Not racist?
The tag-line chosen by Commission for the Promotion of Equality to promote an EU anti-discrimination programme really says it all.
"We're not racist, but..."
Never has one three-letter word been imbued with so much hidden meaning. Few are those Maltese who actually think of themselves as outright racists. Indeed, to show our European neighbours that diversity is our middle name, we often feel the need to proclaim loudly that we certainly "are not racist" and heavens forbid that anyone should taint us with such a noxious brush.
Such proclamations usually precede an equally loud (and indignant) follow-up that proves just how intolerant we have become, particularly when faced with the prospect of sharing breathing space with people whose provenance is not Northern enough for our tastes.
Ah, the infamous "but". The Commission really hit the nail on the head with this word. This is the same "but" that leads us to resort to baffling pronouncements like the following, all of which I have heard fellow Maltese utter with a straight face.
"Not that I'm racist, but property value in my neighbourhood will go down if they (!) move in."
"I'm not racist, but I don't want my daughter to be exposed to such a different culture at school. It will confuse her."
"I'm not racist but then again I don't want them to impose their religion on us."
I've heard all these "I'm not racist" remarks first hand, more than once and even from quarters I'd have expected to be more enlightened. The general feeling of "us vs them" has become almost scary and I have now ceased to be surprised by the onslaught of irate comments that I receive both online and via email whenever I dare bring up this issue on my blog.
Which happens pretty often, because I can't stand to see the (self-proclaimed) most generous nation in the world behaving like rabid xenophobes without saying anything.
However, despite collectively acting like spoilt and insecure teens competing for the bounties of Mother Earth, I do believe that if we dig deeper we are, indeed, not as racist as we like to appear.
On a political level (and I use the word "political" in its broader meaning as opposed to the petty meaning we usually assign to it here) we are very fast with our anti-immigration slogans. And with our exhortations for the authorities to send immigrants back to their countries pronto.
But in my experience all this theoretical conviction disappears very fast when we come in close contact with the human reality of the situation.
What I'm trying to say is that many are those who will rush forth with the "send them back" comments without stopping to think about the implications. Just have a look at the comments under the story about the latest batch of immigrants that landed in Golden Bay last night; it's enough to make you despair.
However, few are those who would actually back their statements with actions were they to come face to face with the subjects of their condemnation and were they to witness, first-hand, the suffering that these people face on a daily basis. In many cases, all that is needed to penetrate the armour of racism that we have built around us is to dig deeper into the human stories behind the dry facts, figures and statistics.
So let's all dig a bit deeper and cut out all this "us and them" nonsense, shall we?
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Joe Xuereb
May 13th 2012, 03:23
@CJohn Zammit (8th May 23:03). Zammit, how, in god's name, do you expect these young men on a boat to buy 65,000 flats? Besides, they would need jobs. Are the jobs there, Zammit? And even if they did work (considering that each flat would be accommodating more than one individual which number would probably correspond to a fourth of Malta's current 400,000) can't you see that this would create a logistical nightmare? @Sean Swain 10thMay 14:05 - are you there?
Zammit, your projected analysis is pitiable. You talk of people as if they were building-blocks that could be stacked up neatly one on top of the other (in which case Malta could take millions and millions). But people are not neat blocks; they are being who need work, and feeding, and breeding, and breathing, and using amenities. Grasp this and then talk. And yes the response you gave to Mr. Degabriele about your numbers, those numbers are real enough but way too shallow in analysis. Any anybody agreeing with you is either incapable of analysis, or afraid to accept the glaring truth and they prefer to recede into denial. Happens!
@Franco Farrugia. Enough of your sob stories (and I wont tell you to shut up; in fact, keep them coming). Are you aware what a mixed message you are sending? And it is said that seven people died but hundreds of people die all over the place, for all sorts of reasons. Am I to squeeze my entrails every time I acknowledge this? And what if they were lawyers, and doctors and judges(which I very much doubt, but you can squeeze it all you want)? Don't we have enough rotten apples of our own in that department? Ridiculous! And finally you ramble on some more but I really prefer not to go there.
A house is worth according to, for instance, an open vista over the sea. A high-rise goes up and obliterates the view. The house is not so valuable now. Likewise, the balance of the population shifts so that a once maltese neighbourhood becomes more and more diluted. Never mind the price of the property. If the new neighbours - be they black, or rice-eaters, or a particular religion, or live by their alien music and nothing else, this is going to create a problem for the staying Maltese who will see themselves surrounded by one or more ghettoes of alien people. The thinking is that incomers will integrate into Maltese culture. But by now, what Maltese culture? Besides, (as Eric Soames rightly says, we are programmed to seek refuge among our own. Keeping in mind that not everyone within a single group (ie the Maltese among themselves) will get on. As a people, a tribe, yes. At a more selective, personal level, we become drawn, chemically speaking, to some people but none of the others. Christian Malta teaches us love thy neighbour, adopt a black child (as in Missionary work), and so on. A one off act of kindness is fine and possible. But integration is another matter. Nature can not be forced. And the Church, sad to say, does not give much credence to Nature and how it works. It is all about god wants this, and god wants that. Anyway, back to the ghettoised neighbourhood. If Romina Depares ended up practically the only Maltese woman living in a ghettoised neighbour, does she really think that all around her will integrate with her, or is it more likely that she would have to integrate with them? Otherwise sell up(but how?) and move(but where to?). And none of this has anything to do with colour, please note!
What has religion and its teaching to young children got to do with this? Children will play with anyone, agreed. But as soon as difference start to become apparent - even within groups of white children - this is when friendships start to drift apart. People can not be forced into behaviour patters just because somebody says it is the decent thing to do. It does not work like that. Never did and never will. And especially not on tiny Malta where some say that it is impossible to get a table at a restaurant without booking, but the poor, the underclass is there too. If only people where just inanimate blocks of wood, everybody would fit in anywhere, without any complaints.
And finally, I can assure anyone that racism works, or has started to work, both way. I know what I am talking about.
I am not racist because I have had intimate relationships with all sorts including wonderful people of colour. Does this count?
This pm I was sitting on a bench at the bus station. A tall black man sat next to me and proceeded to unwrap his takeaway. I asked him if he minded if I smoked. He said it was not a problem. Few minutes later he finished and got up to leave on his bike. He said something about my generosity asking for smoking permission. Did you enjoy your rice? I said. And he was off. Am I racist. Well, I have been exposed to black people for fifty years and one get comfortable - or not- with whatever one is exposed to. Simple!. But we are talking about a steady influx of people to a tiny piece of rock, an influx that can not be sustained because of the sheer numbers and all that that implies! And I too could imagine that there are brain surgeons among the young men boatpeople. I dont think so, somehow. And even if there were...........
Sean Swain
May 10th 2012, 14:05
I believe that as long as you are paying taxes you have the right to live here. If you are trying to escape a wartorn country, you have the right to brief accomodation and international help until you can find a country with the capacity and ability to hold you, nothing else.
African or European, immigration is an issue here, whatever country they hail from. All I expect is that they integrate, find work, and pay their taxes...then you have the right to remain, otherwise, the door is open for departure.
That is not racism...it's logic.
Ms Maria Vella
May 9th 2012, 15:23
Why don't we all stop this holier than thou attitude and admit that deep down most of us are racist especially if our own personal interests are threatened?
Kenneth Cassar
May 10th 2012, 08:48
You'll have to be clearer than that. Give me a hypothetical situation, and I'll tell you how I would react.
Graham Holme
May 9th 2012, 12:08
Where do we draw the line?? for fear of being classed as "Racist"
Gangs of Asian,Muslim pedophile men(if one can class them as men)in the U.K,swept under the carpet,ignored by the police,,the powers that be,allowed to groom,rape,young British schoolgirls with impunity,,,,,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9253250/Rochdale-grooming-trial-Police-accused-of-failing-to-investigate-paedophile-gang-for-fear-of-appearing-racist.html
Oscar Mifsud
May 8th 2012, 21:02
Please, one and all, let us keep the thing in focus! The fact that one is apprehensive/even fearful of the huge number of immigrants that my end up on our shores eventually, does not at all mean that one is a racist!
We are here talking about a tiny already overpopulated somewhat dry little island, threatening to be grossly overwhelmed by a constant incoming flow of people from outside! There is a limit. When the glass is full to the brim, it is no use pouring in more liquid. It just CAN NOT BE DONE! No matter how much you try!
That is all there is to it! Talking and pointing fingers about racism, certainly does not make it at all possible!
Look at it this way: Even if all the immigrants landing on our shores were to be all nice white people, it would make no difference - there is simply not enough room available - and that's only talking about space!
Where is the racism there? It does NOT exist; except perhaps in the mind of a handful of people!
So, let's put a stop to this! It is just plain NOT POSSIBLE!
CJohn Zammit
May 8th 2012, 23:03
Mr. Mifsud,
This blog was presumably inspired by the reaction to the arrival of 88 migrants; I would like you to consider the following:
Eighty-eight newcomers to a population of over 400,000, represents an addition of less than 0.022% (of the population). That is an insignificant number, meaning, it does not impact the whole.
In Malta, there are, currently, over 65,000 empty apartments (with more to come) on the market ... meaning, the speculators are counting on a huge influx of foreigners to purchase them.
If boat-people were to buy those empty apartments, it would take 739 groups like the one that landed on Golden Bay.
If such a group were to land every month, it would take almost 62 years of monthly arrivals, just to occupy the currently empty residences.
Do you still think that there is not enough room?
Franco Farrugia
May 8th 2012, 23:27
Perhaps it is as you say, Mr Mifsud. But the comments and the sheer ignorance that is shown through the comments show the Maltese for what they are - at least many of them.
J Degabriele
May 9th 2012, 10:05
@CJohn Zammit
The blog is inspired by the arrival of 88 illegal immigrants but the whole question is NOT about these 88! It's about an unknown infinity of numbers that came, are coming and will continue to come. Whether these people come from Africa or from Eastern Europe, there is a limit to what these islands can take!
CJohn Zammit
May 9th 2012, 18:56
@J. Degabriele
You talk about an "unknown infinity of numbers" ... meaning, what?
Take a moment to read what I wrote, then dispute the quoted figures ... they are real.
Christian Abela
May 8th 2012, 12:20
Ms.Depares, I rarely read blogs but couldnt help not luring myself into this article considering the inviting title you gave it. I sincerely hope you are not , like many petty politicians, trying to market the idea of multiculturalism as Im sure you are aware that the idea is an utter failure.
As for racism itself I think its useless to discuss as nobody will ever admit it. Even though nature itself is racist, hierarchical and NON-equal. The thing is that we are afraid of social dogma.
As far as Im concerned, social dogma can go f-itself. :)
Kenneth Cassar
May 10th 2012, 08:39
Multiculturalism has barely been tried at all. What I see is segregation. Never a good idea, in more ways than one.
Morana Axisa
May 8th 2012, 11:18
Well done Ramona, your article completely shows up Maltese hypocrisy in the face of racism, as is blatantly obvious by some of the comments below.
Shows a lot about Maltese 'morality' and 'education' doesn't it? Lol.
Eric Soames
May 8th 2012, 18:49
Morana Axisa: Well my idealistic, probably younger, fellow human with the anagrammatic name to the blogger's. It is the way we have evolved that makes us group together in bands of like individuals for survival. The greater the external pressure the closer we knit. The pressures today are social and economic and when the cork pops the divides fall along racial lines because they're easiest to recognize. Hopefully this is couched in gentler terms than my first response.
John Neville Ebejer
May 8th 2012, 08:39
Agreed on most points- but there needs to be a statement re- responsibility and right of parents re- education of children.
No Ramona Depares will tell me what religious education I deem best for my children. That is my responsibility and I have to respond for what is best for them.
Morana Axisa
May 8th 2012, 11:08
Well let's hope your children will be educated enough to know what is out there and to choose their own religion when they become adults, if they want to. Being exposed to different cultures and beliefs is the only way to have a well-rounded education, not to mention an open mind. I hope your children find a way to have that, despite their father wanting to put blinkers on them.
Kenneth Cassar
May 10th 2012, 08:35
@ John Neville Ebejer:
"No Ramona Depares will tell me what religious education I deem best for my children. That is my responsibility and I have to respond for what is best for them".
What has this got to do with racism?
Franco Farrugia
May 7th 2012, 20:03
This has always been the case. Europe at the moment is going through a depression, and so is Malta. Especially Malta, because we are insular in our mentality and cannot see the plight of others - or we tend to ignore what we see.
Whenever a country faced serious problems as a whole, politically it was always found expedient to put all blame on the weaker part of society - usually foreigners. Sarcozy of France did just that - playing on people's sentiments by claiming that he would be severe with the foreigners, oblivious of the fact that he had been President for several years and never did anything about it.
Or Greece: Neo-Nazis are now members of the Greek Parliament and the Greeks are putting all the blame for the economic woes on illegal immigrants - it is true that Greece is inundated with these people, but don't come telling me that it was these people who were benefiting from the fat minimum wages that the Greeks had. And this is just to mention the minimum wage!
So, history repeats itself.
Of course, I am not saying that we should be happy to see our country, a small, infinitely small rock of a country - in every sense! - 'invaded' by illegal immigrants. Nobody is. I DO believe that the government is also very unhappy to see these people adding to the already over-populated status of these islands. As well as the cultural problems that ensue.
I do not believe that breaking international laws as well as breaking all aspects of commonsense, is the answer. No way. These are LIVES we are talking about and in one of my many comments I wrote in the story about the arrival of last night's immigrants to which Ms Depares refers, I pointed out that NOBODY, absolutely NOBODY, passed a SINGLE comment about the sadness they should have felt at the reported deaths of six - or was it seven, or was it more? - deaths while the boat was still at sea.
If this report is true, these persons will remain NAMELESS, and probably, without even a body to recover!
No tombstone, no grave.
Probably, nobody is cry for, and mourn them.
Imagine Heaven forbid, that such a thing had to happen in Malta, as it did - a number of people losing their lives all at once, suddenly, under some tragedy! Imagine the repercussions! The national mourning that goes on, the investigations that would ensue, the Masses that will be said, etc.... Can you imagine the furore?
What's the difference?
The difference is that in the first case we didn't know these persons and we didn't even want to know them: they were unwelcome, they were louts, for all we cared.
But they could have been otherwise - they could have been doctors, lawyers, even judges in their own countries!
In the second case, the hypothetical one, they would have been our relatives and friends, and so, yes, it's a tragedy!
This is the sheer hypocrisy we are living in - and what crowns it all, no Catholic or other Church in Malta dares to scream out that these comments are devilish! No Church raises its voice, no priest writes in to express horror at this tragedy - that is, the way that our country is becoming full, not of illegal immigrnats but what's more tragic, that this country is full of blundering idiots, without any heart except for their own, who have a computer at hand and who think that they have the same right to express themselves as everybody else.
Pierre Mazzacano D'Amato
May 7th 2012, 17:12
In other words, if we’re not prepared to follow Islam, and Sharia Law for that matter, then we’re being racist. Oh dear, God help us all.
Regarding the question of intolerance, I suggest that the author of this blog reads ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Sharia Law’, a book authored by human rights activist Nonie Darwish.
PMD
P.S. I’m not a racist, but …there are certain things which I won’t tolerate.
Morana Axisa
May 8th 2012, 11:11
When I was younger my mother used to tell me to 'Look up to the people who were more intelligent and better then me, and strive to become like them' and not look down on those individuals who had a more close-minded view of the world, and compare myself to them instead. The fact that other people are worse then Maltese should not make us feel proud that we are less racist and ignorant then them, we should want to strive to NOT be ignorant and racist at all!
Ramona never said one has to follow Islam or whatever, but that everyone has the right to follow their own beliefs and that as Malta is supposedly a democratic country, people should not be disciminated for doing so! Have you read tha article above at all Sir??
Kenneth Cassar
May 10th 2012, 08:32
@ Pierre Mazzacano D'Amato:
"In other words, if we’re not prepared to follow Islam, and Sharia Law for that matter, then we’re being racist. Oh dear, God help us all".
In other words, you're beating a straw man. What you describe as "in other words" are actually just your own words. Can you name just one person who said it's racist not to convert to Islam or not to accept Sharia law?
Pierre Mazzacano D'Amato
Jul 9th 2012, 11:35
Fundamental human rights are far more sacred than any form of religion, be it Christianity, Islam or Judaism.
PMD
Antoine Vella
May 7th 2012, 16:36
Unfortunately I have a very negative experience with NGOs such as JRS and Emigrants' Commission.
When I was a Balzan Local Councillor (2005-2008) I tried to involve the LC and encourage the residents to mix with and integrate the immigrants at Dar Merħba Bik but I was always snubbed, not by the residents, but by the priests and lawyers who run the NGOs.
When they were organising an Immigrants Day at Balzan, the Local Council offered to help and I don’t know how many meetings I tried to attend, only to find that the date and/or venue had been changed at the last minute and they had forgotten to tell me. In fact I never managed to participate in the preparations.
Eventually a priest told me that they didn’t want the involvement of “politicians” (never mind that Graffiti was part and parcel of the clique) and all they would accept from the LC was a donation. What is it with these people and their ‘interest’ in money?
The Immigrants Day celebration was a flop: I was one of the very few Balzan residents to attend; the square was filled with immigrants brought by bus from the Open Centres and the Maltese stayed away. Neither the Balzan mayor (an extremely popular and influential man in the village) nor the parish priest have ever been involved in any activity organised in Balzan by the JRS -Emigrants' Commission-Graffiti-UNHCR corporation.
I’m afraid this latest gimmick by the NCPE is also bound to fail because they are being very careful to exclude the general public from taking part and contributing with ideas and voluntary work.
I’m really starting to suspect that, once again, what the organisers are really after is the ‘money’ that such campaigns can attract from the EU and, perhaps, government.
More transparency is needed.
Joseph Aquilina
May 7th 2012, 14:56
I wonder who is the real racist; the person who fights to send them back to their own country (as long as there is not a humanitarian crises in such a country) ... or ... the person who fights to keep them here so they can pick his own garbage! The money spent on integration campaigns are better spent to build hospitals and schools where they are needed, in the country these people call home, rather then invest them in a solution which has failed through out Europe if not all the world. It is prime time that the enlighten ones understand that people do not integrate just because you tell them to do so, regardless if they are the host or the guest!!
Norman E Grech
Jul 27th 2012, 13:03
Well said!!
Eric Soames
May 7th 2012, 14:45
On a one on one basis, as a question of humanity towards a fellow being I would agree, but, scratch long enough, dig deep enough, push hard enough - we will revert to self preservation.
Victor Laiviera
May 7th 2012, 14:57
What "self" would that be?
Antoine Vella
May 7th 2012, 18:52
Victor, if you are really against racism you should go and have a good talk with some of your comrades in the PL, including Joseph Muscat himself.
Eric Soames
May 7th 2012, 19:33
Victor Laiviera: We seem to have agreed on a number of points on past occasions, see about this one. What I'm suggesting is, just as one would immediately defend family on a 'shoot first' basis in a back against the wall situation, so will one, and should, progress through protecting neighbors, country, race and ultimately species.
carlos ellul
May 8th 2012, 16:13
An example of self preservation would be that of not wanting to join the eu for fear of being invaded by sicilians who would take our jobs. Does that ring a bell vic?
Victor Rodenas
May 7th 2012, 14:27
Let me add one which affects almost everybody. I am not racist ,but I will not like it if my daughter marries one of them.
Morana Axisa
May 8th 2012, 11:13
I'm sorry hon, but that mean that you ARE a racist!
Generalising and not tolerating a person simply because he has a certain religion or background, without getting to know said individual first for his own merits and character = that IS racist yes.
Mario Fenech
May 8th 2012, 22:44
EVERYONE is a racist in one way or another,maybe we are ashamed to admit but when it involves us (Victor's one example)we all are.
Kenneth Cassar
May 10th 2012, 08:26
@ Mario Fenech:
Actually, you are wrong. Not everyone is deep-down a racist. I, for one, certainly am not, and I've had several quarrels with people because of this.
Please choose the reason of your report below: