing happened.”

The prime minister dismissed suggestions that he was being alarmist about the situation, stating that he was giving a realistic account of the situation. Mr van Rompuy has already been scheduled to visit Malta next week, and Dr Muscat confirmed that immigration will be a key topic in the discussions that will take place. He said that Mr van Rompuy appeared to be understanding of the government’s concerns, noting how he said that the arrival of 300 people was a lot for many member states when told that it was a lot for Malta.

He also insisted that in his discussions with the Council president, he was not begging for assistance, but fighting for the country’s rights, adding that although the Maltese were compassionate, they were no pushovers. Dr Muscat revealed that he had already abstained from voting on the asylum package at last week’s European Council, which his party had criticised because it included no compulsory burden-sharing mechanism for asylum seekers. He seems determined, saying that to assert the government’s position, “we’ll go as far as we need to.”

Dr Muscat is right. He is also right where he points out that the EU showed solidarity when it came to ailing banks, and so it should with Malta. But we must remember, these are human beings who have been through hell and back. Our duty is to rescue them, and at the very least, afford them all the assistance necessary to become self sufficient, be a part of our society and above all else, treat them with the same rights as Maltese nationals once they are granted asylum. The colour of their skin might be different. But after a decade and more of arrivals, we can see in our streets that society is changing. Black men and women have married Maltese citizens and had children. They are in school and their parents work to the bone to give them the opportunities they never had. This is what the issue should be about.