Chains of an unrequited friendship

We knew it all along. But, somehow, in our collective psyche, we felt hos­tage and we never spoke up. When the immigration phenomenon started in 2002, we did not think much about it… until it became an all-too-frequent occurrence.

The Gaddafi regime – and I make a difference between the regime and the Libyan people – operated an open-borders policy to promote its “vision” of an African Union. As a result, all the brothers and sisters of Africa who cared to cross over to Libya were allowed to do so. And hundreds of thousands did that, until social tensions started to swell. Muammar Gaddafi needed to find ways to get rid of them. Europe was the answer.

Boat after boat left Libyan shores on a perilous journey to mainland Europe. Most arrived in Italy but some, first in their hundreds, then in their thousands, ended up in Malta each year.

Drama on the high seas became commonplace. Rescue missions on wild waves, rickety boats going down, pregnant women plucked out of the sea and hundreds of lives perishing in the Mediterranean.

Some 15,000 made it to Malta, mostly saved at sea by our maritime squadron. Most of them were Sub-Saharan Africans, from countries in total anarchy unfit to take them back. Their plans to seek refuge in Europe were thwarted by foul weather or by a faulty motor or by whatever reason that cut their trip to Italy short. Instead, their destiny brought them to Malta, with the prospect of up to 18 months in detention and nowhere to go.

They had one thing in common. They all left from Libya.

The Gaddafi regime, supposedly a long-time “friend” of Malta, was evidently letting us down. It closed more than one eye to the unscrupulous criminals organising the boat trips. If Europe knew the exact points of departure, surely, the security-obsessed regime must have known too. But it did nothing to stop them and the trade in human smuggling has thrived ever since, turning it into one of the bloodiest industries in the Mediterranean. Malta was on the losing end of this treacherous game.

Our reaction? We started pointing fingers at each other. Some at the Maltese government for being too weak. Others lashed out at Italy. And all and sundry blamed Europe for its lack of solidarity.

But, strangely, it never occurred to anyone to point any finger at the real source of the problem: the Gaddafi regime that created the conditions for this big mess.

It seemed like there was an unspoken pact not to criticise Col Gaddafi. A conspiracy of silence. It was all too easy to lash out at our own government or at Europe. But never a word on why our “good friend”, Col Gaddafi was failing us so badly.

Was it a blackmail? Was it the fear of a bullying brother? Who knows? But on more than one occasion, Col Gaddafi did pepper his speeches with not-so-veiled threats of unleashing a “black and a Muslim invasion” onto Europe. And he also asked for money. First one billion, then five billion.

Italy signed a “cooperation and friendship” agreement and secured Col Gaddafi’s cooperation in exchange for a handsome cheque of €200 million a year for 25 years. And, suddenly, the flow was stemmed; the boat crossings magically disappeared.

And despite an international uproar against Italy for signing the so-called “push-back” agreement, in reality, Italy had very little pushing back to do. For the boats stopped leaving even before they were sent back. The Gaddafi regime had it all organised very nicely.

No such agreement was ever offered to Malta. But, of course, we never had that kind of cash to offer. Yet, we benefitted indirectly from the Italian agreement. Now it all adds up.

Throughout these years, in Malta, we endured a tough test of our capacity to save these people and then again to host them here. It was hard. But in many respects we passed this test, building an asylum system that is functional and fair, if somewhat slow and imperfect.

And, yet, we never uttered a word of disapproval against the “brotherly” regime that had failed us so badly.

Not from the authorities and certainly not from the opposition. Not from the media and not from the business sector with vested interests in Tripoli. We freely blamed Europe and ourselves but never Col Gaddafi.

It was like we were all stuck in a collective curse never to utter any word against him and his ilk. Thankfully, that spell has now been broken and we can call the truth by its name.

Our immigration woes were imposed on us by our good old “friend”, Col Gaddafi who last visited us when Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was still Prime Minister.

And here’s the news. Our best hope of settling this issue once and for all is by seeing the back of his horrid regime. And when he does go, and God willing he will, we will all let out a deep sigh of collective relief. We will be free at last from the chains of an unrequited friendship.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.