Pope Francis’s decision to visit Lampedusa yesterday for his first overseas trip is highly significant and could not have been timelier for us Maltese.
The Holy Father laid a wreath in the Italian island’s port in memory of the thousands of migrants from Africa who have died trying to reach mainland Europe on overcrowded boats.
Even more than Malta, Lampedusa is besieged with African asylum seekers. Just hours before the Pope landed on the island, a boat carrying 162 Eritreans arrived in port, the latest in a new wave of migrants taking advantage of calm seas to make the treacherous crossing.
Despite some isolated outbreaks of tensions, relations between the estimated 5,000 islanders and the Africans have been mainly good but this does not mean people are happy with the way the political class is dealing with the situation.
Pope Francis attacked what he calls the “globalisation of indifference” that greets migrants who risk their lives trying to reach a better life in Europe. He couldn’t be more right.
very often fuelled by an insensitive media and opportunistic politicians seeking to score cheap political points, many people fail to understand the plight of those making the crossing.
Let’s be honest - how many times have we heard myopic armchair critics blame migrants for taking the journey in the first place when tragedy strikes?
Just think about it.
What would you do if you are being persecuted by your government; if civil strife has robbed you of your dignity? What if your family has been tortured? Wouldn’t the thought of catching a boat to a safe haven be tempting?
Let us not forget that three migrants rescued off the coast of Malta last week were apparently shot when fleeing a Libyan detention centre before setting sail in an overcrowded vessel headed for Europe.
We also hope Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was listening attentively to the Pope’s message and realise that his tough talk on the subject could well rebound. Instead of convincing his EU colleagues about the extent of the problem, his unrefined choice of words could potentially lead to social unrest. We have no doubt Dr Muscat wants to hammer out a political solution but at what price?
Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had an even bigger crisis to deal with when desperate Africans were fleeing Libya in large ships in the wake of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Yet, in public he always chose his words carefully and kept a potentially incendiary situation in check.
The Church in Malta also has a major role to play. Last weekend, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech underlined the need to give a humane answer to a human crisis. Members of the clergy have a duty to explain that the Church thrives on solidarity and compassion and to teach the importance of human dignity. They should also urge politicians to choose their words more carefully.
Last but not least, we hope the Pope’s visit will alert the EU that this seasonal crisis needs a holistic plan. The 28-nation bloc is meant to be built on solidarity but we have seen peripheral countries like Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Eastern European states left to fend on their own.
The so-called burden sharing concept is important but even more important is the need to create the right structures and support systems in Libya. The EU needs to pull out all the stops to help troubled African nations if we are to stop migrants from taking the boat in the first place.
The Pope’s homily yesterday couldn’t have summed it better: “The globalisation of indifference makes us all unnamed leaders, without names and without faces.”