Illegal immigrants - no limits?

Malta is facing a unique and grave situation. We all know that we live in a very small island that is grossly overpopulated yet our government is accepting to accommodate any amount of illegal immigrants that happen to cross over to our territory.

This government has never pronounced itself regarding the maximum number of illegal immigrants they are prepared to accommodate in our country. Are the Maltese not entitled to know if this figure is say 5,000, 10,000, 50,000...what is the limit? Is the government going to keep on buying property to accommodate more illegal immigrants or are they contemplating requisitioning private property? Can't they realise that no amount of stopgap solutions will solve this problem? Can't they realise that at some point we have to say enough is enough and the sooner we take a strong stand the better? On a per capita basis we now know that we are already one of the most badly hit countries in the world with more immigrants landing last year than newborns. This year it seems we shall be breaking more records and this government has yet to come up with a solution to pluck the hole in our dyke before the flood of illegal immigrants overwhelms us.

When some illegal immigrants were given provisions in our waters and found their way to Sicily we had to take them back because the government had signed a reciprocal agreement with Italy so that illegal immigrants arriving in Italy from Malta will be returned to Malta and visa versa. Has our government therefore signed an agreement that would invariably work against the interest of our country? Did the minister involved actually believe that there would be boats full of immigrants crossing over from Italy to Malta? Had the government signed such an agreement with the North African countries we would have all applauded - but not only with Italy, which being the gateway to Europe, is the destination of all this migration.

In fact Italy, using her economic and political power, has signed such an agreement with Libya but when small Malta requested Libya to sign a similar agreement this was refused. Therefore, while we are being expected to honour our obligations, which work against our interests, we are powerless when it comes to asking for reciprocal agreements with other countries when such agreements would work in our favour. Are we not then being used and abused?

In the circumstances we should tell the Italian authorities that we can only accept to put in force such an agreement provided all the other North African countries accept similar reciprocal agreements. In the meantime this government should find a quick solution before our own boat will start sinking.

Surprisingly, the opposition is very conspicuous by its absence of comment on this subject. Gone are the days when they used to cry Malta first and foremost. Our politicians should have learned the basic lesson that when dealing with an extraordinary situation all international treaties and obligations should be side tracked since a force majeure situation takes precedence. No one has the right to tell us to carry a burden too heavy for us to sustain until self-destruction.

We never contributed to this human tragedy, we never had colonies, we do not show off stolen trophies in our museums and private homes, we never sold arms and we do not have multinational companies collaborating with corrupt governments. Let us have the courage to stop dancing to the tune of foreign powers and let "them" reap the whirlwind that they have sown. We should not fall into the trap of accepting any outside monetary compensation at the risk of losing our identity and the peace of mind that we have worked for. Real outside help for us should mean accepting to take these illegal migrants in their own countries.

The government's foremost duty is toward its citizens and it has to take strong and decisive action regardless of the hysterical cries of the few. As a start I suggest we should provide illegal immigrants on stranded boats within our territorial waters with the basic provisions to enable them to proceed with their journey. Regarding those that are rescued from difficulties they should be given all the necessary help including medical attention but once in good health they should be given the opportunity to board their boats and leave. For the rest a system of quick repatriation should then be implemented. No illegal immigrant should ever be rewarded with Maltese citizenship for breaking our laws and jumping the legal immigration queues. The great majority of the Maltese people expect and demand action from this government before the situation becomes untenable.