I know I'm probably going out on a limb here, but – unlike many others – my first reaction when I read that the Hal Far tent village is (finally) being dismantled was not one of applause. Or rather, it was but only until I read that it is going to be replaced with "rows of pre-fabricated houses".

Now I don't want to give the impression that I'm a difficult-to-please so'n'so. This is definitely a step in the right direction and make no mistake about it, so kudos to the government for pulling it off. And we pulled it off without shelling out much money from our coffers too, I'd like to point out to all those doom-mongers who claimed the EU would eat us up alive.

But I also believe that there is more to be done. Starting with, maybe, eliminating the segregation of immigrants from the rest of our community. Lumping all immigrants and refugees in one artificial "village" – whether made up of tents or housing compounds – smacks of automatic, albeit perhaps unintentional, discrimination and pretty much marks all occupants as "outcasts".

Watch the movie District 9 and you will see what I mean. Ok, I know I'm pushing it and that this attitude might not be intentional on our part – although, given the disgusting exhibitions of racism that I continue to witness on a daily basis sometimes I wonder. However, intentional or not, the facts remain: by creating these "villages" for immigrants who wind up living in Malta we are certainly not helping them gain acceptance from society at large.

Nor are we helping them adapt to our lifestyle and social mores. From the day these people land in Malta they are effectively kept in isolation from the rest of the country. Although it is true that they can come and go as they please, reality is that barring a few hours a day social interaction is limited to other immigrants. Giving them the chance to experience life as part of the rest of the Maltese community would certainly help foster a stronger sense of belonging.

I realise that logistically speaking, eliminating these open centres is more easily said than done. However, this doesn't mean it is not achievable. Maybe it's time to start moving away from this mentality of segregation and prove that we mean what we say when we claim to be one of the kindest nations in the world.