Harsh decisions needed

The editorial entitled Facing Harsh Realities (May 26) apparently would like to make me understand and accept that ultimately, unless significant burden sharing assistance is provided, our country has no choice but to be overwhelmed by illegal immigrants, at whatever cost. It went on to invoke Malta's melting pot and multiculturalism, two contradictory terms to my mind, as if these can justify further the unacceptable.

Multiculturalism has become a conveniently abused term, yet to begin with, Malta cannot be said to be a multicultural country in the generally recognised demographic sense. Our country was never in isolation either, and it does not need an unstoppable and unsustainable influx to show this.

Spain, a country with which we more or less share a similar extent of historical "multiculturalism", and Christian fervour for that matter, is not coping and is repatriating sub-Saharan Africans. Further west into the Atlantic, a rich multi-everything country which can theoretically fit all Mexicans without any significant effect on its demographic balance, is militarising its boarders against further illegal immigration.

If such vast territories cannot cope, it stands to reason that Malta will not, and will eventually crumble quickly. Using Christianity to defy reason will undoubtedly be counter productive to the former. Our government should forcibly seek repatriation and deportation agreements with neighbouring countries and those of origin. Africa was  never a safe and secure place, and apparently it is never going to be. Yet there are limits to everything. Eventually and inevitably, harsh realities are going to need harsh decisions.