Let’s face it, Malta is fast becoming a racist country, and quite a significant proportion of the Maltese are already blatantly racist. Ignoring this fact will simply allow the cancer to get worse and invade further within society.

Recent events have established that racist sentiments are not just latent and hidden but sprouting out in our streets, where some are prepared to vent their venom and phlegm in public.

It has become clear that many Maltese cannot stand the sight of colour, black colour in particular. Some make their disgust and discrimination obvious through their acts and statements; in others discrimination is latent, hidden under a patina of respectability.

It should be obvious by now that action should be taken without further delay to counter these trends. Is anyone doing anything about this? Have there been any educational programmes to educate the public about the dangers of discrimination? Is this topic ever discussed at school? Are any programmes about the importance of fostering a tolerant society ever shown on television, an institution which these days has become not merely the opium of the people but also the only educational medium available to the public?

There is no question that children can integrate with others of colour without any problem.

But when they are subjected to constant invective as soon as they reach home, then they are bound to start distinguishing ‘them from us’. Again, there is no question that the root of the cancer is the parents and it is they who need to be tackled.

In countries where multiculturalism has been the accepted dogma, several initiatives have been taken to combat the virus of intolerance. While nowhere has this been 100 per cent successful, there is certainly plenty of evidence to show that, where such a policy is not fostered, the long-term damage to society has been overwhelming.

There is no question that the root of the racism cancer is the parents and it is they who need to be tackled

For instance, television programmes like the one produced by the SBS in Australia, Go back to where you came from, has proved to be a game changer and managed to convince at least a proportion of agnostics that black cannot be equated with inferiority, that poverty is not identified with criminality, that human worth and dignity are by far the more fundamental characteristics inherent in every person and should be respected.

The last thing we need is to have a society, as was the norm in the US half a century ago, where hatred of blacks in some states was so rampant that segregation became the accepted policy – with disastrous results.

The continuing tragedies involving the maltreatment and even murder of blacks by whites are the remnants of such a destructive policy.

Is this what we are fomenting within our environment?

History tells us that unless one gets to grips with an emerging social problem at its inception, the chances are that it will grow and spread and not disappear automatically.

A minority from the extreme right can do a lot of damage. Unless decent people – who I believe constitute the majority of Maltese – stand up to be counted, the problem is likely to flourish.

We are also guilty if we sit and watch and take no action when we witness blatant discriminatory practices.

Maurice Cauchi is a former president of the Maltese Community Council of Victoria, Australia.