Facing the challenges of uncontrolled immigration

The influx of refugees from North Africa has started in earnest. Countries like Malta and Italy on the frontline of this human and desperate invasion face formidable political, economic, moral and social challenges when defining the best strategy to mange this unprecedented migration.

On the political front, the phenomenon of uncontrolled migration of possibly thousands of African and Asian poor people will stoke even more radical right wing militancy. It may even result in extreme right politicians being elected in national parliaments creating the spectre of traditional political blocs depending on right wing support to form a government. At a time of economic and social instability in the EU, such a scenario does not augur well for a quick return to normality.

At the social level, it is clear that the influx of migrants who are prepared to do anything for a miserly wage is seen as a threat to a large section of our population that is already finding it difficult to secure a well paid job. This is partly because the educational achievements of some of our workers do not help them to fit in the new labour market.

I am often shocked by the comments I hear from young people about the way they look at migrants. They see them as stealing their jobs and will potentially support any maverick politician who is ready to exploit these xenophobic sentiments.

On the moral front, our humanistic and Christian values are often brought to our attention by well meaning pressure groups and religious organisations who rightly point out that as human beings all migrants deserve to be treated in the same way we treat one another locally. But when people feel threatened by migrants who are perceived to be competing with them for difficult to find job opportunities, jettisoning moral values becomes an effortless task.

The moral standards embraced by some members of our society who do not see migrants as a real threat to their employment may still not be all that laudable. Racial prejudice is a strong emotion that seems to be embedded in the psyche of different levels of our society, even if we often gloat about our Christian traditions and are only too ready to condemn racism practiced in distant lands.

Perhaps even more worrying is the impact of unplanned migration on our economy. While some migrants are slowly being integrated in our economy, this is happening in a way that is increasing tensions in the labour market.

I have heard of very qualified North African migrants being offered low paid menial jobs, like sweeping floors in hospitals, because they do not have a real choice. Some may argue that this is serving as a correcting mechanism to dampen the “generous and unaffordable” conditions demanded by local job seekers

The reality is that we already have an oversupply of under-qualified young, and not so young, people who are risking long term unemployment partly because our educational system has failed them and they are unable to integrate in the new economy. As the gap between the “have” and the “have not” in our society widens, the sound social fabric that has helped our economy prosper in the past is being strained.

The solutions to these difficult challenges remain difficult to identify. We can start by making our voice heard more loudly in the EU institutions.

We must not be demoralised if initially we are bullied by the big boys in the euro club. Burden sharing will continue to be discussed for ever but I expect little concrete action beyond trying to bribe countries like Malta and Italy with financial aid as long as we continue to deal with the human aspect of migration on our own.

We should not rule out strong political action to get the big EU member states to talk sense on this matter beyond the usual empty rhetoric that so often characterises Brussels-speak on important issues.

Equally important is a genuine effort by our political leaders to come up with a bipartisan policy on how to deal with the different aspects of uncontrolled immigration.

Unfortunately, political apart­heid, cronyism and patronage are still prevalent in many aspects of our public life. This makes it increasingly difficult to build trust amongst us to help us work together when faced with difficult political challenges.

The daunting challenges ahead are sufficient reason to do what it takes to promote consensus on important issues like immigration.

jcassarwhite@yahoo.com