In his article ‘Crime of Presence’ (September 10), Mark Anthony Falzon levelled a number of unfounded accusations and attributed actions by third parties to Moviment Patrijotti Maltin, choosing to describe the movement in derogatory terms.
One would have expected the head of the Department of Sociology at Malta’s highest academic institution to express a better understanding of the major problems being faced by Maltese families and inhabitants of Marsa. The town’s ongoing problems and the decision to house in its midst a rather uncontrolled open centre for irregular migrants are of a very social nature, in line with Prof. Falzon’s professed area of expertise.
Instead of analysing this neglected town’s socio-economic woes, he decided rather to label the citizens’ action as “a racist protest” allied to the movement. He then threw a tirade of ungentlemanly adjectives at this new “alliance” which he demoted to the subhuman species of “thuggish, ignorant, uneducated and inarticulate racists and xenophobes”.
Who’s got a superiority complex now? Really a case of the dreaded pot calling the kettle black. And while we are on the subject of colour, he also accused the movement and its “allies” of only being irked by this particular skin colour.
MPM is against illegal immigration and the illegal actions of others irrespective of country of origin. While Marsa may be inundated with people of one colour, other areas like our northern seaside towns are being drawn into similar lawlessness and degradation by a much lighter shade of incivility.
Prof. Falzon implied that the movement was behind the organisation of this event. Apart from getting his dates wrong by a week he also alleged that MPM had been “rabble-rousing locals” for the last couple of weeks. Apparently the recent escalation of events was not enough for the locals to fear that their town is “on course to social collapse” and they needed the Patrijotti to lead them to this unthinkable racist conclusion rather short of the level of academia practised by the likes of the professor.
It does not take a university degree to conclude that the town is in dire circumstances and that things may have reached an unacceptable level. Not only did the movement not chase or incite citizens to act, but it was the other way round: concerned citizens reached out to the movement (as they did to other political parties and organisations) for help and guidance.
That MPM was perhaps more inclined to understand rather than obstruct and attempt to block the citizens’ concerns and actions is undisputed. However, that is where things stop. MPM did not organise this event, it did not encourage the event, and most certainly, MPM did not “rabble-rouse” any citizens to do anything. This “protest” originated strictly from concerned citizens, who planned and organised it. To state that the movement was behind this event is a blatant lie and serves only to further anger and belittle Marsa citizens who are experiencing serious issues lumped onto them by consecutive leaders of this country.
As if having hundreds of unwelcome guests congregating around the town centre, many apparently the worse off for drink, is not enough for Marsa mothers to express concern for their young offspring (and not-so-young daughters plus themselves), once the police swoop in, it is of course, according to Prof. Falzon, “racial profiling”.
So these poor locals are not only too dumb to think up a protest unless “patriotically” instigated, but once police decide to do what they should have done in the first place, then it has to be racist because the “bully-boy” squad only picked on their victims “as long as they were black”.
What exactly is Prof. Falzon suggesting? Should the bully-squad start arresting Marsa residents as well to even out the score? If, as it happens, the said migrants are dark-skinned, is the professor suggesting the police should overlook anything they do so as not to “racially profile” anyone? Should our Marsa citizens just get used to it and grin and bear it so as not to offend liberal views? Or should they be thankful that this poor lot escaping wars and oppression found Italy not up to their standard and chose their town centre instead?
The residents organised a peaceful march on security concerns. They never mentioned skin colour or migrants. Apparently both Prof. Falzon and the media were quick to jump in that direction, with panicked reports on the area since news of the event broke. Mayors, councillors, a handful of politicians and the representatives of migrants themselves all jumped into the fray, suddenly pointing to the large elephant in the room that had gone largely unnoticed lest some liberal academic expresses disgust. It wasn’t the concerned citizens willing to march for their lost security and dignity but rather everyone else who pointed at the migrants, and it was the government itself that first promised, then later retracted, the magic solution of closing the open centre.
Journalists suddenly discovered that Marsa apparently has local citizens other than joyous migrants in its streets and that Marsa stables do not necessarily sleep horses either. Everybody had his say except for the organising citizens who just mentioned security concerns and the Patriots who just watched from the sidelines.
Yet both these and the unlucky residents are now apparently blatantly racist.