Then He Walked Out

The No to Racism campaign is on. The humane side of Malta is beginning to converge and take action. It will not be enough... to be credible we must also start thinking of solutions. We must also be pro-active and propose, otherwise we will go the way of others and be buried under the effects of our own inactivity. Please do cut, paste and send the email in the previous post. Our little bit of pressure starts from here.

Meanwhile Harry of the Greens has written his take on the happenings at the GWU Congress, read them here. The closing paragraphs of the article are a good starting point to begin to build proposals and solutions:

"Where is the government? Where is the Minister of Home Affairs? Have they ducked the issue enough now? When are they going to find the spine to be vigorous in defence of the values enshrined in our Constitution? What was the point of joining the EU if our political development is stunted by their fears instead of taking a step higher? What was the point of joining the EU if there is no tangible, effective assistance in this matter? Why can nobody make it clear once and for all that Malta will definitely bear its share of the burden in the face of the this mass migration, that it will fight illegal immigration to the hilt, that it demands assistance at times of crisis and that it will neither perpetrate inhumanities nor allow racist hatred to be fuelled by anyone in any form.

It was never a problem for Greens to be in a minority. It is numbing to feel that we could be in a minority in upholding the basic values of our Constitution. This is not some innovative or esoteric Green policy. It is our Constitution, the basis for our peaceful co-existence, which is being undermined by silence, lip-service and pusillanimous politics. The greatest threat is not from far right whackos but from moderate, prudent, wise, decisive, traditional politicians who seem to be unable to realise that they must pluck the nettle, do their duty in terms of their oaths of office, no matter the cost. A final "solution that is neither just nor humane"? How deep have we sunk?"

Let's begin the politics.

After publishing this post I read this interview with Salvu Sammut (also in today's Times). I am lost for words. Here are parts of his interview:

General Workers' Union president Salvu Sammut said yesterday he never intended to foment hatred or incite racism when stating that Malta may be forced to take measures that were not necessarily "just and humane" to solve the illegal immigration crisis. "I was only stating facts and expressing my thoughts about what I fear would happen if the problem is not tackled properly," Mr Sammut told The Times yesterday.

(...)

Asked if he stood by what he had stated, Mr Sammut said his comments had been in line with other articles he had written about the influx of immigrants in which he had "made it clear that immigrants need to be treated properly" and had also warned against the "dangers of racism".

In his articles, Mr Sammut had argued that the economic situation and political disillusionment in Malta today resembled that of Germany in the 1920s when Hitler's rightist ideology became increasingly popular. "If people who are suffering economically and financially see an immigrant or a refugee take their job, it is obvious they will be lured by rightists."

But did he not think that alarmist statements made by people in influential positions could incite hatred rather than place the problem in a context? "I never said we should shoot immigrants when they try to land here, as has been declared by some. The fact remains that we do not know whether the immigrants are genuine refugees, economic migrants or trained terrorists.

"We have enough problems of our own as it is and immigrants add to these problems.