Frontex patrols code-named Chronos start again in April

matthew tanti

Jan 21st 2010, 08:53

i cannot understand by what stretch of the imagination one can use the HIV statistics to justify refusing ALL africans access to malta. should we starting testing any foreigner to see if they are infected or not? of course, even those entering with a visa, and EU citizens, might be infected!

Raymond Cachia

Jan 21st 2010, 00:29

@Sean Grima Vide South Africa - I had high hopes after apartheid was removed and Blacks were given the reins to the country, but it has become one of the most crime ridden countries and after Mandela it will go the way of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) with a local dictator for life that you will find in most African nations. Even Liberia, which was founded by returned American Blacks, children of former slaves, is not doing very well. In Canada we have been accepting White refugees from South Africa for some time now, for they are afraid of the way things have begun to degenerate in such a short time and violence and crime have become rampant. In fact, a criminal group went on the Media to declare that they intend to attack and rob visitors and tourists that come to the World Cup. In summary, the Maltese are correct in that they do not want any immigrants, of any type, for (a) they will eventually have to compete with them for scarce jobs and (b) they will forever change the fabric of Maltese culture, which we hold so dear.

sean grima

Jan 20th 2010, 23:38

i do not deny the statistics. on the other hand, they do not mean that every african is HIV infected, and there is no need to 'fear' them even if they are, as HIV tranmission to adults occurs via sexual intercourse. in the same way, one would have to fear every non-african in the same way. the statistics are not a reason to stop africans coming to malta. if at all, better medical care and treatment may help to save the lives of their children. i hope nobody will say that we should not be saving african children's lives because of what the treatment may cost maltese taxpayers: saving a human life is more important that fixing all our roads put together!

Guze Xerri

Jan 20th 2010, 21:15

To Sean Grima,

Anyway you cut it, the statistics about rape and HIV/AIDS in Africa speak for themselves.

Whether that can be construed to mean that Africans in general are more promiscuous, should be left to the readers to decide.

sean grima

Jan 20th 2010, 18:35

i believe that very few of the immigrants in malta are from the very south of africa, where HIV is mostly prevalent. even if they were, you do not need to worry about HIV unless you have sex with them. by the way, it can also be contracted from white people!

i agree that fidelity is the best way to avoid HIV, but, as i pointed out earlier, faithful spouses may still contract it from unfaithful ones, and babies from their mothers. the statistics you point out, though saddening, do not change this, nor mean that all africans are promiscuous or that only they are!

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 20th 2010, 16:31

@sean grima,
Faithful couples have a much less chance of coming down with HIV/AIDS .
From the Johannesburg Mail and Guardian online, feb 11 09 :
"Sex with multiple partners is so entrenched in Southern Africa that it is a religion, a basic moral philosophy for most people here. It is often simply called culture or, specifically, African culture. Political leaders who marry an increasing number of wives and royalty that flaunts an equal number of wives and concubines are highly visible."
Botswana is estimated to have 23.7% of the adults infected with AIDS and Lesotho has 27% .
According to the World Health Organization 34.3 million people in the world have AIDS and 24.5 million of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. During 2007, 50% of all new HIV diagnoses and 42% of new AIDS diagnoses were in black people in the USA, yet they comprise around just 13% of the population. Haiti: 20% of the adult population living with HIV. Higher prevalence rates are found only in sub-Saharan Africa.

sean grima

Jan 20th 2010, 12:32

i agree that the world should take action to combat poverty wherever it occures - africa, north america, australia etc. i do happen to know african people, and do not agree with the impression you are giving. of course, generalizations are incorrect in either sense. my belief is that every person should be assessed on his/her own individual value, free from any preconceived notions based on race, gender etc.

as for the HIV issue, please remember that vast amounts of african women are infected by their husbands (granted, because of the husband's promiscuity, but not due to a fault on the wife's part) and babies infected by breast feeding mothers. of course, promiscuity is not a trait limited to africans!

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 19th 2010, 21:52

@ sean grima,
I spent decades working in N. America and believe me it was not a cakewalk.
The people there work very hard and there is not the socialistic paradise with legislated workers rights that you find in Malta and many other european countries. What is this big urge to help the african, are the cause celebre of the do gooders and leftists of these last two decades?
Knowing what I know from trying to work with them in social services in north america, I'd say you are wasting your time and good intentions and could be spent helping the native maltese poor.
It will pay higher dividends in the long run, trust me on that.

Raymond Cachia

Jan 19th 2010, 21:23

@ Sean Grima

Do not make light about poverty in North America or wherever it is found for that matter. It is not just Black Africans who are suffering deprivations and poverty – but people in every continent.

Have you ever seen people living in boxed or under newspapers in the winter when the temperatures can reach as low as -30 below zero at night, or do you know the fact that in the Canadian province of Ontario alone, there are 345,000 children that go to bed hungry every night? Or that Aboriginal people here live in conditions that match if not exceed those of third world countries?

So please sir, refrain from comment on things that you obviously know nothing about.

Guze Xerri

Jan 19th 2010, 19:30

Mr. Sean Grima,
The amount of aid sent to Africa over the last 50 years at over $2.3 trillion dollars—yet poverty, corruption, and the AIDS crisis continue to be. The place is a bottom less pit, the continent is addicted to aid from N. America and Europe with no improvement, it is a hopeless cause and the african is mostly the creator of his own misery.
HIV and AIDS are rampant, yet the people continue with a dangerous promiscuous lifestyle.
Rape is also rampant, in a April 12 TOM interview article, 3/4 of a million women and girls are raped annually was stated.
I immigrated to North America for over 40 years and did not go there illegally willy nilly, all maltese had to pass a rigorous process with health and police conduct checks before LEGAL immigration.
We also had a judeo christian european culture with a strong work ethic like the citizens of the host nation we immigrated to.
I went there with a usable trade and was never a burden to the tax payer.
My progeny work for the Toronto Social Services and these people from sub sahara are its biggest users.

sean grima

Jan 19th 2010, 18:12

mhux hekk, we maltese refuse to form part of the world except where it suits us - the rest of the world can deal with africa's problems, we do not care about them!
you will have us believe that average north americans are worse off than africans!

Charles Grixti

Jan 19th 2010, 01:11

@Sean Grima, Matthew Tanti

I do not know in which world you guys are living, but in North America, people work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. The ones with decent salaries work in excess of 60-70 hours per week. Paid holidays and sick leave are not legally mandatory and yes people are exhausted.

There is also a lot of shocking and hidden poverty. Many people are forced to sell the equity on their houses or borrow on their credit cards in order to pay for groceries. Some live on the streets or in battered cars.

Yet, companies that manufacture luxury items are doing a booming business and many have a waiting list for their products and the rich can now afford six super-yatchs instead of one!

Of course that people in Africa and third world countries work very hard. They are being exploited by the very same class of moneyed elite.

Ffght poverty by going after the real culprits that are exploiting everyone, the multi-nationals , their governments and Globalisation, but not your fellow Maltese, who do not want immigrants of any kind. for they are concerned for their future and that of their children.

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 18th 2010, 19:55

@ mathhew tanti, Maybe they should stay home and improve their nations to first world standards instead of running away to nations that do not want them. Toiling sweat and blood and not making any head way shows that they are using the wrong techniques. Getting their population growth figures in check would work wonders for starters.

sean grima

Jan 18th 2010, 19:50

anybody who would hear you people talking would think that all africans are coming here to malta!! perhaps africa will be able to stand on its own feet when a firm commitment is made by western governments to stop their own multinationals from draining africa's resources, with the proceeds being pocketed by their top executives and corrupt governments! surely it is not the poor people whom we see arriving in boats who are to blame for the state in which their countries are!! these people are doing what we would all do if we were in their place - emigrate to find a better future for them and their kids: i am sure they love their kids as much as we do, even if they are black! considering that it is said there are more maltese abroad than in malta, i think we are one of the nations which is least entitled to criticize immigration!

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 18th 2010, 17:31

@ sean grima, "malta is part of the world, and so we share in the worlds problems" Depositing the worlds problems on Malta is not going to do Malta and its citizens any favours. By bankrupting tiny Malta into a beggar nation with an imported constant victimhood mentality, very similar to that found in that large continent to the south of the Maltese islands. What good will Malta be to help these large nations in that continent then? Who is really benefiting from being globalised? We did not vote for this agenda. It is better to deal with cold hard facts than to be swayed by faux religiosity and the "we are all one" propaganda. Forcing ancient cultures and homogeneous peoples into divisive multiculturalism failure is a recipe for disaster and divisive chaos. The same policy makers do not force this multiculturalism into the solid factoryshop nations of China and Japan which their multinational corporations profit so much from.

mathhew tanti

Jan 18th 2010, 15:53

@Charles Grixti: do you really think that the immigrants do not toil sweat and blood when working in their countries? they probably work much harder for much less and in worse conditions than we do!!!

sean grima

Jan 17th 2010, 22:22

@charles grixti: you should be ashamed to imply that we toil in blood and sweat whilst people from developing (failed?) countries do not. perhaps you should ask maltese missionaries who share the living conditions of these people whether they toil or not! more often than not they work much longer hours than we do, for a pittance and without any of the workers' rights we are used to!!!!!

Guze Xerri

Jan 17th 2010, 20:36

Mr. Grima, I an a senior citizen, and I remember people in Malta sending clothing and money to help Africans since I was a child, and that is not even counting the hundreds of Maltese who went there to help them as missionaries. When if ever, when are these people going to stand on their own two feet? The bloggers are right , Africa is a huge continent of 11668598 squared miles compared to Malta's 122, and with a bounty of natural resources. Imagine what we Maltese could have created if that wealthy continent was ours. So what is the problem with the african? It can't be wars as Europe has been inundated with wars? It has in most places a climate to be envied They the african seem to be energy challenged bodily and lacking in cranium calculations compared to the innovators of this planet in other lands. They are very good at the fecundity process I must say. Maybe for once we should let nature take its course and let these people be to its powers. Loading tiny Malta with a problem bigger than we can ever hope to solve is a folly.

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 17th 2010, 18:58

@ sean grima, "malta is part of the world, and so we share in the worlds problems" Bringing in the worlds problems to Malta is not going to do Malta any good. Making Malta and its people into a less than a third world country through the elite sponsored process of africanization will make tiny Malta into a beggar nation with a constant victimhood mentality very similar to the people in that large continent to the south of the Maltese islands. What good will Malta be to help these nations in that continent then? We will be just like them. And who is really benefiting from being globalized? We did not vote for this elite sponsored agenda. It is better to deal with cold hard facts than to be swayed by emotionalism and the "we are all one" propaganda. These same elites will be living in their own gated communities , away from the chaos and grime they created for the man on the street after forcing ancient cultures and homogeneous peoples into divisive multiculturalism failure. The same elite policy makers do not force this multiculturalism into the factoryshop nations of China and Japan.

Emma Xerri

Jan 17th 2010, 17:15

@Sean Grima Why should the idea of "fortress Malta" or the idea of nationhood be outdated? This idea of a multicultural country is an oxymoron. A country implies a common people and heritage and celebrating diversity real means celebrating marginalisation. With the twin policies of Immigration and Multiculturalism, everyone stands to lose, except the top 1% of the population - the very rich elite: 1. The genuine immigrants lose because they come into the West to be exploited for cheap labour. 2. The hosting nation's citizenry lose because they are exploited by dishonest immigrants and refugee claimants' who have not intention of working but living on the welfare systems that are paid by their tax money. 3. The host nation's workers lose - their wages and barganing powers eroded by a glut of potential workers which brings down the price of labour. 4. The countries where these refugees come from also lose, since conditions will never improve unless these immigrants remain in their countries and work hard to improve their lot, instead of running away. Please do not confuse this issue with anything religious or moral. Very greedy Capitalist Neo-Conservative agendas are what is behind the immigrant and multicultural phenomenon.

sean grima

Jan 17th 2010, 16:15

"@ TL Mizzi - as a nation which prides itself on its christian value, we cannot close our eyes to the suffering of millions of africans. malta is part of the world, and so we share in the worlds problems, as well as its benefits. your attitude is typical of an isolationist, egoistic attitude, of being globalised only insofar as taking is concerned, but not insofar as giving. the "fortress malta" mentality is way outdated.

the document to which this link refers gives a very good explanation of libya's safety with respect to sub-saharan africans: http://www.jrsmalta.org/Do%20They%20Know.pdf

Raymond Cachia

Jan 17th 2010, 15:19

@ Sean Grima

If these "immigrants" are not stopped in their tracks, there is a very real danger that out own countries in the West will themselves slide into Third World status.

Here are some sobering figures from Denmark. The pattern is similar in other European nations and in North America, where the culture of immigration and multiculturalism has been embraced:

'Immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending.'

In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of immigrants on the Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying. The government's welfare committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were blocked, 75 percent of the costs needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system, as it existed, was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government."

Therefore, the way I see it, we are faced with two options, either ban refugees/immigrants or the safety net that honest citizens relied on in the past, the Welfare State is finished.

I know which one I would choose!

Charles Grixti

Jan 17th 2010, 14:58

@ Sean Grima

Everyone knows that the definition of ‘Refugee" has been stretched to its outer limits and just about everyone can claim this title by following a few easy steps.

People from Africa and other places watch European TV programming and imagine that our streets are paved with gold! In the same way that we Europeans, through the magic of Hollywood, had imagined this about America in the past.

They do not realise the blood and sweat that our Western way of life entails. This is why they are making these sea journeys, only to be inevitably disappointed. There is no easy way to the 'good life'.

A similar situation as that of Libya not being considered a 'safe country' has happened in Canada, where the government has 'conveniently" declared that the USA is not a safe country for illegal immigrants/refugees, thus allowing for Mexicans and South Americans already in the US to apply for Refugee Status in Canada! This has opened the flood-gates of 'refugee claimants" that are siphoning dry rhe Welfare system.

It seems that this 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees is being "tweaked" as necessary by various Western nations to support a Capitalist and exploitive agenda!

Denis Catania

Jan 16th 2010, 17:19

@sean grima: Libya is a safe country. If Libya wasn't a safe country they would and or should have stayed in one of the safe countries they traveled through to get to Libya.

Joe Morana

Jan 16th 2010, 17:09

To all those heaving a great big sigh of relief: Believe it when you see it! Human traffickers have proved extremely ingenious and resourceful in finding ways to get around such 'controls'. They closely monitor what goes on in the European Parliament, and come up with ways to circumvent such attempts at 'controlling illegal immigration'. Besides, they rest easy in the knowledge that they will always find gullible victims willing take the risk of embarking on what has proved to be a 'journey of no return' in every sense and meaning.

Trevor Lorenzo Mizzi

Jan 16th 2010, 16:28

@sean grima,

" it is the easy way out to avoid tackling Africa's problems, but not the morally and ethically correct one."

It is not our job to solve Africa's problems, a rich continent of over 30,000 sq. km.
Most of the perpetual basket case Africa problems have to be solved by the africans.
They have to start to roll up their sleeves and finally get to work for real, as president Obama told them in his Ghana speech, and not unfairly and perpetually blame everyone else for their problems.
Bringing them to an overcrowded barren isle of 314 sq. km. , made habitable by the sweat and blood of our forefathers is not the solution.
Our MORAL and ETHICAL answers have to do on what nation, if any, are we going to bequeath to future generations of our children and children's children.
You have to realize what a small and unique people we maltese truly are.
We deserve to survive as a people, culture and nation in this sea of humanity.
There will always be millions upon millions of africans in africa and around the world.
They are not in danger of dying out.

c.caruana

Jan 16th 2010, 14:14

Unbelievable!! Fortress europe on the move!! NO BORDERS NO NATIONS, that will be the final and victorious cry!!! One world...One love!!

sean grima

Jan 16th 2010, 14:00

i do not know which statistic backs the argument that the majority of maltese want immigrants to be repatriated. repatriation would only be ideal where they can return to enjoy a decent standard of living - but if they did, most, if not all, would not have left in the first place.

please remember that malta (unlike, say, libya) is a party to the 1951 Geneva Convention which prohibits states from returning anyone (not only refugees) to a country where there is a real risk of torture or cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment.

what you are suggesting goes against the fundamental principles on which modern western democratic societies are built. it is the easy way out to avoid tackling Africa's problems, but not the morally and ethically correct one.

paul falzon

Jan 16th 2010, 12:34

My brief comment: It is also undeniable that the majority of the people of Malta want an "Emphasis to return immigrants to country of origin", just like the one in our EU neighbour Italy where immigrants are returned immediately at the moment they enter (or are caught in) territorial waters (or land).

louise vella

Jan 16th 2010, 12:33

It’s right to put “Emphasis to return immigrants to country of origin”. This should be done when the boats with illegal immigrants approach European waters, as Italy does. No use letting them come in and then spending years and € thousands to find maybe 10% of them.

“it was undeniable that the number of illegal immigrants crossing over to Malta and Italy from Libya was on the decline.”

Thanks to Berlusconi’s policy of pushing back the boats not thanks to Frontex.

“In Malta there were 2,775 arrivals in 2008 and 1,475 in 2009.”

Meaning total numbers of illegal immigrants roaming Malta’s streets is increasing yearly: now they cannot escape to Sicily.

“France … describing the missions as a "total failure".”

Yes, unless Frontex starts pushing back the boats.

“Mr Laitinen said the emphasis of his agency this year would be to return to their country of origin illegal immigrants … the financial resources devoted to such purpose would be nearly doubled from €5 million last year to over €9 million.”

This is an opportunity for GonziPN to start picking up illegal immigrants (starting from those in prison and detention centres) and returning them to their country.

Paul Caruana

Jan 16th 2010, 11:02

"The mission this year would focus on returning illegal immigrants to their country of origin"

Finally!

So much for the pathetic hypocritical whining against the Italian policy of forced repatriation.... by the same people who have no intention to go along with burden sharing.