Inhumane (and damned stupid, too)
First read this news report.
The Times, Monday, 12th January 2009 – 16:40CET
Rough seas prevent transfer of migrants to shore
Bad weather has forced the AFM to stop attempts to disembark a group of 162 migrants at Anchor Bay. The migrants were picked up by the tanker Overseas Primar in rough seas 59 miles off Malta yesterday afternoon. Since a patrol boat could not reach the position, the tanker was asked to come to Malta. It anchored overnight on Hurd’s Bank but with the sea remaining very rough, it moved to the more sheltered Anchor Bay this afternoon. Attempts to transfer the migrants to launches for landing in the bay were deemed unsafe however.
The group of migrants – the first to arrive in Malta this year, is made up of 133 men, 28 women and a child. The tanker during the night requested a supply of blankets but they could not be delivered because of the rough sea. The tanker is continuing to ride the storm off Malta.
Now read the comments that were posted below the on-line version.
A Cutajar
funny life….. nature is doing what should be done by authorities.@ Chris Sant: the problem is not that the Maltese people have had enough….. its the ones that are in mainland Europe that seem still want more. So whether we like it or not we have to do the “logical” decision imposed upon us.
Christopher Sant
This must be an omen for all the illegals wanting to reach Malta illegally. This year will not be a good year for you. The Maltese people have had enough, way too much of you.T.gauci
deport them back to Libya
And now, stop for just a moment and try to imagine what it must have been like for this woman (and what it is still like for her). Some of the people who would have had her drown or be turned back to Libya (“give them food and water and point them towards Libya”) are the very same ones who loudly declaim against abortion. What amazes me most about some of the comments posted beneath stories like this is that they are written by people who, like me, grew up on a Mediterranean island – and yet they haven’t a clue about the Mediterranean, or the sea in general. What do they think, that it’s some kind of flat pond with everything just around the corner? Oh, I think I’ll just take the dinghy to Libya today…
The Times, Monday, 12th January 2009 – 22:53CET
Pregnant migrant evacuated from ship in delicate operation
An Italian Military Mission AB212 helicopter crewed by a joint Italian/AFM crew has successfully evacuated a pregnant migrant from the tanker Overseas Primar, ferrying her to Mater Dei Hospital.The operation was one of the most dangerous of recent operations, since the woman had to be hoisted from the heaving tanker in darkness in a Force 8 wind. The evacuation took place at about 10.30 p.m. off Anchor Bay where the tanker has been sheltering after rough seas prevented the transfer of 162 migrants it has on board.
AFM launches tried to take the migrants on board in the afternoon but the sea state was deemed to be too dangerous. They have stayed in Anchor Bay hoping for another attempt on Tuesday morning. The migrants were rescued by the ship from a 10-metre boat 59 miles south of Malta on Sunday afternoon.
UPDATE: THESE ARE THE COMMENTS POSTED SO FAR THIS MORNING BENEATH THE STORY OF THE DANGEROUS RESCUE OF THIS PREGNANT WOMAN –
P Debono
So this is what happens when we have to wait over four hours in the emergency queue…Ronnie Gauci
Pregnant and walked on a boat in such bad weather conditions, irresponsable indeed. Her move then put Italian/AFM family members in grave danger and to complete all we have to foot the bill, then we’ll be more than happy to feed them, shelter them and raise the child. Viva Malta u l-Maltin. What can I do to change my status to Illegal Immigrant? Perhaps such move will permit me not to wake up for work early in such bad weather to provide all this to my family.T.gauci
they should deport the pregnant and her baby back to libya after she give birth to him/her and the rest should be deported immediately
The last comment: you can feel the writer struggling not to add ‘it’ to “after she give birth to him/her”. Dear god, what callous people.
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I sent a response to A. Cutajar’s comment above, asking him/her what exactly should the authorities be doing. The powers that be at the Times, however, decided that my question was not appropriate. On the other hand, it’s apparently deemed acceptable to hint that if the AFM cannot sink a shipload of immigrants then hopefully the sea will.
[Daphne – I’ve noticed that, too. Comments that ‘insult’ these individuals or question their motives are not uploaded, but racist comments and hopes for drowning are.]
This morning’s comments are even more callous. I wonder where this online crassness leaves notions of public consultation, if you know what I mean.
I’m no defender of illegal immigrants, but I fully agree, and think most of their comments are downright mean. These are the same people who go to mass on Sunday and pray to some god.
@Daphne:
I never meant to use the work stupid to describe these commentators, but now that you did so yourself I feel good. You called them ‘The National Front’ in another post; for a moment I was taken aback. They can never be ‘national’, because they represent a bunch of nonentities with time on their hands and not some national forum or organization. When I read the comments they write, especially a couple of them who comment under every news item or letter in The Times, the image of a dog that must lift one of its hind legs at every corner springs automatically to mind.
[Daphne – National Front: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/13/newsid_2534000/2534035.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Front
http://www.natfront.com/
http://www.londonnationalfront.org.uk/
http://seacoast.sunderland.ac.uk/~os0tmc/contemp1/lepen.htm ]
The attitude of these people towards these unfortunate fellow human beings is the same as that expressed by many Germans against Jews during the Nazi regime. It is simply scary!
Wonder how they would react to a boatload of Russian nubiles…..
[Daphne – With great excitement, just as they would react with compassion if the pregnant woman were Ukrainian.]
Actually I was referring to the local lot; but still they do not impress me. They are still a bunch of exasperated people with large hang-ups and chips on their shoulders with plenty of time on their hands. They can never be included or compared with citizens who really love their country because with every meeting or protest march or writing they organize, common sense shows them out for what they really are; a bunch of trouble makers whose only aim is to force their opinions by violence or terror. As can be seen even in their local writings all arguments are based on violence.
I have always reasoned that if one cannot propose a solution then one is part of the problem.
The human race has been through much worse than these lot and all was dumped into the rubbish dump of history.
Xaghra – The same way they reacted to the dozens of Thai/Chinese “massage parlours” (ha!) sprouting up all over the island, maybe?
I think the human traffickers are inhumane.
I wouldn’t let any pregnant woman (of any origin) onto a dinghy, especially in this weather.
Daphne, it’s the human traffickers who are racists; Ukrainians come by plane, these are thrown out into a dinghy half way to Italy like animals. What do these Africans think, that it’s some kind of flat pond with everything just around the corner? Oh, I think I’ll just take the dinghy to Malta today…
That woman knew it’s dangerous to cross and the reason they let a pregnant women go, is because to them she’s just cattle.
There is far more to illegal immigration then Denis Catania getting excited every time an illegal immigrant lands on this island. Yes, what they are saying is mean and inhumane, but compared to the human traffickers they are scrawny little amateurs.
[Daphne – The traffickers are in it for the money. It makes no difference to them what colour a person is. Those who sell illegal drugs sell them to everyone. This works the same way. And yes, those who make the journey are deluded into thinking that the Mediterranean is a calm pond with everything within easy distance. Many of them come from landlocked sub-Saharan states and have no idea of the sea. The shocking thing is that people who grew up in Malta seem to have equally limited knowledge of the Mediterranean.]
The sheer volume of comments clearly show that the majority of people do not want to accommodate these people. I thought that the majority dictated affairs in a democracy. Clearly this is not the case in Malta. Hence, we’re not living in a democracy. We never have lived in a democracy.
[Daphne – Some things are not subject to majority rule, tax and human rights among them. The ‘sheer volume of comments clearly show(s)’ something else entirely: that the Maltese continue to retain the amoral instincts of peasants surviving on the edge of oblivion and famine, the very same ones which gave rise to the Mafia in Sicily and to widespread crime among new southern Italian and central European immigrant communities in early 20th-century New York City.]
i think you cannot compare these racist to the european “natinal front” because the maltese ones are left leaning PL supporters who blame dr. gonzi and the eu. as if they would not have chosen to come to switzerland in the med
[Daphne – They may be Labour supporters (and not all of them are, by any means) but that does not mean they are left-wing. The Labour Party is right-wing and has a huge tranche of right-wing support. Left-wing and right-wing are not just names, but represent political thinking and policies. The sentiments expressed in these comments are clearly and unarguably right-wing, and Labour’s policies over the last few years have been right-wing too.]
Graham Crocker: so what if the human traffickers are inhumane? Does that mean we should let their “cargo” sink to the bottom of the sea because those who ferry them do not give a damn?
@Atreides
Those who comment on http://www.timesofmalta.com do NOT represent the whole of Malta – it is always the same few who comment that “Malta can’t take anymore”. I’m happier to see part of my tax contributions going to help these souls than going to Maltese men and women who work illegally but still collect social relief.
@daniela
I don’t think so. I happen to have a good sense of hearing (and listening) and I hear quite often people in various social circles and of varying ages, complaining about these immigrants. Obviously the media has been insidiously engineered to dish out the same soup, over and over again, giving a false sense of security to the nation.
Humans like most other mammals, are territorial species and instinctively humans feel threatened when someone or something enters their space. This sense of territory is even more heightened in Malta, which is a very small territory supporting 400,000 people. This number is already too much for such a small island with or without immigrants which continue to add to the load. Malta’s population should be no more than 100,000 for ecological and social harmony to be maintained. On the other hand there are vast and wide empty spaces such as Mongolia, the Sahara Desert and Australia. Any place can be made habitable given the proper care and dedication. Why not send them to such empty, peaceful places?
With regards to tax contributions to immigrants. As if it is not enough with providing them with free sanitary services, schooling, housing (yes housing!) and a load of other benefits. I think I might just hire a boat, go 40 miles off Malta, throw away my passport, punch a hole in the hull and send a distress call to the AFM. And voila! I’m entitled to all those benefits.
These immigrants should be helped in their own country and not here. If there are so many good hearted people willing to help them, why don’t they volunteer to go to Somalia or Nigeria to help these poor souls? Where is America when we need her? Okay, America has money to buy nuclear weapons for Israel but its funds dry up with respect to Africa. I’m sorry, but this situation is clearly hypocritical. I cannot accept the fact that we’re being hoodwinked by people who speak in favour of human rights and yet are willing pay for nuclear weapons.
@Marku
Did I say that? No, but let me tell you this. ‘Coyotes’ who traffic people from Mexico to USA, are well known for killing illegal immigrants for the slightest provocation. The USA spends millions if not billions securing its borders and going after cartels.
What do we do? Pick up 2000 and send 10 home. I’m sure many Africans realise their chances of living in Europe are pretty good, so they take the risk. After all I’m sure these human traffickers like “drug pushers” push them into thinking they’re going to a land of milk and honey.
So does it shock you that there was an email going around with photos of a dead man who was caught floating around Malta? He was an African, probably thrown off board for some ridiculous reason and a baby could tell he was in the sea for weeks if not months with the state he was in. Can you imagine how many of them just get thrown off right in the middle of a journey?
A pregnant women getting sick…vomiting in confined spaces… this would count as a liability; they don’t care if she paid more or as much as the others or if she’s carrying a kid. They’d throw her off.
The Mediterranean sea is a graveyard. We need not condemn them to drowning to know this. I don’t want anybody to die, but fact of the matter is, by taking them in we’re indirectly encouraging this shameful business & responsible for those people who now grace the depths of the sea. Desperation can only take you so far and for a thousand people a year, it might not be worth the risk.
My suggestion is simple, if the illegal immigrants do not qualify as refugees, they should be transported back safely on a plane. It would cost us less and it would make people think twice before making a deal with these criminals. (if they do not qualify as refugees, then they’ve got nobody to run from).
Daphne, so don’t you agree that anybody who takes drugs fund criminals? Allowing everybody entry, is like buying kilos of coke, because thats how much its ‘worth’ to them. The cultural implications are the least of our problems. What if these human traffickers decide to expand their business? They certainly know how to jump at opportunities and a bunch of disillusioned, disappointed, mistreated, jobless young men with no future is one hell of an opportunity.
So why all this hassle about these thousand black immigrants? What about the Russians, Bulgarians, Polish men that come into Malta and stay here? Go around Paceville, St Julians, Sliema and see who rents out apartments, who is working in catering … But no, those arent a problem cause they ‘blend’ in… as much as blond, blued girls can…
[Daphne – Bulgarians and Poles have every right to be here. They are EU citizens. Russians need a visa and a permit.]
Atredides: “I think I might just hire a boat, go 40 miles off Malta, throw away my passport, punch a hole in the hull and send a distress call to the AFM. And voila! I’m entitled to all those benefits.”
You’re not the first person to say something like that. Yet no one has ever carried out such a cunning plan. One wonders why.
@ Daphne – re your comment ‘With great excitement, just as they would react with compassion if the pregnant woman were Ukrainian’
I disagree with your comments. Eastern European women suffer from another sort of prejudice; they are automatically labelled as working whores. I guess it’s the insular mentality of people who think that the world revolves around this tiny piece of rock.
[Daphne – Yes, that’s why the ‘great excitement’, given that most of the people writing these comments appear to be men, with the exception of the famous Louise Vella and Joanne Micallef.]
@ Graham Crocker
“My suggestion is simple, if the illegal immigrants do not qualify as refugees, they should be transported back safely on a plane.”
And how would you establish where they’re coming from? You can’t look at their passport and you can’t ask them…
Graham Crocker: you may be unaware that those people who do not qualify for refugee status are indeed deported from Malta. In order to do so, however, there is a process that all would-be immigrants must go through, which may or may not be brief. You may not like this process but that is how things work in the real world.
The U.S. faces less complications to deport some of those who enter its borders illegally because these people generally originate from Central and South America as opposed to, say, Somalia or the Sudan. If a would-be immigrant in the U.S. claims refugee status, he or she can only be deported after all legal options have been exhausted.
@daniela
Poles, Bulgarians, etc are Europeans like us. They have every right to come and work here just as we have every right to go and work in their country. With regards to blond, blue girls I think it is a matter of taste. There is nothing you can do about it. I think it would be beneficial to mix with these Baltic people. They’re a very intelligent and strong race.
I think that the comments at http://www.timesofmalta.com are censored. Those against illegal immigrants are published while the others are not. The most callous comments are given right of way while any humane comments are stopped in their tracks. In other words, the picture the Times is depicting that most Maltese are against illegal immigrants is not true. I’m sure that there is still much much hope in the heart of this island.
I have a feeling that there is method behind the madness of The Times, publishing mostly anti-immigrant posts. The Times has become very liberal in its views and same goes for many of its journalists. So what better way to provoke and rouse pro-immigrant sympathy than by posting the inane racist ”contributions” we are seeing.
Now for my views: I still think that ‘burden sharing’ with the EU member countries, is top of the list as an option, based on a relative population percentage. I cannot see Libya ever agreeing to do something concrete about the problem emanating from its shores. In the meantime, whilst we wait for the EU to move its backside, we must carry on rescuing these unfortunate souls.