Migrant's joy at seeing Pope
A migrant who turned up for the Papal Mass on the granaries this morning expressed his joy at seeing the Pope in Malta, saying it had long been his wish.
The migrant, who is Christian, said that he was pleased when he arrived in Malta because he had learnt about it from the Bible.
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Sean Grima
Apr 19th 2010, 08:35
@joe grech: 1. i am well fed and have a roof over my head - like you do, very probably. 2. i do not get any remuneration for my opinion. trying to compare the level of poverty in Malta with that in Africa is ridiculous. We should help people in need irrespective of nationality or race.
D. Vella
Apr 18th 2010, 16:16
@Joseph Grima,Mr Grima,i think every maltese was given education and therefore oportunities from the very early age in their lives.No one in Malta should be poor.Those, who are considered poor or consider themselves poor have not taken the oportunity they have been given. Remebering the article about Mrs Maria from Birgu, living with her 5 kids in a garage, i am sure she was given the education she needed for her live, it was her choice to either take the good path or not. She choose to get herself 5 times pregnant from different men, instead of taken precaution.No one needs to get 5 times accidently pregnant.Why would i offer help to that woman? I wish her kids all the best in their lifes, hopefully they will not be influenced by the lifestyle of their mother.Too many woman are still taking the role of a housewife, maybe the husband is on minimum wage. I can understand if money is not raining down on them, BUT why shouldn't she be going to work once the kids are in school?Everybody is responsible for their own lifes.Most people from africa were not even given the chance of school education, Lets not forget that.
Kevin Zammit
Apr 18th 2010, 19:39
Nobody can deny that people in Africa were not given a chance ... as well as another billion around the world. We obviously cannot take them all and it is impossible for Malta to help while bigger countries sit back and use us as their first line of defense.
Help should be done right ... teach the man to fish so that he can provide for his family in his own home with the dignity that he deserves not dump money onto him away from his family so that we can say we did something about it.
Also it is about time that those empires of old that have enriched themselves off these countries instead of continuing to meddle in their politics start to pay them back.
For further information I suggest you start by reading 'shout at the devil'
Joseph Grech
Apr 18th 2010, 14:26
@Sean Grima - It is quite evident from your tone that you are well fed, have a roof over your head, probably get rewarded for the stance you adopt in this problem of illegal immigration. Are you aware that a considerable number of your (presumably) fellow Maltese are finding it very difficult to make ends meet?
Should we not help those before we continue helping those who arrive here illegally, abandoning their families back home and their country to better themselves economically?
Malta is being ripped apart financially. We just cannot go on this way.
So Mr. Sean Grima, go preaching elsewhere...why not try Sweden, the U.K., Italy for a start?
Robert Callus
Apr 18th 2010, 17:16
Yes poverty is rife in Malta. The problem with your thinking, similar to what many politicians want us to believe is that migrants (followed by single parents) are labeled as the reason for this. However, compared to other things, money going to such people is very little.
Why are Maltese people employed in miserable conditions for a miserable wage while some contractor makes huge profits out of them daily? Why do we have over 50,000 vacant properties when young couples are not able to buy or rent a house for a reasonable price? Or while we have people living in the streets? Why do we have Maltese people starting work without their wage haven't even been negotiated? Do you blame migrants for the water and electricity tariffs?
The problem with such scapegoating is that it not only harms the vulnerable, but is a good excuse not to ask the real questions.
Antoine Vella
Apr 18th 2010, 18:32
Joseph Grech
". . . So Mr. Sean Grima, go preaching elsewhere...why not try Sweden, the U.K., Italy for a start?"
Because, like you and me, Sean Grima is Maltese and has every right to "preach", as you put it, in his own country. You are free to not listen, if you wish, but please do not call yourself Christian.
Selfishness, compounded by hypocrisy, is the real problem the Maltese Church faces.
Sean Grima
Apr 18th 2010, 13:46
the Pope's message is clear: we cannot only focus on our problems, which are of a much lesser degree than those of these immigrants.
m azzopardi
Apr 18th 2010, 13:34
mr dalli..no one is allergic to their skin. malta simply cannot afford an influx of immigrants. better solve our own problem first!
W.Krasser
Apr 18th 2010, 13:26
Watching the vedio and listening to this guys comment , makes me think that these people are no different then we are, just happend to be unlucky, just because they are a different and have a darker tan then the Maltese, seriously i personally think as a German resident in your country, i really think that some Maltese needs to be > Educated > and stop thinking they are above anyone else. One final point to remember is that there are more Maltese in host countries and also in my country then actually in Malta, so i say give a little and take a little that way eveybody is happy. Welcome to the Pope +
wally vella-zarb
Apr 18th 2010, 14:32
Mr Krasser, have you forgotten when your country was offering financial incentives to Turks and Yugoslavs to return to their country of origin? Germany used to be the only country in all of my travels where my first attempts at verbal communication were invariably in English instead of in the local language as was my custom elsewhere. This tactic was necessary because the thinking on the other side was clearly "This person speaks English, therefore he cannot be a Turk or a Yugoslav, therefore I cannot treat him as a third-class person".
N.Muscat
Apr 18th 2010, 13:17
help?? what help?? Malta is already giving them help by not ousting them back to their own countries, so don't stretch it. We're doing enough and it's no sin to not wanting Malta to turn into Africa. This is no allergy, this is the defence of our small but proud country.
Joe Grech
Apr 18th 2010, 13:14
What an enlightening speech! Are illegal immigrants really as devout and as Catholic as this gentleman people are bound to ask?
He seems to be quite well off too so his presence here would probably not have to be shouldered by the Maltese taxpayer. He very probably looks after his family members who probably still live in Africa.
Why not let him stay here? The church authorities would probably be only too glad to offer him accommodation.
If you ask me this person has the characteristics of a future priest!
joseph dalli
Apr 18th 2010, 12:40
Thank God for this message this shows that these people are no different from us. This clip should help those who are allergic to to their skin colour to change their views and try to help