It is a fact of life that many people are afraid of what is different. Several feel threatened by anything that is not routine and common, a part of their daily existence. The best illustration of this phenomenon is the way some people regard the presence of people from other cultures as nothing else than an undesirable cultural invasion. In its most extreme form, such a fear manifests itself in racism, which is still the scourge of modern society despite the fact that we are supposedly living in an advanced and more intellectually illuminated age.
In fact, multiculturalism enriches a society. When you have a mix of different cultures, this broadens the minds of the members of such a society. One begins to realise that there are different visions of the world, different solutions to problems, different and equally valid ways of living.
Multiculturalism helps to destroy the insular, parochial and narrow-minded approach to life. It celebrates difference instead of feeling threatened by it.
The popular perception that the Maltese are in their vast majority racist has no solid foundation in fact. This perception is the result of much more media coverage being dedicated to incidents of racism and much less to successful examples of multiculturalism in action. Which is why I would like to write about a success story regarding multiculturalism in Maltese society.
I am referring to the old village of Balzan, where I live.
The people from the refugee open centre in the village are today an integral and accepted part of the Balzan community. These are people from far-away countries and from totally different cultural backgrounds. However, over several years now, they have integrated themselves in Maltese society and live a peaceful existence among the Balzan community and have always shown a high level of civic responsibility.
All this does not mean that there are not people in Balzan who still view the refugees with trepidation. Some still look upon their culture as alien to ours. However, such people are in a minority.
A mix of different cultures broadens the minds of the members of a society
In October 2012, the Balzan local council even organised a Lejla Interkulturali Balzanija (Balzan Intercultural Evening) with food from different countries, including two from Africa. Several of the refugees took part in this activity and many of the Maltese were delighted with the food the African community in Balzan offered.
The event was a success and goes to show that multiculturalism is highly beneficial to a particular community and to society in general. On many occasions, I have met such Africans during my evening walk as I make my way to the village square and they are absolutely no nuisance to anybody. They sit on benches enjoying the cool evening air and pay visits to the local clubs to have a quick drink.
The Maltese community of Balzan has been exemplary in the way it has helped the refugees to integrate themselves within the local life of the village.
We need to give more publicity to such successful examples of multiculturalism.
I remember an incident that occurred during the Balzan feast this year. It was a time when several allegedly racist incidents were being given publicity in the media.
The question of irregular immigration was the topic of the day and some people were getting carried away by their emotions.
On Saturday evening, as one of the local band clubs was playing during the march in Three Churches Street, an African lady was passing with her child in a pushchair and had to cross through the band to get to the open centre, which is some distance away in Idmejda Street.
Given the prevalent volatile situation, I was alarmed when the African lady stopped in front of the band as she could not pass through. The band had just stopped playing and, for a moment, I was afraid that somebody would pass a racist comment and tell the woman to get out of the way. Instead, the members of the band opened a passage within their ranks and let the African lady with her child through.
I said to myself that these were the positive incidents that the media should report and not just the transgressions of a few prejudiced and racist Maltese who are an exception to the majority.
Balzan is not the only locality in Malta where people from totally different cultural backgrounds are welcomed by the Maltese community. There are others. However, since racist incidents provide a fertile ground for sensational stories in the media, these usually have a far greater impact on popular perceptions because positive incidents like the one I mentioned are not considered as being of news value and are, therefore, almost never reported.
While always defending the national interest, we must also ensure that racism never rears its head in our country.
Our national history is too glorious to be besmirched by such a condemnable approach to those who are different from us.