Anti-immigration campaign

I forgot that Harry Vassallo was one of those few who somehow finds it hard to understand that ANR campaigns only against all illegal immigration and not against those foreigners who enter our shores legally and remain on our beautiful and tiny island with all the necessary papers and documents in order.

Instead of wasting time trying to discredit this campaign, I suggest that Dr Vassallo expands his reading and looks farther from our shores. Spain for instance, a much larger country than us, has managed to come to an agreement with Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde and with the help of Frontex will be able to intercept illegal migrants before they leave African waters. Now how racist is that?!

The French Parliament has only last week passed a tough new immigration Bill, weeks after it was adopted by the lower chamber. The law makes it harder for unskilled migrants to settle in France and abolishes the rights of illegal immigrants to remain in the country after 10 years.

Britain has also recognised that it is facing huge problems due to illegal immigration. They estimate that the tax evasion alone from companies who cheat the system by employing illegal immigrants is costing the UK anything up to £1 billion a year, and because the government does understand the public's frustration they are working on tightening the system with new electronic borders.

As I stated in my previous letter, the Netherlands have taken further measurements to safeguard the nation's liberal society.

Now these are all huge countries compared to tiny us, so I fail to understand how Dr Vassallo, and the usual others, keep insisting that Aleanza Nazzjonali Republikana are racist bigots, when their campaign is very clearly targeted against all illegal immigration.

Apparently, now the trend of these pro-illegal immigrants is shifting towards trying to condemn ANR for causing problems to mixed race children. Do they honestly think that the Maltese public is so gullible? If these children are having any kind of problems, it's because of people like Dr Vassallo, who find it hard to understand plain English or Maltese for that matter, and keep mixing the issue of illegal immigration with other issues, such as foreigners living on the island. I can assure him that ANR have no problem whatsoever with the latter.

The bottom line remains that the government has obligations towards all of us who have entrusted it with our future. The national interest should prevail. The government must safeguard the employment of all those thousands of Maltese who stand to lose their job to cheap illegal labour, something which many of the so-called good hearted seem to endorse. The government must also safeguard our nation's health and safety by sticking to our detention policy. And let's stop this "running from persecution" nonsense. It is a known fact that the majority of those illegal immigrants who enter our shores by boat have been living and working in Libya for years before chasing the "European dream".

If Dr Vassallo truly had Malta's best interests at heart, he would stop trying to hinder ANR's campaign by throwing all sorts of deceitful accusations at them. I have met and collaborated with the persons who form this movement. They are true nationalists who love their country, who decided to act upon realising that our island was heading towards a national crises. Unlike the government, we foresaw what our future is to be like if illegal immigration is not stopped. In light of these facts, remaining passive was simply not an option.