Education is best to deal with xenophobia

A 90-minute roundtable discussion heard six African migrants speaking of the obstacles they face in trying to carve a life for themselves in Malta. They described the hurt they felt at being misrepresented and misunderstood. One of them even pleaded: “We are not bad people. We are not here to take away people’s jobs. We’re just here to save our lives.”

In the face of such criticism there might be those who would quickly raise the argument that not all migrants landing here had to leave their country or territory of origin to save themselves from persecution, civil wars or natural disasters. These are reasons that would make them eligible for refugee status, subsidiary protection or humanitarian protection.

That is true. Indeed, there are also people who migrate because they see no real economic or social future for themselves in their country or because they feel that they should search for a better life.

But how many people would leave their family without a valid reason, especially knowing that crossing the desert and/or the sea might involve serious life-threatening risks? This apart from being very unsure of whether they will ever be able to see their family again.

It would appear that even if the Maltese people have the post-war experience of so many members of their society having to leave their homeland and their families in search of a better future elsewhere in sometimes very difficult circumstances, we still have a long way to go to provide the right ambience for the immigrants in our midst.

Evidence in this regard is also found in what the University of Malta examiners had to say in their May 2011 report on the secondary education certificate social studies examination in relation to the students’ responses on the subject of multiculturalism.

Illegal immigration and its consequences were often mentioned by the students to indicate the effects of immigration on society. The examiners felt that many answers left much to be desired.

The report moves on to raise a very worrying point: “Regarding immigration it is indeed unfortunate to read the many racist and xenophobic answers, which were not based on facts but only on what they hear at home or on the media. Very few candidates made sociological arguments mentioning both problems and advantages of migration. The issue of immigrants taking our work featured in most answers.”

It is no wonder that the feeling among African migrants still is that many Maltese people do not want them here and that there exists what has been defined as a national mindset that says “African migrants are here as temporary guests and one day they must leave”.

Migrants in general sense this and so feel they do not have a real future in Malta. Many of them try hard to find employment with three basic aims in mind: to fend for themselves as much as possible; to support their families back home, especially the children left behind; and to strive to possibly resettle or relocate in a third country.

Through the understanding and help of countries that appreciate that Malta cannot offer durable solutions to all the migrants that reach our shores, over the past 20 years or so hundreds of migrants have been resettled or relocated elsewhere. But there will always be those who have to remain. The Maltese people’s response to all such individuals must reflect a strong belief in the values of integration and social inclusion. Proper education in this regard is imperative.