Illegal immigration
The Economist sometimes turns itself into a rag. In a piece on illegal immigration to Malta, published about a fortnight ago, it reported: "What few in Malta acknowledge is that its immigrants are a consequence of EU entry three years ago. With few...
The Economist sometimes turns itself into a rag. In a piece on illegal immigration to Malta, published about a fortnight ago, it reported: "What few in Malta acknowledge is that its immigrants are a consequence of EU entry three years ago. With few exceptions, those who land in Malta want to get to Italy or farther north.
"Until they joined the EU in 2004, the Maltese did little to stop them pursuing their journey (often with travel documents valid only in Maltese airspace, issued by a Roman Catholic Church group). But EU entry stopped that by imposing the so-called 'Dublin system', which puts responsibility for asylum-seekers on the country where they first arrive." We doubt the accuracy of this report.
This piece is also an example of trying "to be all things to all men". It seems to say that evidence suggests that the surge in the number of illegal immigrants arriving in Malta is not so much linked to Malta's EU membership.
The majority of immigrants who land on our shores have no intention of staying here but wish to reach the mainland. In other words, those who come to Malta do so by mistake on their way to more lucrative shores. The piece also claims the opposite, that EU membership is responsible for the surge.
We wish to advance a more plausible hypothesis. The surge in the number of immigrants coming to Malta is due to a drastic increase in illegal immigration activity in the Mediterranean region since 2004 and is definitely not a direct consequence of membership.
In 2004, Spain and Italy reported that around 29,000 immigrants landed on their shores. That figure climbed to 34,000 in 2005 and 57,600 in 2006.
Figures on illegal immigration are not abundantly available nor very accurate. However, the figures just quoted are indicative of swelling numbers of illegal, sea boarding immigrants all over the Mediterranean region. It means that the investment and productivity of this illicit trade slowly growing over the past decade or so has suddenly matured.
Boats and flotillas will not solve this problem, though they may mellow it. It is time to attack the root cause of this crime, the organised crime networks and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Do not blame the immigrants; take it on the criminals.