Claudia Calleja
Tackling unfounded fears to kill racism in Malta
A man and woman at Valletta's City Gate were seen 'arguing' over the topic of African immigrants yesterday, amid accusations that "the blacks" are taking Maltese jobs and invading Malta.
The woman said that the number of immigrants in Malta totalled less than one per cent of the population. In the meantime, she said, nobody ever complained about the 9,000 Russian immigrants in Malta "because they are blonde".
The two were actors who role played common misconceptions to raise awareness. Refugees shared their experiences with a curious crowd that gathered during an activity organised by the Migrant Solidarity Movement and Graffitti to mark World Refugee Day today.
A group of people wore white masks and stood in front of a banner in remembrance of the thousands of migrants who die in the Mediterranean Sea in search of a new life.
Racist feelings were best fought by addressing people's unfounded fears brought about because of a lack of information, Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti said.
Sudanese Hassan Mohammed Saleban explained how he chose to leave his country after his father died during the war, in search of a better life and to earn money to send home to his sick mother.
During his travels, he said he had to endure four days of "punishment" in Libya by being left out in the scorching sun during the day and out in the cold at night.
After that he and his friends were taken to a prison where they spent 18 months living in a small crammed cell with a hole for a toilet. Reflecting on his experience, Mr Callus appealed to the authorities not to send immigrants back to Libya.
Libyan Fawzi Sadegh, who was listening to the stories, objected to the statement and explained his country did not have a prison just for black people, as had been suggested. In fact, he said, many black people worked there legally.
A Nigerian refugee said that during the years he spent in Malta he learnt the plastering trade. However, he was sometimes turned away because of his skin colour.
Somali Jon Low explained his frustration when he overheard people assuming he was living off government charity because he owned a mobile phone. He explained he had bought his phone with the money he earned while working legally and paying taxes.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Nationalist Party called on all Maltese to show solidarity towards refugees who left their country in search of a place to call home.
While Malta was small and there was a limit to its resources and the number of refugees it could accommodate, it would be wrong to use this as an excuse to close the door to people in need, the PN said.
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w.scicluna
Jun 20th 2010, 20:20
Inzel fuq l-monti tal Furjana nhar ta hadd u flok belt barokka, tahseb li qed izzur belt Marokka....Hekk sew?
Sean Grima
Jun 24th 2010, 10:51
i don't see anything wrong with moroccan cities: some of them are UNESCO world heritage sites too!
Anton Portelli
Jun 20th 2010, 18:56
"she said, nobody ever complained about the 9,000 Russian immigrants in Malta "because they are blonde"........"
Nobody complains about the 9000 Russians because the absolute majority of them come here legally. Many of them are married here or in serious relationships with Maltese Nationals.
Besides many Russians come here as tourists and give a boost to the turist industry.
So please do not mention The Russians or other nationalities for that matter and compare them with the illegal immigrants.
anthea doughty
Jun 20th 2010, 16:34
@Mario Aquilina - every word you say is true.
I had to drive into Stratford in London recently for the first time in around 15 years and I did not recognise it!!!!! It was like driving through Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan & Africa. And no I most certainly did not feel safe. Police cars on blue flashing lights everywhere. Police vans with cars/vans/people pulled over doing stop & searches. Horrible.
Foreign shops selling various delicacies etc for peoples of varying origins. Yes indeed it was spot the white person! Mosques, drove past lots! And the Moslem Council of Britain!
I am not exaggerating when I say that 99% of other car drivers were of foreign appearance and the women all wearing headscarf and/or veils that covered their heads and part of their faces. I did not feel comfortable at all.
Other parts of my country are totally no go areas for a white person.
Successive governments over the past few decades have created a lot of the racism that exists today by allowing these peoples to enter our country both legally and illegally and then impose their beliefs, cultures & laws on us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sean Grima
Jun 21st 2010, 08:45
i don't see how the fact that people are of a foreign origin has anything to do with safety - as if crime is not committed by 'pure" british people!
mario aquilina
Jun 20th 2010, 15:52
What I'm against, is not the colour or where they come from. I'm against, Malta becoming a copy of the UK. Not being able to walk the streets in safety, and large numbers of people from the same country taking over a particular area. Areas like Birmingham and London. Some parts of London are such an example. Places like Kenton, Southall, Brixton, and Tower Hamlets, just to mention a few, where it gets difficult to spot an English person. I also do not like the idea of people going to somebodies else's country, and thinks that they can live and behave the same way, as they do in their own country. Look at London's skyline. Mosques all over the place. These are the same people that upset the whole of UK, everytime that a British soldier returns home in a body bag.
If someone welcomes you into his country, be grateful and abide by there way of living. If you do not like it, leave. It is that simple.
Once you let the above, take place in Malta, it will be very very difficult to get rid off. Act now, before it is too late.
JF Bartolo Snr.
Jun 21st 2010, 23:38
If Malta becomes a copy of the UK or worst still England then God forbid, as Malta and especially our sister island Gozo will sink faster then a ton of bricks, we see it on a daily bases in our naitonal newspapers that 95% of crimes are committed by Foreigners. Am i right or am i wrong?I came back as a retired migrant and believe me i don't even recognise the place anymore as pure Maltese, its a mixture of all sorts now a days and WHY may i ask for money? is it worth it at all? and i am not just talking about the black situation but also mainly from northern europe who come over here to get away from their home problems, but give us a headache in the process sorry but its a fact.
Isobel McGonigle
Jun 20th 2010, 13:43
@ SEAN GRIMA You need to read Ms Vella's letter with a modicum of intelligence. Nowhere in the letter does she mention paradise in either country. Your tunnel vision makes my blood boil. Why don't you answer her question.
Malta is too small an Island to cater for all who would like to live here without identities or means of support for themselves.
Sean Grima
Jun 21st 2010, 08:44
perhaps you mean "comment" not "letter". if my vision makes your blood boil, that is your problem. my vision is based on respect for human dignity, not utilitarian convenience.
Daniela Grech
Jun 20th 2010, 12:10
Dear Louise, seems like you have a lot of time on your hands, therefore I strongly recommend you do some travelling to various countries, also including the African ones you have mentioned, to get to know different realities and to get the evidence you crave so much..ie not the rosy reality you have around you..since the facts you have just quoted do not depict the whole picture..if you open your mind, you might start to empathise and understand people who come from totally different realities.
Would you risk your life, travelling through the sahara, in a container, yes the ones they use for merchandise, which Berlusconi so kindly 'donated' to Libya, and further risk your life in the mediterranean sea, not to mention being stuck in various prisons during the trip. And the people are not imprisoned due to crimes committed, another fact I should point out here. Some empathy at least, not pity, these people just deserve understanding and respect. I am fully aware of Malta's limitations, however lets keep in mind we are talking about human beings like us!
Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2010, 09:12
Is there the slightest piece of evidence to back the stories of the Sudanese and Nigerian illegal immigrants? Sudan is vast, the largest country in Africa (see BBC country profiles) and has oil and other resources. There was a civil war in one part of Sudan, but the rest of the country is peaceful and prospering. Nigeria, huge and rich in oil and mineral resources, suffers only from a corrupt government. Can Malta take the 100 or 200 million people of Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia? Can the EU take so many people? How many million Africans do Moviment Graffiti and Migrants Solidarity Movement want Malta to take? Numbers please, NUMBERS.
Sean Grima
Jun 20th 2010, 10:29
perhaps you should consider emigrating to one of those paradise societies, where everyone is swimming in petro dollars!
Robert Callus
Jun 20th 2010, 11:54
That's the problem with you Louise - NUMBERS, just NUMBERS. You fail to realize that 2 people living in the same street do not have the same life story, the same personality. Let alone 2 people living in the same continent. The reason why MSM, Graffitti and people like myself view things in a different way than you do is that we know, worked with, had fun with and organized activities with these human beings. We cannot, it is impossible for us to see them as numbers, because they aren't.
MSM and Graffitti are not the Refugee Commission. No one of us decides who will stay and who doesn't. What we fight against is racism. And fighting racism couldn't be done with a calculator in our hands.
Charles Sammut
Jun 20th 2010, 13:44
@ Sean Grima
How ridiculous can you get? You would then be accusing Ms Vella of "exploiting" African resources. Whites who tried to settle in Africa have been murdered by the thousands. No wonder nobody takes the like of you seriously.
Listen to Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela singing "Kill the whites"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcOXqFQw2hc&feature=related
Kevin Attard
Jun 20th 2010, 17:20
http://www.vivacinema.it/articolo/come-un-uomo-sulla-terra-il-documentario-scomodo-che-non-trova-distribuzione/4982/
Sean Grima
Jun 21st 2010, 08:42
nelson mandela has been awarded the noble peace prize for seeking to rebuild south africa based on reconciliaton. i don't know about massacres of thousands of whites, but i do know about the genocide of the herero people by the germans in what is now namibia!