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vendredi, octobre 07, 2005

No to Racism - the campaign

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Following the positive feedback for this campaign here are the next steps:


  • I am repasting the message in this post.
  • Due to interest by foreign readers who would also like to participate in the appeal I am also posting it in the English Language.
  • The letter may be reproduced in any other website so long as it is attributed as an action that started on the Maltese Blogosphere.
  • I repeat that I do not have the Maltese font facility on J'Accuse so for the Maltese font version go to Xifer here.
  • I have also created a logo (top) we can use that can be copied or downloaded from here
  • Please keep me updated if you have added this letter to any other site.

The addresses to which to send the emails remain the same as appeared in this post.

Here are the two texts (Maltese and English):

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APPELL GHAL BOJKOTT TAL-GENERAL WORKERS UNION
Nhar l-Erbgha l-5 ta' Ottubru, il-membri tal-General Workers Union ikkonfermaw lil Salvu Sammut bhala l-President ta' l-istess unjin. Dakinhar, fid-diskors tieghu lill-Kungress, is-Sur Sammut uza lingwagg dispregattiv u ghamel numru ta' insinwazzjonijiet foloz fil-konfront tal-persuni illi qed jaslu f'pajjizna bhala immigranti u li qed jippruvaw jiksbu l-istatus ta' rifugjati.

Fost affarijiet ohra, is-Sur Sammut gie rrapurtat illi qal li "Malta may be forced to take measures which were not necessarily "just and humane" to solve the illegal immigration crisis." Id-diskors ta' Sammut kien wiehed dispregattiv u li jonqos mir-rispett lejn il-proxxmu u d-drittijiet umani. Inhossu li dan it-tip ta' kliem mhuwiex xieraq ta' President ta' Trade Union storika bhal ma hi il-GWU illi fil-glieda ghad-drittijiet tal-haddiema ma ghandha qatt tinsa l-aspett uman ta' socjet� li fiha jrid jghix u jizviluppa kull cittadin u haddiem. Id-diskors ta' Sammut kien wiehed li jista' jwassal ghal incitament ghal mibeghda fuq bazi ta' razza u mhux denju tal-forum illi fih kien qed jitwassal.

Huwa ghalhekk li nappellaw li:

a) Salvu Sammut ghandu jaghmel apologija lill-GWU stess, lill-haddiema kollha u lill-poplu Malti u jirtira l-kliem illi huwa qal f'post pubbliku fejn kien jaf li qed jigi rrapurtat mill-mezzi tax-xandir kollha;

b) Salvu Sammut ghandu jirrizenja jew jitnehha mill-kariga tieghu jekk ma jaghmilx din l-apologija;

c) Kull organizzazzjoni non-governattiva, partit politiku, u istituzzjoni pubblika ghandha tirrifjuta li jkollha x'taqsam mal-GWU sakemm jew tinhareg apologija jew jitnehha mill-kariga Salvu Sammut;

Dan fl-interess tad-dinjit� politika f'pajjizna u filwaqt li nfakkru li l-libert� ta' espressjoni ma tippermetti lil ebda individwu jabbuza minnha a skapitu ta' kwalunkwe individwu iehor, ikun ta' liema nazzjonalit�, kulur, jew twemmin ikun.

Din l-inizjattiva nbdiet fuq il-Bloggosfera Maltija.
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APPEAL TO BOYCOTT THE GENERAL WORKERS UNION

On the 5th October 2005, Salvu Sammut was confirmed as President of the GWU by its members. During the Congress meeting held on the same day, Salvu Sammut's speech was peppered with derogatory language and false insinuations aimed at the persons who are arriving in our country as immigrants and who attempt to obtain refugee status.

Among other things Mr. Sammut is reported to have said that "Malta may be forced to take measures which were not necessarily 'just and humane' to solve the illegal immigration crisis." Mr Sammut's speech was disparaging, derogatory and lacking respect towards his fellow human beings and respect towards human rights. We feel that this type of language is not worthy of a President of an historical trade union like the GWU. Whenever it strives to obtain better rights for workers, a Union must never forget the human aspect of the society in which every citizen and worker must live. The speech by Mr Sammut is one that could result in incitement to racial hatred and is not worthy of the forum within which it was delivered.

We therefore appeal that:

a) Mr Sammut apologises to the GWU, to all workers and to the Maltese people and takes back his publicly made statement (which he knew would be reported in all the media),

b) Mr Sammut must resign or be removed from his post if an apology is not forthcoming,

c) Every governmental and non-governmental association, political party and public institution must refuse to conduct any relations with the GWU until an apology is issued or until Mr Sammut resigns from his post or is removed,

We request this in the interest of the dignity of politics in our country and while we stress that the freedom of expression should never be abused in such a way that an individual limits or assaults the rights of any other, whatever their race, colour or creed.

This initiative began on the Maltese Blogosphere.

9 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

toghgobkom?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/spikeslaw/ANRPROTESTcopy.jpg

Kenneth a dit…

U bil-"LE RAZZI?MU", kif se ssolvi:

a) Il-problema ta' l-influss t'immigranti illegali li, emmen jekk trid, kull Malti f'Malta issa qed i?ossha u li, trid u ma tridx, ikollok tammetti li issa qed jil?aq figuri mhux ?g?ar

b) L-attitudni tal-Maltin fil-konfront ta' dawn l-immigranti illegali

c) L-attitudni ta' l-immigranti illegali fil-konfront tal-Maltin

d) il-fatt li hawn ammont enormi ta' immigranti li m'huma refu?jati xejn, i?da li l-pro?ess ta' rimpatrijazzjoni qed ji?i mxekkel jekk kull azzjoni ?usta tkun ittimbrata "razzista"?

Mistoqsijiet konkreti, risposti konkreti. Id-diskussjonijiet astratti n?alluhom g?all-filosofi.

Kenneth a dit…

PS. Re: "I repeat that I do not have the Maltese font facility on J'Accuse"

1. Go to your Blogger Dashboard
2. > Settings
3. > Formatting
4. > Encoding
5. Select "Universal (Unicode UTF-8)"

Kenneth a dit…

Naghzel li nilqa' bhala kumpliment l-kumment tieghek li jien mohhi maghluq. Sabiex forsi xi darba ninghata t-tikketta ta' persuna b'mohhha miftuh, issa nibda nintilef f'diskussjonijiet astratti minghajr qatt ma nintebah li s-soluzzjoni hija li tpoggi madwar mejda, tnehhi kemm il-pregudizzju IZDA WKOLL it-timbri tar-"razzist", u tohrog b'soluzzjoni konkreta. La jien minix f'pozizzjoni li naghmilha, qed nistenna 'l nies b'mohhhom miftuh bhalek sabiex tohorgu b'xi haga. Faqqa', qed nistenna.

- Min int biex tiddeciedi, fil-kumditá ta darek, paxxut fuq is-sufan, li m'huma refugjati xejn.
Diga hemm kummissjoni apposta li flimkien mal-gvern, fil-kumdita' ta' l-ufficcji taghhom u paxxuti fuq pultruna jew executive chair komdi hafn'iktar minn tieghi, jiddeciedu min huma dawk li jikkwalifikaw ghal status ta' refugjat u dawk li ma jikkwalifikawx; m'hemmx bzonni.

Imma int donnok trid tghid li kull immigrant li jidhol ghandu l-kwalifici sabiex jinghata status ta' refugjat. Min jien biex nasal li naqbel li dawn "m'huma refugjati xejn"?

- Il-Maltin mhumiex biss nies bhalek. Il-maltin huma wkoll nies bhalna li ma nemmnux fil-xenofobija u r-razzizmu.

Stramba din, wara l-ghagha li nqala' meta t-Times ippubblikat li 97% tal-Maltin huma xenofobici u razzisti. Lil min se naqbad nemmen: lilek jew lit-Times?

- Il-problem ta' l-immigrazzjoni ma tissolviex billi tipprova issahhan id-demm tal-massa go post pubbliku
Jien ghidt li l-problema tissolva b'daqshekk? Mill-banda l-ohra, sincerament nixtieq inkun naf kif se tissolva billi toqghod tghid "LE RAZZIZMU" u billi "terga tregga sens ta umanitá go nies psewdo-kristjani li ghandhom iktar mill-annimali milli mill-bnedmin". Jien kurjuz kif dan l-imsejjah "sens ta umanitá" se johloq iktar suldati biex jaghmlu tajjeb ghar-rizorsi ezawriti fi hdan l-AFM (li hi nkarigata li tiehu hsieb din il-problema), fost hafna issues kritici ohrajn.

Ghalhekk, nerga' nistaqsi: il-"LE RAZZIZMU" kif se tittratta/tasal ghal din is-soluzzjoni?


Titkellem b'dak il-mod li f'pajjizi ohra kien jigi imressaq il-qorti fuq incitamnet ghall-mibgheda lejn sezzjoni ta poplu identifikat.

Nistenna bil-herqa li min organizza/tkellem fil-protesta jigi mressaq il-qorti sabiex naraw x'johrog.

Anonyme a dit…

Jien naqbel mar razzizmu kif taqbel il maggorparti ta dan il pajjiz.

Dawn il-paxxuti ta' Brussell u l Lussemburgu ahjar jistenbhu u ma tkomplix tikbrilhom rashom,, apparti l-portafoll.

Anonyme a dit…

Daqs dan mhux nibghat dik l-email!

Kenneth a dit…

You can add a name to your comments, too.

Justin Borg Barthet a dit…

Kenneth, nirreferik ghal dan l-artiklu ta' Ranier Fsadni, antropologu li zgur jaf jinterpreta dik il-figura ta' 97% iktar minni u minnek. Lil min se naqbad nemmen, lill-antropologu kkwalifikat jew lir-razzist injorant?

Apparti minn hekk, ngharrfek li setghu kienu 99.9% fil-mija tal-Maltin razzisti; xorta l-0.1% kien ikollhom ragun u l-bqija kien imisshom jisthu.


Racism - but what kind?

Ranier Fsadni

A gregarious family friend, a man who inhabits an ever-expanding universe of friends, girlfriends, acquaintances and indebted contacts in the oddest places, has Chinese neighbours.

On balance, he thinks the over-strong cooking smells that fill their home are cancelled by the fascinating vegetables they grow in the front garden; his eye is on some cuttings, yet to be procured, though he has already promised cuttings-of-the-cuttings to us and other members of his far-flung network. No racist, he harbours a slight dislike for his neighbours that goes beyond the personal, touching their nationality.

What excites his indignation is how, in the few dealings he has had with them, they count up to the last cent. He is almost certainly right to attribute their calculating attitude to their nationality, in the sense that such calculation is called for by their low wages and need to send money back to their families in China. This he understands but still thinks that such calculation is a serious obstacle to the kind of give-and-take, the tangled web of reciprocal gifts and favours, that is required by good neighbourliness and friendship.

Now, the point: his dislike stems from his sociability, from his frustrated attempt to establish a relationship of trusting reciprocity, not from a desire to keep his foreign neighbours at a distance. You will never persuade him that his dislike is undesirable if you tell him that he has a phobia of foreigners. That would grossly distort his experience.

It is a point worth keeping in mind when discussing the racism survey published in the last edition of The Sunday Times. I suspect that the aversions expressed in the vast majority of replies may well not be motivated - at least not in a significant number of cases - by the archetypal profile of the xenophobe: the person who fears foreigners, preferring to live in a national enclave of mythic purity.

The survey may be bringing together different types of xenophobia. Mario Vassallo, who conducted the survey, does not directly address this issue, nor does he claim to. But his interesting survey does suggest that it may be an important question to tackle in the future. Most Maltese have difficulty recognising their attitudes as xenophobic. The challenge for public policy and debate is how to startle ordinary people into recognising their unacknowledged bigotry. To get there, people need to feel that their attitudes are being fairly represented, not caricatured.

For there is no indication that the majority of respondents share much with the far-right ideology of the criminals who - again this week - have incited racial hatred. The pseudo-scientific babble about "races", the 21st century rotten leftovers of imperialist biological fantasies of the 18th and 19th centuries, cannot be just read off the answers. There is a strong suggestion that there is a bias in favour of Caucasians but, unlike the self-exalting idiocy of the far right, it is a furtive bias that dare not speak its name: 76.3 per cent preferred not to say whether treatment should depend on skin colour. I am not at all sure that the name of this silence is hypocrisy.

It gets more complicated. If we assume that there is a straightforward bias in favour of Caucasians, we come across an anomaly: the survey showed a preference for Chinese over American neighbours by a margin of five per cent. (I assume, intuitively, that when the respondents were asked about "Americans" most instinctively thought of Caucasians and not of the multi-ethnic US reality that includes Hispanics, Asians, Jews and Afro-Americans. Certainly this assumption was made in the editorial commentary, which wrote of "Americans" as a different "ethnic group" from Chinese, Jews, Africans, etc. I think the leader writer is representative of a broader Maltese tendency.)

This anomaly should not be dismissed as a blip. It suggests a different way to interpret the survey results: one based not on phobia but on a spectrum of attitudes based on trust and risk. The Maltese stereotype of Americans pictures them as white... but also as mutants of the Texan from hell: loud, aggressive, demanding, uncompromising, cowboy, materialistic. Prejudice? Oh yes, but perhaps one that is partly informed by an anxiety of being unable to connect with strangers.

It is difficult to tell given the inevitable limitations of the survey. It asked people about attitudes but not about whether they or their friends had direct experience of foreigners. It asked about neighbours but not about whether they expected to interact from across the walls of detached villas or in apartment blocks, which would say something about what kind of involvement, or "stories" (stejjer and praspar), they were expecting.

Some issues would be clarified if a future survey found that important distinctions were made within the ragbag category of "Europeans". Would the distinctions favour the darker but more gregarious (as perceived) Italians and Spaniards or the lighter but more coldly precise Northerners? Would western Europeans be preferred over the poorer eastern Europeans? Does the colour of money trump skin colour?

Is there, in fact, a property dimension to the issue? That is, because the price of their home might drop if certain kinds of foreigners moved in close to them: in this case, respondents might think of themselves as being cautious because of the racism of other Maltese, even if they disavowed any xenophobia on their part. You might say the question is being defined as one of risk, rather than fear.

For how respondents define the issue is an important question in itself. Respondents were asked "whether everybody should have the right to come and settle in Malta". Some 97 per cent said no. But it is not clear whether they interpreted the question as one about the free movement of persons - redefining the issue, given the EU membership debate of just two years ago, as largely an economic one and one to do not with human rights but with negotiation.

Understanding how people define the issue is not the same as accepting the definition. But it does give us an insight into how people manage not to recognise racism in themselves. In a world whose fissures of economic inequality coincide with national and racial boundaries, those of us on the affluent side have a lot invested - psychologically, culturally, politically - in hiding the racial aspect from ourselves. I know I should watch myself too.

ranierfsadni@europe.com

Kenneth a dit…

L-unika raguni ghalfejn issemmew dawk id-97% kien minhabba li donnha giet accettata mill-ewwel minn dawk li riedu jikkwotawha f'argumenti li jikkundannaw lill-Maltin bhala "razzisti u xenofobi". B'hekk assumejt li kulhadd kuntent biha, talanqas sakemm ghandu bzonn juzaha hu biex jattakka.

Kien ghalhekk li kkwotajtha. Fil-fatt, meta kien hareg dak l-artiklu li ghogbok tipprovdi, kont qbilt ma' hafna mill-kritika li saret rigward li s-servej mhuwiex daqshekk definitiv sat-tali punt li jista' jigi applikat fuq kull kwistjoni ta' l-immigrazzjoni illegali, per ezempju. Imma, la ghall-ewwel kienu hafna dawk li uzawh biex jattakkaw lill-Maltin razzisti, hsibt li ma kinetx se taghmel differenza ghax jissemma' issa...

Naghmilha cara li jien kont ghidt iswed fuq l-abjad li fl-opinjoni mizera tieghi, ma naqbilx mal-hafna interpretazzjonijiet li kienu qed ifaqqsu mis-servej. Kemm minhabba li kien jikkonsisti minn mistoqsijiet kemmxejn differenti mill-argumenti li qed jikkwotawh, u kemm minhabba li biex verament tiehu stampa cara ta' dak li jahseb gens shih normalment, m'ghandekx taghmel dan meta hemm il-qigha shuna.

Biex ma tghidx li dan qed nivvintah issa halli nidher sabih, jekk minix sejjer zball kont hallejt dawn il-precizi kelmiet bhala kumment f'xi bloggata li kienet ittrattat lil dan is-servej (minghalija kien t'Arcibald izda wara tiftixa ta' fuq fuq, ma ltqajtx m'artikli fuq bloggtu fuq din it-tema.)

Apparti minn hekk, ngharrfek li setghu kienu 99.9% fil-mija tal-Maltin razzisti; xorta l-0.1% kien ikollhom ragun u l-bqija kien imisshom jisthu.
Imma f'demokrazija kif jimxu l-affarijiet? Fl-ahhar mill-ahhar, il-gvern hu maghmul minn rapprezentanti tal-poplu li huma eletti mill-poplu nnifsu. Jekk il-poplu iwerwer lill-partiti li ma jivvotax habba din il-kwistjoni (ma nafx hix se tkun daqshekk deciziva imma ninsab kwazi cert li se tikber l-importanza taghha kulma jmur), ibqa' cert li d-decizjoni tal-poplu se tghaddi. Jigifieri sa certu punt, dak il-percentwal fih xi sens, iva.

Issa jekk tridu tibdlu l-fehma tal-poplu bil-kampanja taghkom, good luck to you, imma nahseb li issa tikka tard wisq.