Maltese society has a “moral obligation” to help migrants integrate and failing to do so would be “nothing less than bigotry”, Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said yesterday.
“We all have the responsibility to help migrants form part of our society. This needs to be reinforced if the situation is to improve,” he said.
Dr Herrera was making a call for renewed efforts to educate migrants on “what it means to be Maltese” in an attempt to “bridge the gap” between Maltese society and the migrant population.
Racism is the fruit of ignorance and fear of culture
“I am sure that if we teach migrants about Maltese culture – what it means to be Maltese, who our forefathers were, what a festa is, how our political system works and so on – we will bridge the gap that is stopping many migrants from integrating,” he said.
Dr Herrera was speaking during a press conference unveiling new computer literacy courses being offered to migrants at the Marsa Open Centre.
What was often perceived as racism in Maltese society was less to do with skin colour and more to do with cultural ignorance, the Competitiveness Parliamentary Secretary argued.
‘A moral obligation to help integration’
“A lot of people misinterpret racism. I think a lot of people believe racism is about skin colour. I don’t think this is true. Racism is the fruit of ignorance and fear of a diverse culture you feel cannot understand you. Once you take away this wall, they will accept you more and we will accept them more,” he said, insisting that efforts would have to be “two-way”.
Underlining the need for new services to help inform migrants about Malta, Dr Herrera said it was useless making nice speeches and saying how important it is to integrate foreigners in Malta, unless efforts were made.
The parliamentary secretary spoke about the success stories of people with different cultural backgrounds who had moved to Malta after having made the effort to learn about the Maltese way of life.
Some 300 students are participating in ICT courses at the Marsa open centre being organised by the Malta Communications Authority and the Foundation for Shelter and Support of Migrants which runs the centre.
Ahmed Bugri, who heads the foundation, said computer literacy was an essential tool to help migrants enter the Maltese work force and improve their quality of life. This, he added, would ultimately benefit Maltese society at large.
Educational programmes at the Marsa centre started four years ago, and include courses in cultural orientation, food handling which is aimed at helping migrants enter the tourism sector, and an English language course.