It was good to learn that the Social Partners recently discussed the outcomes of the first year of the Labour Migration Policy which was initially launched in 2025. Minister Jonathan Attard noted the ongoing shift toward a sustainable, evidence-based model aligned with real labour market demands, coupled with continued investment in upskilling and reskilling local workers, and better enforcement of regulations.  

Identity Malta CEO Colonel Edric Zahra and Graziella Cauchi from Jobsplus emphasised that the new measures have successfully improved market compliance, employment stability, and worker integration while better pairing market needs with necessary skill sets. Some of the key measures introduced over the past year included regulations on termination rates, salary payment methods, job vacancy notifications, worker application limits, updated lists of skills-specific occupations, revised fees, renewal timeframes, and foreign worker integration initiatives.

Discussions also focused on upcoming priorities. These include ongoing policy development through stakeholder consultation, evaluating exemptions related to termination quotas, creating a more harmonised permit validity system that rewards compliance and worker retention, differentiating clearly between administrative and compliance fees, reforming family reunification frameworks, and adjusting tariff structures.

This is one of the all-too-rare examples where a collaborative effort between the Social Partners seems to be delivering results.  Can't the next one be a collaboration between them and civil society on integration of foreign nationals and immigrants who have made Malta their new home?

The social media are replete with examples of the huge divide between indigenous Maltese and people who have committed their future to Malta.  This divide is further fuelled by extreme nationalism and xenophobia, not to mention racism and hate.  Both the governing party and the Opposition often tread a fine line between the national in-group and foreign out-group, often highlighting their dishonest pandering for votes rather than their commitment to high principles.

Culture erosion, threats to national identity and notions of "us vs. them" often figure directly or indirectly in the discourse of opponents to immigration in our country.  It is a fact that the extent of these non-economic concerns largely depends on how well immigrants can integrate socially.  For immigrants, it means developing a sense of belonging to the host society. This often involves accepting and acting according to that society's values and norms and, if necessary, building up the social capital that is deemed necessary by the host country's institutions.  The role of the indigenous population is equally important: social integration is only feasible once immigrants are accepted as members of the society.

Such mutual recognition, apart from improving individual well-being, leads to better social cohesion and has considerable economic implications, from the provision of public goods and redistribution to teamwork and productivity in firms.  Yet, if immigrants and the native population differ in many social and cultural dimensions, social integration poses a challenge.

I know that last year the Government launched a five-year Integration Strategy and Action Plan that targets all migrant groups with a view to enhancing social cohesion, workforce inclusion, and community participation.  This includes a National Integration Support Centre (NISC), which functions as a central "one-stop-shop" providing guidance on legal, employment, housing, and social services.   There is also a programme called "I Belong," focusing on cultural orientation and language acquisition to meet long-term residency requirements.

Frankly, I don't know how this set-up is functioning and what its successes, if any, are so far.  I cannot recall reading anything about in the Press, except for a Facebook post earlier this month that referred to 306 participants from 38 nationalities who successfully completed the second stage of the "I Belong" programme.  That's good, but still a far cry from the 100,000 people who reside here.

Much more needs to be done to close the gap between immigrants and native-born populations across various proxies of social integration.  While certain immigrants do catch up as they spend more time in our country, social integration often lags behind economic participation.

Eħlisna mid-Deni

"Eħlisna mid-deni" are some words from Our Lord's Prayer.  Many believers recite them every day.  But sometimes, they stop there and forget about their Christian commitment not to commit evil.  The evil becomes even more sinister when committed by those who commit to their lives being shaped by God's will but trespass greatly instead.

We are reminded of the consequences in Karl Schembri's groundbreaking novel "Eħlisna mid-Deni," a story built on devastating events from his own life.  It is grounded in Schembri's own family tragedy: his father was sexually abused by a priest as a child, later developed severe mental illness, and eventually killed Schembri's mother.  Schembri's novel won this year's National Book Prize.

In his acceptance speech, the author called for a public, independent inquiry into clerical abuse in Malta, saying the Catholic Church had known about the abuse of children for decades but allowed it to continue and covered it up.  The novel turns Schembri's personal trauma into a wider reckoning with clerical abuse, institutional silence and the search for justice.

Schembri dedicated the award to victims of clerical abuse to "all those who were humiliated and silenced by the Church, by the State, and even by our courts".  He said he hoped the novel could help those whose voices had been "extinguished over the years" to find their voice.

In accepting the prize, Schembri paid tribute to the late writer Mario Azzopardi, whom he described as his "intellectual father," recalling his words: "Write, Karl, for God's sake, write."  This led him to reaffirm his "absolute faith in literature", describing it as "a powerful weapon of justice".

By my reckoning, 11 countries have conducted public independent inquiries into clerical abuse.  Some others have had civil or parliamentary probes into church-related abuse.  Malta has only had some prosecutorial cases.  Others have never even got to this stage as a result of the Church's active policy to cover up abuses by its members.

As of 2010, there were 84 allegations of clerical abuse. In that year, Lawrence Grech, one of many alleged victims, complained that the Catholic Church had been investigating cases for seven years without doing enough that is effective. The pope spoke personally to Grech and other victims, praising their courage in coming forward.

I haven't been able to dig out a more updated number, but the Church's own Safeguarding Commission said recently that it had substantiated six cases of abuse involving Church personnel out of 43 concluded cases.  I have no reason to doubt the Commission itself, but to me and others, that number is suspiciously low.   

As to Schembri's appeal, of one thing I'm certain:  the Government would never initiate an inquiry into clerical abuses.  Were it to do so, it would also have to acknowledge its own failings and that of previous governments.

A week of crime

The law-abiding citizen would probably have been flummoxed by a week of crime recently. 

A 46-year-old woman, Miriam Azzopardi, was found strangled at Triq is-Salib tal-Marsa, and a foreigner was later charged with her murder.  The man, a Ghanian, was named as Isaac Azare. 

A 41-year-old man from Valletta was charged with a seven-week campaign of harassment and stalking against his former boyfriend, in addition to stalking, stealing, causing wilful damage to property, and illegally accessing and modifying computer data, software, and online credentials belonging to the victim without authorisation.  He was not named.

A 47-year-old man from Ħamrun faced charges of domestic assault and damaging his former partner's phone. The incident took place when the alleged victim wanted to go out instead of staying home. The accused was also charged damaging the victim's mobile phone, causing insults and threats exceeding the limits of provocation, as well as breaching a protection order issued in July 2025.  The man was not named.

A 40-year-old woman was charged with violently resisting police officers, assaulting or threatening officers in the course of their duties, and slightly injuring one officer, after she refused to remove her two pet hamsters from the table at an alcohol shop.  The woman was named as Emanuela Carvara.

A 27-year-old Polish tourist was charged in connection with the murder of 31-year-old Moroccan national Abdellatif Oumakhlouf, who was found dead at Spinola Gardens.  The accused was named as Sebastian Malinowski.

A 28-year-old man who allegedly ran away from police after being found unconscious in Birkirkara by police patrolling the area.  He faces charges over injuries suffered by the three officers when they tiered to arrest him, damaging a car, illegally having pepper spray in his possession. refusing to provide police with his correct particulars, vagrancy and having no apparent means of supporting himself.  He was named as Julian Lee Ritchie,

A 25-year-old man who resides in Gżira was arraigned was charged with trafficking cannabis and with committing the alleged offence within 100 metres of a place frequented by young people.  The man does not have an identity card, though he has been living in Malta for eight years and had been employed with WasteServe - go figure that out.  He was named as Abdale Farah Ahmed.

I have two comments:  The first one is to ask whether it an exceptional Crime-a-day Week or is it the order of the day?  We are told that the crime rate has gone down, but many people feel otherwise.  Sometimes, perceptions are more powerful than statistics.  The second one is to wonder whether it is sheer coincidence that none of the Maltese nationals was named whereas all the foreign ones were.  Let me answer my own questions: No.

Quote of the week

"I think this is the moment where the Church can show its essence, Christ's message to go against the current."  - Fr Eric Cachia, Malta's Salesians Superior, talking to Kyle Patrick Camilleri (The Malta Independent, 11 October 2026).