Is there racism in Malta?

Europe is worried about the massive influx of irregular immigrants who transit via the Mediterranean. The regulation of migratory flows was actually the first item on the agenda of the first sitting of the final session for 2005 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I had the opportunity of chairing this particular sitting.

Irregular immigrants are increasingly crossing the Mediterranean, a sea that is somewhat calm and easy to cross due to the short distances involved, from North African countries to Europe. A report commissioned by the Council on this particular subject calls this trend, and the numbers of migrants involved, "alarming". Malta is mentioned specifically in this report.

The report also noted that, in parallel to these trends, "criminal organisations have become increasingly involved in the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, thus posing new challenges to regional cooperation in judicial and criminal matters". It is also acknowledged that tensions within communities affected by this phenomenon are rising.

Any talk or hint of a willingness to suspend the respect any civilised country should have towards basic human rights in the national interest when it comes to irregular migration should be dismissed as a cheap ploy to gain sympathy in a situation where an increasing number of Maltese are justifiably alarmed.

This does not mean that the issue should be taken lightly. A lot of effort has gone into tackling the problem by the present administration. We cannot, however, rest on our laurels. The wave of migrants leaving Africa for a better life seems to be gaining in intensity.

More pressure has to be brought to bear on our neighbours to the north and to the south. We cannot be expected to shoulder the burden alone. A method increasingly used to stem irregular migration is recourse to readmission agreements, whereby each party undertakes to accept the return of its nationals who are in an irregular situation on the territory of the other party as well as third country nationals who have transited through its territory. It is a well known fact that many of the unexpected "visitors" to our islands actually depart from Libya.

Many have been living and sometimes even working in that country for years. Our Libyan neighbours have to understand that their cooperation in this matter is vital to our national interests. We stood by them in difficult times and there is nothing that should keep them from helping us now that they are in a unique position to do so.

The idea of setting up processing centres in Libya and other North African countries, with the help of the EU, was shot down by some MEPs who might not have a clear enough idea of the enormity of the problem. More of them should be invited to come over to our islands to see first hand the difficulties we are facing.

It is a well known fact that many European countries are facing a chronic shortage of labourers in some particular fields. They can be encouraged to emulate the Dutch government which has graciously extended a helping hand to Malta in a time of need by agreeing to accept a number of migrants.

Euro-Mediterranean countries have to address, in a spirit of solidarity and burden sharing, the root causes of irregular migration movements, such as poverty and income disparity. Some European countries should feel obliged to do so in view of the fact that they actually colonised the underdeveloped countries from which thousands are escaping in search of a better life.

But tiny Malta cannot be expected to wait until the huge economic problems these countries are facing are resolved. The Maltese are not racists. We have had, for instance, small Jewish and Indian communities peacefully coexisting and integrating with us for decades. But we cannot be expected to handle the influx of thousands of migrants to whom the Maltese way of life is completely alien.

If we allow this phenomenon to continue unchecked, racism may indeed rear its ugly head in this nation, which has a tradition for hospitality. I mentioned above that some are willing to capitalise on the situation for politically opportunistic reasons. The Maltese must, with a sense of responsibility and with the help of our friends and neighbours, never allow this to happen.

Dr Pullicino Orlando has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the past seven years. He was appointed vice president of the assembly for the second year running this year. He is also a member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.