Irregular immigration is a hot topic, and with the temperatures on the rise, it’s going to get even hotter.
But I’m ready.
I’m all kitted up for another tough summer explaining just how wrong it is to claim a ‘natural’ right to a land or another.
I’m also ready to be called, simplistic, idealistic, and all the other lovely adjectives meant to bring me down or stop arguing...fat chance!
Sadly, during these discussions, those who get closest to lynching me are usually the most religious types – the ones who throughout the year enjoy riding their high horse lecturing me about the goodness of Jesus, going to mass, and loving thy neighbour. But then, come July, when more irregular immigrants start hitting our shores, these lovely people suddenly change their tune to a murderous beat.
My argument in this matter makes people angry because it’s very simple and rather unarguable – it’s based on the simple premise that I (just like you) was born here in Malta, purely by chance.
We did absolutely nothing to deserve such luck and, it certainly had nothing to do with merit.
We were born here by a fluke of nature; a lucky streak that our Somali and Eritrean counterparts did not get.
This basic premise very swiftly and unequivocally leads me to conclude that the world belongs to everyone. Faced with eyes rolling into foreheads, every summer I still take the time to discuss possible solutions, economic scenarios, and cultural boundaries with whoever can argue civilly.
And, I can do this until I’m blue in the face, but if there’s one thing I have no time for is a Government, or rather a Prime Minister, who publicly and almost boastfully proclaims, his intention to:
- put people live’s in serious danger
- break European Law
- disregard Fundamental Human Rights
- and expose Malta to more financial burdens.
Last week, when Joseph Muscat said that he does not exclude sending irregular immigrants back to Libya, he did all of the above.
Now I’m pretty sure that if I had to publicly state that I intended to kill someone, or to break the law in some way or another, I’d be hunted down and arrested by the police....and rightly so.
But strangely, when the Prime Minister practically proclaims the same thing, he gets applauded.
Now believe me, contrary to popular believe I’m not living in a cocoon - I know Malta does not like the ‘irregular’ migrants who, typically originate from economically or war-torn countries.
I know that we don’t like it when they come without documentation, but I also know that most of our fears are based on ignorance, on what is fed by the media, and our politicians’ populist approach.
First of all the problem of irregular immigration is blown out of proportion – not the state that we keep them in, but the number of immigrants that are actually on the island.
Immigrants amount to less than 1% of the whole population, and though we’re small, we’re also running out - the Maltese birth rate is so low that without immigrants we will be extinct by the year 2500.
This is not to say that the rest of Europe should not help out.
It’s not to say that this problem should not be seen somewhat like the bail-outs we too lent a hand towards.
I’m guessing that on this we’re all in agreement.
The point here is that sending people back to their deaths is and should never ever be an option.
And if humane reasons do not convince you, how about some economic ones? A couple of years ago, when Italy intercepted over 400 immigrants and returned them to Libya, even after reaching an agreement with the Libyan authorities, the European Court of Human rights found it in violation of a zillion European laws. This resulted in a €15,000 fine for each immigrant that sued the Italian Government.
And last but not least, may I take this opportunity to remind our PM, that the man he shares his ‘push back’ vision with is none other but Silvio Berlusconi.
Good ol’Silvio has also been accused and most of the time found guilty of testifying falsely, bribery, soliciting minors for sex, abuse of office, and fraud.
Enough said.