People move because it's natural to do so

People have always had an urge to move, sometimes crossing oceans seeking a better life. The Maltese, of all people, should know this.

In our complicated world this movement takes many forms. Throughout Maltese history, we have witnessed waves of people leaving the islands primarily to Australia, the UK and the US. This migration was more or less on a voluntary basis, although in most cases it was necessitated because people could not make a decent living during harder times at home. Other people were forced to move for political reasons.

Now Malta is facing a movement of people in the opposite direction, mainly from the north African shore but including people from other parts of Africa.

Although we know that these asylum seekers are spending their hard-earned income on a trip across the sea that may eventually land them in Italy or Malta, this could hardly be described as voluntary. Few, if any, know they are pawns in a game of roulette that determines their final destination depending on the SAR (search and rescue) in which area they are rescued. Some never make it.

These immigrants are forced to leave their native countries due to economic and sometimes political hardship. The problem is further complicated by the involvement of unscrupulous individuals who prey on these immigrants by promising them passage to Europe. The boats, some of which we see in our harbours, on which these immigrants are packed, are hardly ever seaworthy. The result is an ongoing tragedy that we witness or hear about too often.

The debate over how to deal with this influx continues unabated although the solutions put forward appear to be either too drastic to implement or too weak to have any concrete effect. Sending these people back to the countries they came from was suggested on a few occasions and not only by the far right.

On the other hand, suggestions for our EU partners take a share of asylum seekers have drawn a blank or nearly a blank. The recent EU summit simply reiterated the call for voluntary burden sharing which, according to some, has been a joke. Frontex has yet to show concrete results.

There is little doubt that the problem must be tackled at source, namely by changing the desolate and destitute conditions in countries from which these people flee. Admittedly, this is not an easy solution. It is also long-term.

A short-term solution would be to go after the people who organise these trips, some say from organised crime, who exploit these unfortunate and desperate individuals. But this is not easy either since there needs to be a commitment from the country from where most immigrants leave, which does not appear to be forthcoming.

The government has been dealing with this problem for some time now. A lot has been done within the constraints established by the rule of law and international conventions. This certainly does not seem to be working. It is therefore now time to consider going beyond these constraints in a way that would have the support of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the EU, in addition to having the support of the government. This is easier said than done, but it may be possible.

NGOs and others who have been ruling out the most drastic of solutions, namely returning immigrants to their home countries - and if they do not have papers, to their last port of departure - should be asked to come up with concrete and effective solutions.

Failing this, nothing should be ruled out. A more liberal interpretation of the laws and conventions, including the refugee convention, may still tolerate turning immigrants back when the receiving country is put under stress. Malta, because of its size and high population density, is unable to continue to receive unlimited numbers of immigrants without taking drastic action.

Countries larger than Malta may have more capacity to deal with this kind of influx and seem to have procedures in place to deal with asylum seekers more effectively. In Switzerland 10 years ago, 47,000 people applied for asylum. This year, so far, the figure is down to 12,136.

Every country has special characteristics and deals with refugees in its own way. It is not always easy to deal with the forces of nature. Malta has shown pity and understanding in dealing with immigrants but in the end it also has to be firm and put the well-being of its people before anything else. No one should ask more of any country.