Caring for illegal immigrants (1)

I refer to the editorial (March 4) which criticises Azzjoni Nazzjonali's pledge to work on the closure of the Balzan open centre for African immigrants if the party gains representation in Parliament. It implies that I, as AN's deputy leader, could be fanning xenophobia for having put up a billboard declaring our party's intentions. With all due respect, we fully disagree with such an opinion.

AN is categorically against spreading any form of xenophobia as this goes against both our own principles as well as the Christian doctrine we so much cherish. We feel it is unfair to interpret our steadfast solidarity towards the Balzan, Marsa and Birżebbuġa communities as an act of xenophobia. People living in the environs of open centres have de facto been denied a voice by the other political parties and AN is simply defending their rights as well as the rule of law, which is so manifestly being downtrodden by misguided people of goodwill such as Mgr Victor Zammit McKeon and Mgr Philip. Calleja. Nobody should deny these churchmen the right to practise charity but such charity has to be carried out responsibly and within the parameters of the law. In the case of the Balzan open centre, it is undeniable that neither the law was adhered to nor was the local community consulted when such a centre was first established.

Recently, all hell broke loose when a few dozen Muslims allegedly started using an apartment in Sliema for their Friday prayers. Leading politicians and the media pressured Mepa into issuing an enforcement notice requiring the owners of the apartment to make a formal application to effect a change of use from its current status of residence into a place of worship. In a country that professes religious tolerance, not so much tolerance was shown towards these peaceful Muslims, many of whom Maltese citizens who only use this place for little more than one hour a week for their Friday prayers. But that is another story.

On the other hand, we have a building owned by the Maltese Church and located right in the middle of the community of Balzan whereby, in the words of The Times, 180 people (I was told 300) that entered Malta illegally are being housed and where they reside on a 24/7 basis. Nobody has ever applied through Mepa to have this building changed into a hostel and nobody has ever carried out an environmental impact assessment on the area as clearly required by law. Has anyone bothered to ask the local residents for their opinion before opening this centre for immigrants? Due to potential nuisance it can create, planning regulations stipulate that even the opening of a simple bar necessitates written consent from the neighbours. And to be quite frank, Balzan's open centre has created much more than a simple nuisance and, to prove it, I invite The Times to send a couple of its journalists to visit the locality and to make their own investigations.

The truth is that nobody wants immigrants as next-door neighbours. It is politically incorrect to state it but this is the stark truth and this fact is corroborated by The Sunday Times survey, published in August 2005, whereby 95 per cent of the respondents said that they do not want to have illegal immigrants as neighbours, let alone having a whole open centre in your street! Let us remove the usual rhetoric from these discussions and be pragmatic and admit that Malta cannot take more than its fair share of immigrants.

To any objective individual it is clear that AN is not only not xenophobic but, as some of its leading members have demonstrated, we go further than that by showing a true commitment to solidarity with genuine refugees. Rather than being labelled xenophobic, I consider myself to be a major supporter of Mgr Calleja's Emigrants Commission by giving employment to a score of genuine refugees whose right to live and work here we fully acknowledge, not by words but through concrete action.

AN's position vis-à-vis immigration is clear. We fully accept to host and care for genuine refugees but it must be emphasised that only a small percentage of the boat people are recognised as genuine refugees by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. According to the UNHCR and the Government of Malta, about 98 per cent of the boat people arriving on our shores are not refugees. Of these, about half are declared as being full illegal immigrants and are, in fact, afforded no rights at all by the UNCHR and should be repatriated, which, as we know, almost never happens.

The rest, close to 50 per cent, are given a so-called humanitarian status and are allowed to stay in Malta, get benefits, enter the labour market and live in our open centres.

Recently, an army colonel confirmed during a police TV debate that 50 per cent of these illegal immigrants travel only for economic reasons and not due to ill treatment in their own countries. During another recent debate a representative of the ecclesiastical authorities confirmed that he was aware that three illegal immigrants suffered from TB and are still roaming the streets. We therefore ask: Are we doing our best to protect ourselves from other health hazards?

There are thousands of immigrants living in open centres; some live in the relative comfort of Dar Bon Pastur in Balzan with a roof on their head. At the same time, according to reliable YMCA figures, there are no fewer than 300 Maltese citizens that every night sleep without a roof on their head but these are apparently less important than illegal immigrants for people like Mgr Zammit McKeon, Mgr Calleja and the government. Let readers reach their own conclusions.