As community leaders were praising the people for the generosity and solidarity shown in a fundraising event on Boxing Day, yet another human drama was playing out at sea as two boats carrying 49 migrants were refused entry into a safe port. Other migrants in open centres in Malta and other countries shivered in freezing temperatures as governments seem unable to get to grips with a problem that has brought so much misery to so many thousands of people fleeing harm, hunger or persecution. Even the Pope has called on European governments to show solidarity with the stranded migrants.

Malta, for years a key transit port for migrants fleeing from North African ports, has been at the forefront of efforts to make European Union states reach an equitable long-term agreement for the allocation of migrants rescued at sea rather than haggling over numbers they are prepared to take. For different reasons, the government is nowadays making it more difficult for migrants to reach the island’s shores. Italy’s stance is far more strident, feeding on far-right sentiments sweeping across Europe.

Even though Malta has long been receiving migrants, it has not yet found enough energy and money to build adequate reception centres. Only a few days ago, in one of the coldest spells this winter, families had to be moved to an open centre in Ħal Far as the places where families are normally houses were full to capacity.

The Ħal Far centre is not suitable for families and their move there is officially regarded is a temporary measure until better accommodation is found elsewhere. But, clearly, the government ought to have had contingency plans to avoid being caught in such a situation. This is strange considering how vocal the government is over migration affairs. The situation at Ħal Far may not be as bad as in centres in other countries but this is no justification for providing inadequate accommodation.

Indeed, it does seem the Maltese are only willing to show solidarity with their fellow countrymen. The former Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, said last February he had found that the conditions at Ħal Far had improved since his predecessor’s visit in 2011 but observed that the single men’s unit consisted of containers that had poor sanitation facilities. Reception centres, he had pointed out, should be transitional accommodation solutions and migrants and the beneficiaries of international protection should have access to adequate housing. However, many of them continued to remain in reception centres because of lack of affordable housing.

Malta should take the commissioner’s recommendations on board to ease hardship. It should also keep up its work to convince governments of other countries in the EU on the urgent need to work out reliable long-standing migrant allocation arrangements so that the burden is shared equally by all the EU members.

Equally important is for the country’s leaders, educational institutions and the media to do all they can to promote social values, as the Church is doing, by explaining the true meaning of solidarity. SOS Malta has just reported a significant rise in hate speech against people fleeing persecution. The rising racist attitude presents a drastically different face of Malta to that shown over Christmas when over €7 million were raised for worthy causes.

Money is important but human values count more.

This is a Times of Malta print editorial

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