Maurice F. Mizzi, Bidnija
Drawing the line on immigration
I trust that columnist I.M. Beck will not be offended if I do not rush to the newsagent every Saturday to read his column. As far as I am concerned I would rather watch Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Therefore, it was no surprise to me that it was only by chance that recently I found out that this columnist had on several occasions focussed on me his vitriolic sarcasm.
A few years ago he tried to ridicule me because I departed from a football match in the 90th minute. A year ago he viciously criticised my letters concerning illegal immigrants. Last week he again tried to ridicule me on his blog concerning the immigration issue.
OK. So we both think alike about spring hunting but differ on this issue. This is democracy. And we must all look after this precious lifestyle. We could lose it in the same way that we nearly did not so long ago.
In my letters I have always maintained that we must be kind and help these immigrants while they are in our country.
However, I have also maintained that in a small overpopulated island we cannot have an increasing number of illegal immigrants most of whom belong to an aggressive faith at the same time that most of us are embracing the Catholic religion.
On September 18 a correspondent commenting on my letter on timesofmalta.com wrote: "The problem has become worse as the number of immigrants increase. The pressure on Maltese society is growing - on taxes, our education, our health system, our social security, the peace of mind of some once-quiet neighbourhoods."
We now have no-go areas such as Marsa and Ħal Far. These people have been brought up to think differently from us.
In which religion are women given 40 lashes just because they wear trousers or are seen kissing a man in the street? In which religion do people plan to blow up three airliners killing thousands of innocent passengers including women and children? Three terrorists were sentenced last week in England. In which religion does a father kill his daughter simply because she is living with a man of a different religion as happened in Italy last week?
While not every person of this religion is a terrorist, every terrorist belongs to this religion and acts blindly. Unfortunately, terrorists do not have "I am a terrorist" written on their forehead.
These are some of the reasons for my insistence that these immigrants should be sent back to their country, since the EU refuses to help us in a serious manner.
On the other hand, what has I.M. Beck suggested to ease this challenge? Perhaps he does not see it as an issue and is happy with seeing more immigrants arriving on our shores? What is his end game? Do we integrate these people? Do we give them passports? What magical formula has he in mind? The easiest thing for a columnist to do is to criticise without providing an answer, and this columnist is excellent at doing just that.
I would like him to inform us of his solution loudly and clearly so that in 10 years' time, if both of us will still be around, I will remind him of it.
I would like to repeat the words of the great Schiller: "Against stupidity even the Gods are powerless."
I.M. Beck is impervious to the thousands of Maltese living below the poverty line and who should be our priority. I suppose that this eminent lawyer does not even know that there are Maltese who do not have a roof over their heads.
He asks whether I know where the poverty line starts.
During World War II, before your this columnist was born, for four years I had experienced real poverty and hunger, resulting in pleurisy (four months in bed).
That is one of the reasons why I am trying to help those Maltese who are living below the poverty line through my Spiro Mizzi Foundation.
Perhaps your I.M. Beck columnist will inform us what good deeds he has done for our islands.
Finally, may I remind everyone that these illegal immigrants have arrived here without an invitation. What would happen to I. M. Beck if he were to arrive in Somalia without a visa? He will definitely not be Beck for a long time, and we will all miss reading his column which might not be a bad thing.
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Joe Xuereb
Oct 9th 2009, 01:43
Maurice Mizzi, how very sharp and to the point. Alas, not sharp enough. One tiny slip (about the terrorists being Muslim I mean) and..... Of course I knew what you meant. But no, some wanted to see their name in print and grasped the opportunity to ridicule you. The result a shoal of smelly red herrings. How very, very predictable. How very, very Maltese. I am fast coming to the conclusion that commenting on this and other issues in Malta is a waste of time. But I do resent sitting back and watch while the country sinks. As for integration - and here is my tuppenny worth - insistence on separate schools shows lack of interest. And these children they'll grow up not knowing, or caring, who the Queen is. Or the significance of 1066. Or Magna Carta. Or the Reformation. Or the Counter-Reformation. Or the Industrial Revolution. And as for Charles Darwin...... I am sure you, Maurice Mizzi, know what I am getting at (you'll have guessed I reside in UK).
And now, with bated breath, I await MY shoal of rotten fish. Wish me luck.
Maurice, you did something I'm unaware of? I mean, this barrage of antipathy.
A. Muscat
Oct 7th 2009, 00:51
@ Maurice F. Mizzi
Could you please inform me what’s the difference between the Jihadists and the Crusaders?
Do you sincerely think such a letter could solve illegal immigrants issue ONE INCH?
As someone said it down here, please get your fact right about the religion map of Africa you may be surprised!
Dr. Mark A. Sammut
Oct 6th 2009, 22:37
Maurice F. Mizzi is spot on when he says: "in a small overpopulated island we cannot have an increasing number of illegal immigrants."
I would not have entered into the merits of terrorism, because this ancillary thought has reduced the otherwise strong line of reasoning of this letter.
The tough reality which Malta has to face is that our Republic is already far too small for its own native population - it is unthinkable that it can take in such large number of immigrants as we are witnessing today.
We are the most densely populated country in Europe, and among the most densely populated in the world. This overpopulation is leading to a tangible decline in our quality of life: our natural environment is fast disappearing, our urban environment is deteriorating equally fast. This decline in our physical surroundings is leading to an undeniable moral decline.
To make matters worse, there seems to be no real integration process of these immigrants. For Malta, the integration of immigrants is even more important because of the smallness of the place.
These issues need to be seriously and urgently tackled.
This is not a question of racism. It is a question of overpopulation.
c. camilleri
Oct 6th 2009, 20:41
Prosit Maurice. how we wish that many of our leading personalities think like you do. As you said when the consequences will start biting many of us won't be here.
Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi
Oct 6th 2009, 20:02
Mr. Mizzi,
Creating chaos and depressing the cost of labour while breaking down homogeneous european cultures is the name of the game.
fbonello
Oct 6th 2009, 18:53
Well said, Mr Mizzi
lgalea
Oct 6th 2009, 18:02
Have a look at Le Figaro
L'explosif en suppositoire, nouvelle arme des islamistes
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/10/05/01016-20091005ARTFIG00309-l-explosif-en-suppositoire-nouvelle-armedes-islamistes-.php
They are now using explosives internally as suppositories so that they will not be caught with explosive belts which are cumbersome and can easily be seen.
Mario Attard
Oct 6th 2009, 16:12
@ Maurice Mizzi
Many preoccupied citizens have expressed their concerns about the amount of illegal immigrants in Malta. We all agree that Malta should help a realistic number of genuine refugees, but not an endless number of economic illegal migrants. Meanwhile, we have got used to the hypocrisy of others, who classify all immigrants as refugees, and call us racists.
Yes, our government should draw a line. The EU members are doing that already. Six members have agreed to take a total of only 100 between themselves. What about the other twenty EU members? The USA has taken more than any other EU member!
louise vella
Oct 6th 2009, 14:55
Mr Mizzi deserves the gratitude of common Maltese for his clear-mindedness in seeing the danger of massive immigration from people having a vastly different culture from ours. How many illegal immigrants does the pro-immigrant lobby want to see roaming the streets of Malta? 10 000? 50 000? 100 000? Those who defend illegal immigrants have never answered the simple question of numbers. The burden of illegal immigrants on Maltese society is already becoming unbearable with some 10 000 of them around. Imagine what it will be as the numbers grow!
Kenneth Cassar
Oct 6th 2009, 14:21
"While not every person of this religion is a terrorist, every terrorist belongs to this religion".
I'm surprised the editor did not remove this sentence. It does not simply involve a mistaken opinion (which would be tolerable in respect of free-speech). It is factually and demonstrably false.
G Ellul
Oct 6th 2009, 13:58
Magnificent letter! Good show, Mr Mizzi!
Andreas Reiff
Oct 6th 2009, 12:54
Quote Mr. Mizzi: 'While not every person of this religion is a terrorist, every terrorist belongs to this religion and acts blindly.' End quote.
Mr. Mizzi, since when are ETA and IRA terrorists of Muslim faith? And are you aware, that a huge proportion of the African people coming to Malta without passport are of Christian faith? This clearly shows, that you are driven by emotions, and did not check the facts. The issue is much too complex and the decisions to be taken much too grave for playing around with it the way you do. I am not declaring myself being in favour or being against supporting these people.
Eric Soames
Oct 6th 2009, 10:51
Maurice F. Mizzi: Well written and well said, sir. As for your last paragraph, it seems that I M Beck has never been I M Beck inasmuch as he chooses to shelter behind someone else's name, as I'm sure you're aware.
John C Betts
Oct 6th 2009, 10:46
"every terrorist belongs to this religion"
Is it the religion followed by members of the IRA?
FARC?
Brigate Rosse?
Baader-Meinhof?
Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph?
Sendero Luminoso?
ELN?
ETA?
"Unfortunately, terrorists do not have "I am a terrorist" written on their forehead."
Using this logic, since there are a handful of Maltese people who in the course of history have murdered someone, all Maltese should be suspect, because murderers do not have "I am a murderer" written on their forehead.