Thursday, 9th April 2009
Detention policy
Bishop's words find little fertile ground among politicians
The political parties will not be heeding the advice of Gozo Bishop Mario Grech to make an "honest, sincere and level-headed assessment" of the policy to detain illegal immigrants for a maximum of 18 months.
Mgr Grech made the appeal last Friday in a hard-hitting homily in which, for the first time, a senior Church member lashed out at the government's detention policy.
"The time has come to ask ourselves in all honesty: Is it possible that a civilised country such as ours, having the values we think we are defined by, sees nothing wrong in keeping locked in detention women and men who committed no crime and who are only here because they are seeking another country's protection," Mgr Grech had said.
However, the Bishop's words have found little fertile ground among politicians. When asked for his reaction, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said he had "no comment to make on this matter".
On the other hand, his counterpart from the opposition benches, Michael Falzon, defended the detention policy insisting it was necessary in view of the "geographical, demographic and other realities" of the country. He also defended the policy on grounds of national security.
While describing Mgr Grech's contribution as "courageous", Alternattiva Demokratika deputy chairman Stephen Cachia insisted that "some form" of detention was required.
Ironically, a day before Mgr Grech's homily, Dr Mifsud Bonnici had told the Nationalist Party's grassroots meeting that the detention policy was "essential" for "security reasons".
With reference to conditions in the detention centres, Dr Mifsud Bonnici had also said that the government "never promised to provide five-star accommodation".
However, far from five-star accommodation, Mgr Grech criticised long-term detention arguing that it led asylum-seekers to "mental breakdown and did not prepare them to look benevolently upon the society in which they were to live until the time came for them to able to return to their country or to move on".
Reiterating the Labour Party's agreement with government's detention policy, Dr Falzon defended the political consensus over the issue.
"While I respect Mgr Grech's statement and appreciate that he may be looking at the issue of detention from a moral and religious aspect, something which one would expect from the Bishop of Gozo, as politicians we have to look at the issue of detention from a much wider perspective," Dr Falzon said.
He pointed out that it was only those who were not entitled to refugee status or humanitarian protection that ended up spending a long period in detention.
"Those entitled to protection are released after a few months. Clearly, we cannot condone illegality. On the other hand, I have no difficulty whatsoever in insisting that the conditions of detention be humane and dignified," Dr Falzon said.
On his part, Mr Cachia insisted that Mgr Grech represented a "critical conscience", which was necessary in society.
"While AD acknowledges that some form of detention is necessary, clearly there is need for change. The current system is causing problems. As a country we need to get to terms with the fact that immigration is here to stay and initiate a national discussion that seeks to balance out the national interest and the management of this phenomenon in a dignified way that reflects our European credentials," Mr Cachia said.
Mgr Grech's homily drew fire from Azzjoni Nazzjonali. It "counselled" the bishop not to make the same mistake NGOs were making in defending the rights of the immigrants but not those of the local population.
"We expect people in his position to defend not only minority rights but also the culture that they have inherited from his own family. It is called love of one's country," the party said, describing the bishop's appeal as making "little sense".
Mgr Grech delivered his homily on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, five days after the tragic death of more than 200 immigrants off the Libyan coast.
"How many disrupted lives? How many hopes of freedom and new life foundered on the seabed?... The Mother of all humanity weeps today as she beholds the human tragedy of those who are escaping persecution, war and unbearable poverty in their countries," he said.
"Irregular immigration and our response to it as a nation and as Christians has become the greatest test of our faith today," Mgr Grech told the congregation.
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Comments
I dont think so. I think the only valid clue to follow is that by Dr Frank Portelli, lets stop by Preventing and addressing the issue at point of origin for these immigrants. Lets not let other Politicians play race cards against anyone.
A REVOLUTION.
He gave the cue to us.
Are we going to take it?
Shame to all four parties on this.
Even more shame to those Catholics who believe in the gift of live (I'm not talking about the GoL NGO but EVERY Catholic) yet are willing to accept the loss of dignity and humane respect of these lives.
It was Consensus that Crucified Christ and not Faith. Consensus Rules and the Bishop is helping us see the Greater Picture at the risk of not being understood.
In the end we must have some solution to this issue, whicheever way we see the illigal but humane problem. I agree with Dr Frank Portelli, to persuade the EU to concentrate on Preventing the immigration in the first place and avoid all the suffereing and false promieses aswell as the abuse by the human trafficer, and even for the immigrants to be used a pawns by Politicians. Vote for Frank Portelli in the comming MEP elections and lets solve this terrible and painful issue together with the EU, if we want a sustainable solution. Meaning well and not doing anything about it, lets the suffering carry on.
Though many have asked the question, there has been no reply to date, so I will ask again. What would the church do if a large number of illegal immigrants were to descend on the Vatican, sit down, demand unlimited free food, shelter and money, and refuse to leave unless they were given 5000 Euros? I think we all know what would happen to them. They'd be unceremoniously kicked out and told never to try that stunt again.
Can I publicly thank the bishop and commend him for his nice words?
I'd feel much better now that I wrote this message.
Why is caring about other pople so crucial to our sense of freedom ? Because we cannot get out of our ego unless we care about other people.
A person has to get outside himself and realize that the welfare of others is part of his own happiness and freedom.
Bishop Grech, they committed a crime when they left SAFE Libya and entered Malta illegally.
I tell you who committed no crime. The young kids who portrayed themselves as nuns at a carnival celebration. Yes bishop at a carnival celebration.
If someone camps out, at Vatican City and decide to live there and demands not to be removed or even asks the church to give him/her 5,000 Euros to leave, will the Vatican police arrest them?? Will the church give them 5,000 Euros to leave??
I hope that yours will not be a lone voice and that the newly elected President of the Republic , Dr Gorg Abela, will have the courage to remind us also of our christian principles and obligations as well as international solidarity.
The President`s insistence for a concelebtated mass at St John`s co-cathedral should augur that we wii not be disappointed in our our expectations . Otherwise the Ave maria wii turn sour into a Requem.
If I am not mistaken, because of the situation in some countries, people originating from these lands are automatically granted refugee status or humanitarian protection and thus, do not have to be detained or their detention is only temporary.
Some questions and points:-
What happens if a very large number of such genuine refugees end up in Malta?
If we cannot sustain such amounts, when faced with such a situation (what if) what are our international obligations vis a vis the national interest ?
Are there any contingency plans to deal with such a situation?
How far are we going to be tested?
I ask how is the church helping in this crisis? Condemning the detention policy alone does not solve the problem. I read and reread the Bishops Homily but I found not one single hint of a solution. It is very easy to criticise but we need solutions. Do we let the illegal migrants out on the streets? is the church willing to offer them accomodation in its homes? is the church willing to help financially to eliviate some of the burden on our taxes? What will the church do if in the future these illegals become numerous enough to start making demands that go against what the church preaches as is happening in the rest of Europe? this may sound far fetched now but we have more than enough examples and the writing is on the wall. finally, I disagree with the bishop when he says these migrants commited no crime. They are here Illegally and most of them are not refugees but are seeking a better financial future.
In the last five or six years, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono has deployed all her political talents to prevent any closed or open centres for illegal immigrants from being located in Gozo. No one doubts that Mrs Debono knows and respects the will of the people of Gozo.
In The Times of 1 April, Dr José Herrera published a thoughtful and thought provoking article on the negative security implications of illegal immigration.
To make matters worse, the bishop of Gozo’s words come at a time when (it seems from another article in today’s The Times) the Maltese government is under pressure from the Italian government to take increasing numbers of illegal immigrants.
Of course, the bishop of Gozo, like the rest of us, has the right of freedom of speech. But we have the right not to give much importance to what he says.
This is totally unacceptable in a supposedly modern secular country. The EU should kick us out as we do not belong to the 21st century but to the dark ages when heretics were burnt at the stake and witches were drowned in rivers.