Are the Maltese racists?

Most of the readers of this paper, I presume, sincerely believe that in this day and age people have to live together in peace. For this to happen they must respect one another, irrespective of differences of ethnic origin, nationality, culture, religion, skin colour or sexual inclinations.

But are we sure that the majority of the Maltese do not harbour feelings of distrust against immigrants, especially black people?

The authors of an 11-page report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) have no doubt that racial prejudice and stereotypes exist among the Maltese.

The report is nicely worded, but it warns the Maltese authorities that action is needed in various quarters to prevent the spread of racism. We should feel uneasy about this report, if we ponder on it as we should.

The text (www.coe.int/ecri) was released by the Council of Europe (CoE) last Tuesday, with similar reports on Finland, Latvia and Ukraine.

Problems exist in these and most other countries, human nature being what it is. But let us not run away with the idea that Malta, being an eminently Catholic country, is well disposed towards foreigners.

The situation would have been worse were it not for the sterling work carried out by the Emigrants' Commission, led by Mgr Philip Calleja, which unobtrusively helped numerous refugees to secure decent accommodation and livelihood before leaving Malta to settle permanently in larger countries.

The report is based on a visit to Malta by an ECRI team last October. It is stale by several months, therefore. But the substance has not changed.

The warning is that, despite a widely-held perception to the contrary, a latent racial prejudice, especially against Arabs and black Africans, might give rise to violent manifestations unless action is taken to enforce suitable laws and educate the people.

Will the warning fall on deaf ears? Mildly but clearly the report goads the government to: 1. introduce civil and administrative legal provisions to combat discrimination in fields such as housing, employment and access to public places; 2. provide a more effective, practical assistance to refugees and asylum seekers; 3. raise public awareness of the fact that discrimination and prejudice do exist in Malta; and 4. provide special training to key sectors, such as the police, and personnel dealing with refugees and minority groups. Who will ensure action on these four points?

The report urges the government - whose Foreign Minister will lead the CoE for six months next year - to sign the European Convention on Nationality, the Revised Social Charter and the Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, and to ratify the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and other treaties which have a bearing on the treatment of foreigners.

It notes that Malta is about to adopt EU directives regarding equal treatment of persons.

The report points out that the detention of non-Maltese in prison and in the temporary detention areas at Ta' Kandja ("inadequate in terms of cleanliness and facilities") and elsewhere is unsatisfactory, and suggests ways and means of improving it.

It notes with pleasure that the Ombudsman abides by the right principles when dealing with alleged cases of discrimination, and that the Refugee Commissioner - established by the welcome Refugees Act, which became operative in Malta last October - is now in a position to decide on claims by refugees, without referring them to the UN refugee office (whose financial assistance previously awarded to the Emigrants' Commission will now be phased out).

The report suggests that human rights education should be better imparted in Maltese schools and that, even in Catholic private schools, religion lessons should include information about different religions to ensure that young people learn to appreciate cultural diversity.

The most visible and frequent manifestation of discrimination, according to the report, is the refusal of access to discos and bars to persons of Arab or black African origin. "Although the police are aware of such incidents, to ECRI's knowledge no action has been taken against the proprietors of public places where discrimination is practised."

The Maltese are not racists, but some of them may become as intolerant as neo-Nazi groups abroad if the media, government authorities and NGOs do not nip racism in the bud. That's the message of this eye-opening report.

Top priority on the internal front...

Top priority on the internal front should be given to public health, which is by far inferior to the national health system obtaining in advanced countries like France, Germany and Switzerland. Particular attention should be given to St Luke's Hospital.

I wonder how any minister can avoid having sleepless nights knowing the kind of service currently being offered to patients and their relatives by an overcrowded, old-fashioned place as St Luke's Hospital.

I wonder if any minister has lately made any surprise visit to check the situation prevailing in most wards, as regards cleanliness, hygiene, food, privacy, medical care and general service.

This situation has worsened in the last months because of a strike by ambulance drivers (now lifted). An elderly man was referred to hospital on Saturday at 4 p.m. His relatives came back home after midnight.

His ten-day stay in hospital proved to be a trauma for all concerned, so he went back home. No ambulance was available. The Red Cross could provide an ambulance (for Lm15), but had no driver.

A private clinic in Zabbar requested Lm35 to transport the sick man. Another private organisation in Qormi wanted Lm30 for a 15-minute trip. The result was that the sick old man somehow reached home in a Mini Minor.

What the ambulance drivers asked for was a petty allowance amounting to a total for all of them of just over Lm9,000 per year. This was more or less the same amount of money thrown away by another ministry for the scaffolding put up at the National War Museum in Valletta at the rate of Lm20 a day and never used for over a year (Pamela Hansen in last Sunday's feature). Almost unbelievable!

St Luke's will not improve if nurses and doctors continue to be poorly paid. Good service has to be paid for. Professional training and dedication, of which there is an obvious shortage among many (not all) members of staff, deserve proper recognition, which means better conditions of work, better promotion prospects, a better environment, better teamwork and a higher pay.

Parking is one of the problems of St Luke's. The streets around the hospital are one big garage. The Pietà council, which runs the car park, will not rack its brain to improve the situation because, as I was told, St Luke's will soon be transferred to the new hospital near the university. But should people meanwhile continue to suffer and die in a hospital which is definitely not up to standard?

The Health Ministry should enjoy a higher profile, adopt a pro-active approach and have a larger budget to implement innovations and improvements. Thank God, several homes for the elderly have been set up and it may well be that every town or village will have its own.

Dynamic local councils should press for this to happen. Just as every village has its own primary school, so it should have its own home for the elderly. The progress registered so far in this sector augurs well for the future.

Public health is an area in which political parties should vie with each other to ensure the best possible results. Nothing is more important than health, but politicians seem to adopt an ostrich-like attitude on this issue and behave as if they were immortal.

...and on the external front

M.L.P. leader Alfred Sant said recently that next year's political election is more important than the EU referendum. I beg to differ. Nothing is more vital on the external front than EU membership.

Prime Minister Fenech Adami has refuted the accusation that by concentrating on the EU his government has played down the domestic front. But he has just goaded his ministers and permanent secretaries to deliver the goods, thereby indirectly confirming the accusation.

I am very worried as to how the all-important issue of EU membership has been organised. A recent article in Il-Gens, which quoted Reuters as saying that the European Commission is starting to have doubts about Malta's ability to join the EU with the first batch of candidates, increased my fear that we will miss the bus.

Our political parties should have agreed long ago to bury the hatchet and, in the supreme interest of both Malta and Europe, join forces on this particular issue. I am sure the people of Malta and Gozo would have been extremely happy if this had happened. They would be extremely happy if it were to happen now.

Of course, this would imply that the parties negotiate a common position by conceding something to each other. Which party will bear the blame if we as a nation make a laughing stock of ourselves?

I would be shy to face fellow Europeans if my country were to make a mess of its chance to be at par with the rest of Europe within a reasonable time-scale.

My impression is that our politicians in general do not bother much about what the people really need on both the domestic and foreign fronts. They do not listen to the people. They do not feel the people's pulse.