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Talking Point

Facing up to a problem (2)

I would like to comment on certain reactions to my article, entitled Facing Up To A Problem (February 23). In it I suggested that, given the present unsustainable situation as regards what even our Prime Minister described as one of our biggest problems, we should start sending illegal immigrants back in the direction they came from while ensuring that every consideration is taken with regard to their wellbeing.

This is practically identical to what is done by the United States of America's Coast Guard in dealing with illegal immigrants coming from Haiti and Cuba. With one important difference: The US sends these immigrants back to their country of origin. We would be directing them towards a country in which many have been living as immigrants for a number of years, working to earn enough money for the shuttle service that is being organised from Libya into Europe practically unchecked by the Libyan authorities. Few of the illegal immigrants are Libyans.

The argument that these people are coming here specifically to escape terror and persecution does not hold water, thus exonerating us from the obligations of the Dublin Convention (article 31). We are simply a link in a chain of criminality that is preying on these individuals' aspirations for a better standard of living in what they consider to be Utopia: Europe.

What will they find when they get here? They will be detained for months on end in conditions that can safely be described as being far from ideal. Work is hard to find and it will become even harder in the coming months, given the global economic situation that is affecting our country. The situation is a time bomb waiting to explode.

UN representatives and Council of Europe officials have been lecturing us over the years about our legal obligations towards these unfortunates. They stress that we should never forget that we must show them solidarity and insist that we should improve their living conditions. I will repeat what I have been saying over the years, even in high-level meetings I had with such officials: We expect the European community and, yes, the United Nations to tackle this problem seriously and not to base itself on conventions that are outdated and which were drawn up when the phenomenon of irregular migration was totally different to what it is today, conventions that were drawn up to handle the situation bona fide refugees find themselves in.

We expect the international community to practise what it preaches and show solidarity itself by sharing the burden. It is obvious that a small country like Malta can't cope with the situation.

Our government and our representatives in Europe have been doing their utmost to appeal for assistance from Europe, to little or no avail. Our Libyan neighbours would seem to be taking Italy, a country that they depend upon for billions of euros in trade, for a ride. Is it surprising that they are ignoring tiny Malta?

I will not deign to answer those who brought up matters that are completely unrelated to the issue in their efforts to shut me up. Even the most naïve of observers must realise what their motives are.

We must act now.

The author is a Nationalist member of Parliament

jpullicinoorlando@yahoo.com

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Comments

Pierre Attard (on 3/3/09)
Well Done Jeffrey, You are the only one of all the MP's to state what you believe in and not tow the party line. The Maltese need people like Jeffrey, who is not afraid of the party machine. maybe now Gonzi will acknowledge that there is a problem regarding ILLEGAL immigration in Malta. Again, keep it up Jeffrey!
Justine Odom (on 2/3/09)
Well Done JPO at last their is one person bold enough to stand up and speak his mind and is ready to rock the boat for what he believes regardless of other's snide remarks. If we had more people doin gthis than the authorities will have to listen. This is not going to be a political fight, but one where all of us maltese must stand united. We must make ourselves heard. There is force and power in numbers and we are many. This is our land, a land that my forefathers faught for and gave up their lives to make sure that it is not taken by outsiders, a land in which the government should be ready to speak up for it's people against all odds! May we all have the guts to stand up and be counted when push comes to shove. Fight for us and we will stand beside you!! In more numbers than you know.....
Christopher FabrI (on 2/3/09)
Well said JPO, prosit.
The landing of the last boatload in Birzebbugia isn't a coincidence at all. 1) There were illegal immigrants welcoming the new ones at shore. 2) They claim that they are all from Somalia. Apart from the previous two points, you have to consider that they were all in good healthy condition and there was still food on the boat so another BIG question comes out. Are they really coming from Libya?
Thx to this last arrival and all the questions surrounding it, the parliament may take some action and by action I mean not handing out 5000Euro grants because by doing so, one is encouraging them to come but maybe by placing some EU patrol boats just outside Libyan waters and halting their trip before entering Maltese or Italian waters.
fabio chircop (on 1/3/09)
Malta has a problem, and its not anti any race to say that a small country like ours cant afford to keep all these people. Living in the UK has thought me many things and one of them is that multiculteralism does not work. When the people are similar and open minded they can coexist together. YOU are smart enough to know where im going with this. People are different, there is good and bad in everyone, There Is NOTHING wrong with keeping ones and ones country individualism and expecting it to be respected.
cinzia grech (on 1/3/09)
I have just put down today's paper. The front page article dealt with the growing HIV problem in our country, with 50% of the careers being illegal immigrants, who, apart from costing the country 500 eur each per month for treatment, are actually causing havoc when it comes to complying with prescription of medication. Day after day we are being (finally) informed as to all the negative consequences illegal immigration is bringing into this country. How is it that people like JPO are not only left alone to fight for our islands and its people but even ridiculed and threatened. Is he being accused of trying to save us from upcoming disaster? Is it possible there are still people who have not opened their eyes to what is going on?
Edwin Mifsud (on 1/3/09)
@ JPO

Thank you JPO for being one of the first MP to show you have the guts to tackle a drastic problem in a drastic way.

Please action NOW!
Corinne Vella (on 1/3/09)
Steve Paterno: I take it your entire comment was a joke but for the sake of anyone who may believe you, perhaps it's useful to point out that "La Vallette" was not Maltese.
Steven Paterno (on 1/3/09)
We should seriously get out of the European Union. It's the singlemost biggest mistake our leaders have made. Malta has lost it's identity, and now the Libyans are taking over. Foreigners are buying our land and building buildings taller than our churches, now ghettos are being formed. I hear our young girls are going with these black men and Mosks are being built. We lost our Malta Lire, which was strong, that our forefathers have used. I remember paying .10 for a pastisi, now it costs .50 with the Euro. We have sold out to the coniving politicians in Europe. Malta has gotten a bad end of a deal, which is very typical of an empire. The EU is really just a large empire. Those promises are so short term compared to the long term damage. How would La Vallette have handled this situation? The Libyans are not legals and their babies who are born should not be citizens if the parents came illegally. I believe Malta is wrong to issue citizenships to students who attend the university. Malta should close it's borders to new citizenship unless their linage can be traced back by at least three generations.
Joe Galea Farrugia (on 28/2/09)
JPO finally is doing something which is in the Maltese National interest. He is voicing the will of the majorty of defending our country from a realistically threatening invasiuon. We need more politicians who put their country's interest first before their party's. All the PN moaners who re attacking JPO on this one are just partisan narrow minded bigotted beings.

Well said JPO. Though you had done away with your Mistra scandal, at least witht his one you can redempt yourself. Don't let them shut you up.You have the power to speak for us. The other good faithed patriotic parliamentarians should follow your plea...from both sides.
Victor Zammit (on 28/2/09)

JPO is submitting wrong signals.

For decades, the European Union has been criticizing and lecturing Libya for its Human Rights records. Libya Co. Gadafi is simply testing EU values by sending Human that would like to find their rights in EU. JPO suggestion send wrong signals to EU and equally proving to Gaddafi that EU values are mere slogans, this is of course, unless both EU and JPO got a different definition for humans.
Louis Bonnici (on 28/2/09)
at first when they started arriving on boats we pittied them. Even kircop residents and members from the clergy used to help them by giving even their belongings to help them. Go today in kircop and ask the fellow locals. the majority is afraid that if there is an uprising, they are the 1st in line to be struck. If we handled the bull when it was young, maybe today the problem had been solved, but thanks to us and our "leaders" on both sides, no politics involved, the bull is now well fed and strong. Go to birzebuga, go to gzira, go to marsa, they have now formed ghettos that are now hard/impossible to rout out! WE MUST ACT NOW

a big well done goes to JeffPullOrlando and again, don`t let the 5% minority disturb your work. if those 5% had to house an illegal in their house would they do it? they are burden for my son`s future.
John Borg (on 28/2/09)
Well said Dr. Pullicino Orlando ! Someone has at last said it like it really is. Without the beating around the bush, without trying to appease everyone, without mincing words, but most importantly, without being insensative to all of the issues of concern. Kif nghidu bil Malti, la nejja u l-anqas mahruqa.
It is a shame that we have people jumping on the band-wagon of partisan politics mixing this serious propblem by taking a pot shot at the messenger. Unfortunately it will take more than just one solitary MP to get the ball rolling in the direction the Maltese public want. More politicians from both sides have to speak out, so that neither political party can take advantage of these speakers.
Where are you all? Speak out for now is the time to stand up and be counted.
Russell Grima (on 28/2/09)
Dear all,
I would like to emphasize on a few points here.
1. All of these illegal immigrants are being fed and paid from our taxes. They do not use this money to help our economy, they save it and send it to their relatives so that they will join them in the future. As a solution I would make them work for their pay in cleaning the streets, or any other job the public works sector is doing. In doing so at least would give the message that Malta is not a free hotel.
2. When Malta entered the E.U. we lost our freedom as a sovereign country. To take decisions seems like having to first ask the E.U. And knowing that our politicians are "Yes" men when facing other European politicians it is in my opinion a lost battle for these people to get what we want from the E.U. I would suggest a peaceful rally where our opinions are shared and our message brought forward.
3. And let's forget our political difference. If we fight among ourselves we are already loosing. I know it is difficult as we all know each other, but let's try for all!
Bernice Coulton (on 27/2/09)
FINALLY, someone who is willing to stand up for our country!!! Sadly most people are still playing the political game. As Maltese we have to follow JPO example as realize that this is NOT a Nationalist party or Labor party issue, this is a MALTESE issue and we have to stop playing with the future of our country, our rich culture and our history.
Marc Vella Bonanno (on 27/2/09)
I think JPO has laid out on the table a problem which has persisted and which is increasing every day that passes by. Let us be fair and honest about the situation - the problem of illegal immigration in Malta has been known for quite a while now, but perhaps in a way or another, has been made sustainable over the past few years. However nowadays, the imbalance between the number of illegal immigrants entering our shores vis-a-vis the number of the such illegal immigrants being reinpatriated and/or relocated to other countries is becoming (if not already is) totally unacceptable! So, in the name of our country and respect towards it and our own population, I kindly urge people such as Mr. Antoine Vella to consider the facts and realities we are facing ... as i trust the majority of our population will agree that our country can have no more of this continuous flooding and increase of illegal immigration. I believe that if this problem persists furthermore without being SERIOUSLY tackled and appropriate measures be put into place, we shall be facing some serious socio-economic factors in the very nearby future in our beloved country.
mark tanti (on 27/2/09)
JPO I understand and agree with almost all your points made in your article.
What I can never accept is your idea of towing boat loads of human beings out to
open seas. Irrespective of any convention or other international law human beings
should never be treated in the way you are suggesting. What you are suggesting
is inhuman
As you well know the Libyans will not even allow these people to touch land and
the Italians will send them back to Malta if these human beings ever reach Italian land .
Do you think that it is human to treat these people like this. ?
As a govt.MP I demand from you to be well informed to the least detail and number
of the real situation before coming out with such a suggestion.
My only intention of commenting about this issue is humanitarian. I think you well
know what a human being feels when for any reason others forget all about humanity
to achieve their goals.
Stephanie Testaferrata (on 27/2/09)
Last week this newspaper showed three Somalis leaving Malta, each with 5000 euros in his pocket, surrounded by luggages, dressed like upmarket tourists, digital camera in hand. But they were not tourists. I'm not sure how they became so upmarket, but what I do know is that they were paid 5000 euros to leave Malta. This, and the resident-immigrants' welcoming party for a boatload of illegal immigrants, who arrived on the same day the photo was published, was the last straw for me. Only so much politically-correct vernacular can be used to describe Malta's predicament. I think the government has used it all up. It's now time to roll up our sleeves and do something about this precarious and worsening problem we face. Thank you JPO for being vocal and actually using your position to put pressure on our authorities to do more than what they have done so far.
Josef Borg (on 27/2/09)
I can't see where the problem is. They are illegal immigrants .... meaning they are invading our country illegally and we should not host them around , feed them and waste money from our own pockets to give them a better life. To the contrary of other EU countries like France and England, Malta never invaded Africa or took any of their resources in the past so we owe nothing to these people. I would like to see anyone of these MP's that are pro - illegal immigration, keeping these people in their own house! Because Malta is our house ... and we should only allow people to come in legaly.
Mark Mintoff (on 27/2/09)
It is alarming how and on what basis some people are trying to discredit Mr. Pullicno Orlando, when he has Malta's best interests in mind. We are clearly facing an invasion and one should wonder why some people wish to allow Malta to be subject to a) this invasion and b) the robbing of our national identity. Pullicino is proposing that we do what most of the Maltese people have on their minds and that is to send them back. There is nothing, I repeat nothing, wrong with this sentiment. We cannot keep this immigrants. We cannot keep them on an economic basis, on a living space basis and on a cultural basis. I must say that I am disappointed that Mr. Pullicino Orlando has toned down his article from his previous one and has chosen to address absolutely irrational arguments, instead of continuing with his original train of thought. I hope that Mr. Pullicino Orlando continues to work towards Malta's best interests and does not fall prey to the opinions of the few snakes who wish to allow Malta to continue to be subjected to this invasion.
PAT ANDREWS (on 27/2/09)
GOD BLESS YOU FOR STICKING UP FOR MALTA.. YOU CANNOT PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND, SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT EFFECTS TOURISM ON THE ISLAND.
Manwel Borg (on 27/2/09)
Mr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando,
For what you are doing...I am Grateful.
Kaydee Zammit (on 27/2/09)
Dr Pullicino Orlando,
The majority of the Maltese have simply had enough. You will find that whoever takes a stand on this issue will be the one elected in the elections. This is the most pressing issue for most of the Maltese, and I'm not taking a shot in the dark here. Thank you for having the courage to speak out.
Lucia Davies (on 27/2/09)
does anybody watch a programme on LIVING TV, how Australia catches her illegals and send them back, . We were not complaining when first refugees started coming, we felt sorry for them. these are not really coming for help, these are coming to use us. Same as Europe is using us. We are a joke, the issue of entering Europe was to better our life and be proud to be called european, look at us now. don't get me wrong I am PN I voted for EU thought I was going to improve my future, but one of my sons who just got married has to work till eight or nine to make ends meet to pay for his new home. I have just been widowed,what do I get, lost investments low interests and peanuts widow's pension(from uk ), that does not even cover my water and electricity bills, and also a car licence of over 500 euros. Who is going to help me when the money we saved is gone. this is not being racist this is thinking charity begins at home.
James Zammit Gauci (on 27/2/09)
@Dr Pulliino Orlando
Thank you for having the guts to address an extremely sensitive issue which the majority of Maltese people are justifiably concerned about, when most others in the party seem to be happy to try sweep it all under the proverbial carpet.
Instead of attacking Dr Pullicino Orlando i think the energy of his colleagues and otherswould be better spent trying to find some way of solving this problem together.
This is not a race thing it's simple mathematics.......We are an already overpopulated island with barely enough space or opportunities for the native population and simply cannot sustain the number of illegal immigrants that constantly arrive.
Denis Catania (on 27/2/09)
Dr.Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando I work up to 14 hrs a day with my movement on the illegal immigration problem in Malta. Sometime's I wondered if we could ever solve this problem. Due to the government's, doesn't do anything attitude or I wonder if it's going to be too late by the time the government starts doing something. Your letter and interview with the Times gave me faith and strength. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You put your country first. THANK YOU.
Wayne Hewitt (on 27/2/09)
Dear Jeffrey,

Azzjoni Nazzjonali lauds your courage to speak out. This is a clear example of country first before partisan politics.

Azzjoni Nazzjonali shares most of the ideas illustrated in your article and will sit with anyone who is serious about solving this issue once and for all. Prevention is better than cure and we’re already very late.

Azzjoni Nazzjonali has tabled a 10 point plan of unilateral action at http://www.azzjoninazzjonali.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1156&Itemid=29

As you can see, there are those who offer solutions and there are those who are irrationally bent at denigrating and ridiculing those who are genuinely concerned about illegal immigration without ever offering any solutions.

Again, well done for your courage.

Best regards,

Wayne Hewitt
Acting General Secretary
Partit Azzjoni Nazzjonali
Mark-Anthony Fenech (on 27/2/09)
This is a delicate situation and it takes courage to speak out...

Well done to Dr. Pullicino Orlando for speaking out.. I'm fed up with this country.. Every time someone dares to speak up with the country's best interests at heart is lynched by some politically-correct fanatics..
R. Cassar (on 27/2/09)
Although I have been critical of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in the past I must applaud him for having the courage to say what the overwhelming majority of the Maltese people have been saying for the past years but no politician had the courage to address.

Thanks for having the courage to speak in public.
Raymond Sammut (on 27/2/09)
@ Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando

While Malta can and should opt out of conventions, international law remains, and Malta as a community member must always abide by these laws. We now have some 10 to 12 thousand illegal immigrants on Malta. With, say, 50 per boat, one can only imagine how many "safe boats" are going to be needed to re-direct these people back to Libya.

You only need one of these boats to capsize, and Malta would quickly become the world centre of condemnation. The tuna-pen case is more than enough to prove this, especially considering that Malta was totally free of fault in that instant.

And a boat will surely capsize. The illegal immigrants remain under the control of their traffickers, and it would only take one phone-call to make sure that a boat will capsize just to put Malta in a catastrophic legal liability.

Whatever the Maltese people must do, we must do within our own homeland. That way no-one can point an accusing finger at us. On the other hand, if we did nothing, and we allowed this problem to keep encroaching upon us, we would be accused for not having done anything.
Pauline Gatt (on 27/2/09)
Well done for this article. You have to be living in the midst of them to know what a trauma it is. This is not a matter of being a Christian , this is a matter of them taking over our island silently. No one can imagine our lives being turned over since they have been leased the flats in our block. The dirt, cockroaches ,broken unused furniture,appliances etc on the rooftops.Maltese citizens had to back off while they invaded a rooftop as their own. The loud native music and tv full on in the middle of the night .So keep it in mind that Charity begins at home.
L. Gauci (on 27/2/09)
Dr. Pullicino Orland in his article Facing up to a problem (2) expressed exactly the thoughts of all the Maltese, who are worried about the huge problem that our country is facing. It is about time that we send a clear message to the EU and to the illegal immigrants themselves that we cannot accept any more of these people in Malta. By continuing to bring more and more of them into our country, we are not helping them, but the human traffickers, who take advantage of their naivite, and fill their minds with promises of a better life in Europe. We must end this exploitation by turning back all the boatloads heading our way. In time, the message will get through to others that it is not worth paying your life's savings to go to another country illegally.
Joe Demicoli (on 27/2/09)
PART 2: After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore! So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like it used to be... Quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.?..
Joe Demicoli (on 27/2/09)
PART 1: I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it is, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table and next to the barbecue.
Then came the shit. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... Everywhere!
Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.
And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
Alfred Farrugia (on 27/2/09)
Before judging Dr. Pullicino Orlando’s proposal, we need to study the operational details of the U.S.’ wet-foot dry-foot policy, and see whether any elements could be adapted and implemented.

http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/wetfoot-dryfoot.html

If Libya is against illegal crossings, it should not object and take back those persons who come from its shores. The same applies to Tunisia, if that is the case. What is the EU waiting for to enter into agreements on readmission with these countries as it did with other third countries?

Is Malta bound by the Dublin Convention? Who took care of Malta’s national interests in the Dublin Convention when it entered into force in 1997? Malta’s application was frozen at the time! Are we suffering the consequences of not being at the table when the Dublin Convention was agreed to?

Why cannot we ask the genuine refugees (Article 9) in which EU country they would like their asylum application be considered? Do we know if any of the illegal immigrants have relatives in Europe?

UNHCR has recognized Malta’s difficulties in its assessment of the Dublin Convention - see section 4 (v) below. What has it and EU done about it?

http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/43662b3e2.pdf

Michelle Dali (on 27/2/09)
'The situation is a time bomb waiting to explode.'

Once again, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, thank you, for having the guts to speak out about this huge problem. I hope you and others of the same mind-set will put pressure on the Prime Minister to change his defeatist attitude and act now to end the invasion. He is behaving very irresponsibly by his refusal to act in the national interest.

Stopping the influx of illegal immigrants is not impossible and has been done many times before by other countries. It is imperative that Malta stops accepting illegal immigrants.

I have witnessed first hand the horrors and suffering that internal conflict causes, having lived through the worst of the 'troubles' of Northern Ireland. I would not wish such a situation on anyone, let alone my beloved Malta. This is what will happen if the current situation goes unchecked. Only, it will be far worse for Malta because the island is already overcrowded and to have two very different, incompatible cultures living in such close proximity will be unbearable.

The people who are in favour of illegal immigration have no idea of the unimaginable trouble they are inviting on this country.
S. Calascione (on 27/2/09)
I get the impression that many people here are blissfully unaware that the real danger facing Malta and Europe is the global financial crisis, which is slowly but surely undermining confidence in the European project. Further breakdown in cohesion may well be accompanied by a dramatic increase in far right sentiment, the real danger lurking on the horizon.

There is nothing "fresh" in the measures being proposed by Dr. Pullicino Orlando. It is precisely the National Socialist position of the 1930s.





Jason Spiteri (on 27/2/09)
"I will not deign to answer those who brought up matters that are completely unrelated to the issue in their efforts to shut me up."

Are the completely unrelated issues the facts of: 1) JPO and 2) that he's abusing his party's one-seat majority to hijack the PN into silence?

To use his own phrase, let's face facts - if he wasn't enjoying this one-man-holding-parliament-hostage position his unrealistic and impractical article would have simply been ignored by everyone.
louise vella (on 27/2/09)
So now we all agree illegal immigrants are a problem. Gonzi is trying to silence us by wrapping it in “international obligations”. But it’s a problem for each town and village. All concerned residents should ask their local council to discuss the illegal immigrants’ crisis in their locality. I sent this letter to the Mosta mayor (26/2/09):

... il-Mostin ilhom isofru mill-effetti tal-immigrazzjoni illegali u ilek tisma’ ħafna tgergir fit-toroq, fil-ħwienet u kull fejn jinġabru n-nies tal-Mosta biex jgħidu kelma.

Dan l-aħħar il-problemi kibru u kiber ukoll it-tgergir. L-immigrazzjoni illegali m’għadhiex biss problema fil-Marsa u Birzebbuġa. Saret problema fil-Mosta wkoll. Tant hu hekk li l-familji Mostin saru jibżgħu jafdaw lil uliedhom joħorġu waħidhom. Nisa u tfajliet ukoll saru jibżgħu joħorġu waħidhom. Kif taf, aħna fil-Mosta qatt ma konna f’din is-sitwazzjoni. Il-familji Mostin jinsabu mdejqin u nkwetati ħafna b’din is-sitwazzjoni.

Għalhekk nixtieq nirrakkomandalek li l-Kunsill Lokali tal-Mosta jorganizza proċess ta’ konsultazzjoni pubbliku dwar il-problemi li l-immigranti illegali qed joħolqu fir-raħal tagħna.

Għal dan il-proċess tistiednu lill-Onorevoli Prim Ministru u lill-awtoritajiet oħra. Nissuġġerixxi li nibdew b’dawra fil-Mosta fejn nuru lill-Prim Ministru l-postijiet li joħolqu problemi; inlaqqgħuh man-nies li jixtiequ jitkellmu miegħu, speċjalment man-nisa tad-dar; u nispiċċaw b’dibattitu fis-sala tal-komunita’.

Joe Xuereb (on 27/2/09)
As I have strongly implied elsewhere, a burden, shared or not, is always a burden. This is why the problem needs to be tackled at source. It is not tiny Malta's role to do this. It is the internation community. And not ignoring of course, that Libya is only one of a number of points of illegal infiltration..
tephen Farrugia (on 27/2/09)
Dr.Pullicino Orlando,

Ignore these people who say you are wrong because they have the interest of immigrants and not of the Maltese. We, the people, 100% agree with you and all those that oppose the takeover of our country. Stand firm, we are with you.
m.muscat (on 27/2/09)
Mr.Vella you have a right for your expressions and we are ready to listen to you. Whether or not 90% of the population agrees with you is another story, and also they have a right to do so. Your assertion is that Malta should "give asylum to those who qualify for protection" and may we ask how many are "those" who could qualify. So it's no problem for you if say in 5 years time this number runs up to 50,000 or who knows, perhaps much more. You mention other big countries and completely disregard the size of your homeland without realizing what this would mean to your fellow countrymen.

Easy to criticize and utter nice, angelic and saintly words but what the people need here are solutions which make sense, which are reasonable and feasible such as how many of these asylum seekers we can take to make them live like humans. But these have to be quantified as otherwise the "sky is the limit" and we think the people are not ready for that. Just do a VOX POP and you will know or otherwise wait for the outcome of the forthcoming MEP,s elections. People are not imbeciles.
Sandro Pace (on 27/2/09)
JPO formidable and a true Nationalist. Whatever counter-arguments are brought, the political reality is that the status-quo is unacceptable.

If an ever increasing african population is going to be stuck here cause no one from north or south wants them, than the only solution is at the sea. Many navies, even in europe, uses it.
A Borg (on 27/2/09)
Jeffrey on this matter I agree with you. To bring up other topics to divert attention is counterproductive. Here we are discussing illegal migration. What Jeffrey is saying is true; along the same lines is a letter in today’s edition by Herbert Messina-Ferrante.
Leo Said (on 27/2/09)
Dr.Pullicino Orlando,

I surmise that you consider yourself as a "realpolitiker".

What could your practicable strategy and tactics towards Libya be?

There are also "realpolitiker" in other countries, which are facing problems caused by the momentary global economic situation, and these other "realpolitker" are after the votes of their electorate in their respective countries, as your good self is in Malta.

Respective countries would be extremely cautious with respect to sharing Malta's burden. It is moreover possible that many other countries wish good relations with Libya, which relations could be negatively affected, if one attempts to interfere in Libya's policies.

As I dared to suggest in a remark elsewhere, the only solution (a rosy dream) seems to be a geographical relocation/translocation of Malta to another paradise on planet Earth.

Utopia sends its regards and greetings.
Antoine Vella (on 27/2/09)
Dr Pullicino Orlando,
Your 'solution' is seriously flawed, to use a current buzzword. For one thing you do not explain how we would force Libya to take the immigrants back; it seems you do not care about this, as long as we get rid of them. Towing them out to the open sea and leaving them to their own resources, as you suggested in your previous article, is hardly "ensuring that every consideration is taken with regard to their wellbeing."

Your main misconception/misinformation is that no immigrants come to us to escape persecution; an irresponsible assertion that "does not hold water". A significant number of these people are in fact granted refugee status by the UN and your pseudo-solution would mean that we refuse to give asylum to those who qualify for protection so that, contrary to your claim, we would be in breach of the Dublin Convention. It is not a question of treaties and conventions however but of common decency: as the PM said, immigrants are not rejects to be taken out of the house like garbage waiting for collection.

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