The idea of Malta becoming a place full of people from different countries and cultures and where one has to continuously adapt to different ideas and ways of doing things would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

Yet this is precisely what Labour Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is aiming for and when he exits from the political scene, it will probably be his most lasting legacy.

The cardinal question, of course, is: “Will cosmopolitanism be of benefit to Malta?”

The answer is a definite “yes” and with a big “but” attached to it. A cosmopolitan Malta will definitely be a success but only if we prepare ourselves well for such a drastic change in our everyday lives. Otherwise, we will have problems, even serious ones.

Having a great number of people from other countries in Malta is beneficial to us as it broadens our vision due to the exposure to different cultures and different ways of thinking and action. One of the things which kept us backwards in the past was our insularity.

People of my age, who are over 60, remember the days when Malta was rife with ignorance and superstition and when anything that was new and therefore different was looked upon with suspicion and perhaps even shunned. As a people we had a particular way of doing things and that was seen as the only “correct” way.

Today, infinite adaptability and total openness to different ways of thinking and doing things are an absolute must to succeed in a globalised world that is changing all the time and where, in some industries, today’s idea will already be obsolete next week.  Malta being a member of the European Union also entails that we think and act within a wider perspective and with an international vision of things. Gone are the days of insularity!

Thus, interacting on a daily level with people from different countries and different cultures (I am avoiding the word “foreigners” as some find this word offensive) is of great help to us as a small island nation.

Then, one must mention the purely economic need for more non-Maltese workers in local industries and services. In Malta, some industries such as those of hospitality and construction are finding it difficult to recruit enough workers. The many openings available in the employment field today due to the economic success of the present Labour government has meant that many Maltese workers are shunning employment that either requires hard labour or else, working long and irregular hours.

As Dr Muscat has correctly pointed out: our continued economic success depends on the importation of these non-Maltese workers.

Cosmopolitanism has to be well prepared for in order to be successful

I must also not fail to mention the humanitarian aspect. There are in Malta a number of refugees who have escaped persecution in countries ravaged by civil wars, genocidal wars, brutal dictatorships, etc., and others who were victims of famine in other countries.

Some of them have already been here for years and have integrated well within Maltese society and are contributing to the further development of our country.

Cosmopolitanism, however, has to be well prepared for in order to be successful. One of the most important things that we have to take care of is making sure that all non-Maltese workers and their families learn to communicate in Maltese and English and that they are made familiar with all aspects of our culture.

A friend of mine recently described to me the shambolic situation in a restaurant where the owner and all of his staff serving on a particular day hardly spoke any English at all and absolutely no Maltese. A patron of the restaurant complained about something and it took them around a quarter of an hour simply to understand each other and sort things out.

Such incidents are small and almost comical compared to more serious ones due to a clash of cultures. Cultural assimilation is very important because otherwise serious incidents can develop.

For example, in Malta today, the government has embarked on a campaign against domestic violence. It is a fact, however, that we now have people working here who are coming from countries with cultures where a minimal amount of wife beating is regarded as acceptable.

That is why we have to ensure that not only do such non-Maltese be taught to communicate effectively but also be thoroughly educated in Maltese cultural ways, especially what is acceptable and non-acceptable.

 We have an excellent system of education, so this should not be problematic. I know that there have been several initiatives in the education sector but we now need to consolidate these by building up the appropriate educational structures to support them.

There are also other challenges. For instance, we are a densely populated country and we are still developing certain aspects of our infrastructure. So we have to make sure that all our services, e.g. health, housing, transport, education, etc., are upgraded to sustain the impact which the advent of a cosmopolitan country brings with it. Let us make no mistake about it, this is a great challenge for us all. If we succeed, the benefits for our country will be great.

A cosmopolitan Malta, undreamt of in the past, is on the way to becoming a successful reality.

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a Balzan Labour councillor.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece

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