Birżebbuġa councillor Herman Schiavone, deeply moved by the human tragedy that has unfolded with the plight of Syrian refugees in central Europe, will be tabling a formal proposal for his council to adopt and finance a Syrian refugee family.

His view is that if every council were to follow this example, Malta would be conveying a strong message of solidarity with the rest of Europe.

A Sliema councillor, Michael Briguglio, also indicated he would be following suit with a similar proposal.

In making this proposal, both Schiavone and Briguglio appear to be following in the wake of 40 local councils in the United Kingdom, which have offered sanctuary to people fleeing the fighting in Syria.

In Germany, posters stating ‘Refugees welcome’ and ‘Nobody is illegal’ have appeared at demonstrations. At a rally in Oxford, in England last weekend, demonstrators held up placards with the words: ‘We welcome refugees (given the chance). We are all human’. A candlelit refugee solidarity vigil was held on the Sliema seafront.

These people, in their own way, were responding with public expressions of compassion to a humanitarian crisis the likes of which has not been seen in Europe since the end of World War II. It must be added, however, that judging by the comments on the blogs in Malta, for every expression of compassion there are also countless shameful expressions of racism, xenophobia and hatred for refugees and asylum-seekers.

There can be no disputing that the initiative being promoted by Dr Schiavone and Dr Briguglio – both of whom are dedicated public servants with their hearts in the right place on the Syrian refugee crisis – is a worthy one.

However, questions must still be asked as to whether the initiative for Malta to take in 68 Syrian refugee families – one to each local council – is either practical or even desirable.

The images of small boys receiving food and toys on arrival in Germany have been as moving in their way as those of young Aylan Kurdi lying lifeless on a beach in Turkey.

Will the gesture that is being mooted for local councils in Malta – despite its admirable intention of solidarity and generosity – simply turn out to be a pull factor to Malta? Is it merely an emotional knee-jerk reaction?

Although the total numbers would not be large, even in the unlikely event of all councils responding fully, there would be both practical short-term and long-term social and economic consequences, which must be properly thought through.

There is a good argument for saying that while Malta, including its local councils, should stand ready to accept legitimate Syrian refugees when the European Union has finally settled on a quota system for doing so, it should beware of entering into half-formed policies that would attract Syrian families to Malta under a false prospectus.

It might be far more productive if the local councils’ initiative were to focus instead on implementing a comprehensive policy of integration for those, including Syrians, who have been given asylum or protected status here.

The proper development of an integration policy, which addresses employment, education, housing and social security entitlements in a holistic manner is long overdue.

Local councils have an important part to play in a developing comprehensive action plan for integration.

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