What a way to try and redeem yourself, Jeffrey – by grandstanding for the racists
If you’d like to know what I think about Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s posturing on immigrants in today’s The Times, read www.malta9thermidor.wordpress.com:
Here’s Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino-Orlando in today’s Times:
“I feel it’s about time we took a stand. It’s about time we acknowledged the fact that the problem is getting out of hand. None of the illegal immigrants who end up on our island come here directly from their country. They usually come to Malta via a transit country, which is usually Libya. Thus, the argument that these migrants are coming here to escape persecution or terror in their own countries does not hold water. There is an obviously organised effort to shuttle these people into Europe. I suggest that they should be treated in the same way as we would treat any other visitor who does not have the proper documentation and is trying to gain entry into our islands illegally. Send them back.
If they are in distress at sea we should help them out. Any arrivals on our island should be treated with the utmost courtesy. But, when the weather is fair and at the earliest opportunity, they should be towed back into international waters in the direction they came from. Every consideration must be taken to ensure their safety but we cannot be expected to shoulder a responsibility that is physically impossible for us to bear.”
I must say I was surprised. Pullicino-Orlando was not only a member of the Maltese delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for some ten years, he was not only the head of that delegation, he was also the Assembly’s Vice-President. In those days (circa 2007) he’d write things like this:
“The human factor of this phenomenon should never be ignored. A number of these migrants are genuinely escaping war and persecution in their country. Talk of suspending human rights considerations to tackle the issue should be dismissed as a brazen attempt at gaining cheap political points by riding on the wave of popular concern.”
The Council of Europe is the depository and custodian institution of many conventions and treaties which Pullicino-Orlando once lauded and is now proposing to rip up. Had he made his views known earlier he wouldn’t have been elected to the post of the Assembly’s bell boy let alone its Vice-President.
I couldn’t have put it better myself, so I didn’t bother.
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How does it go..? Some people do ‘ave ’em! Boy, have we been lumbered with him.
The Facebook Group Save Malta From Illegal Immigration and it’s 4920 members applauds Jeffrey Pullicuno Orlando. We have been saying this all along, these people are coming from oil rich safe Libya. Once in Libya proper paper work should be filed with European countries to migrate to Europe. A lot of people have been dying leaving oil rich safe Libya including woman and children. Shame who condones such dangerous crossings.
Daphne,
I thought that you would be accustomed with the stuff, which makes and breaks politicians. I wonder whether JPO will now try to convince you of his new policies. Will you give him your vote once again?
[Daphne – Those who voted for what he was are unlikely to vote for the kind of person he is turning out to be. I don’t just speak for myself, either.]
Well he can count on Denis’ vote, can’t he? First he panders to the FAA now this. Poor sod’s clutching at straws. Do you regret your post-election article about JPO staying on and representing the people who voted for him?
[Daphne – No, I don’t regret it at all. The principle remains correct despite the incorrectness of Pullicino Orlando’s behaviour. The only people who can remove a parliamentarian are those who put him there, and if he carries on this way, that is precisely what is going to happen. They’ll remove him.]
Can we please have a really sensible debate between us about the illegal immigration situation ? We cannot keep on calling people who seem to be genuinely worried about the illegal immegration problem, maybe unnecessarily so, racists. The people who are definitely racists are those who post degrading and stupid comments in the newspapers about the current illegal immigration situation. There is no doubt that government is doing all it can to control the situation but it would do well to reassure people that there is really no need to worry so much. Whether we like it or not, we have to absorb a certain number of immigrants who may wish to stay on in Malta – legally of course – like other countries do. However, due to our size this number has to be limited but honestly, how one can do this I do not know. There are other people, whom one can consider illegal immigrants and these are the people who come from non-EU and other countries, without a valid visa or permit and who stay on in Malta. Government should settle people’s mind at rest, before the whole situation gets out of hand due to the real racists who are taking advantage of the situation.
Maybe Jeffrey could say something about this:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090224/local/malta-exemplary-in-fight-against-human-trafficking
Loved this remark posted beneath Jeffrey’s article on http://www.timesofmalta.com
Antoine Vella (19 hours, 31 minutes ago)
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando
“We must act now. The consequences of inaction are too terrible to contemplate.”
Unless the action you have in mind is building a reception centre in Mistra, what exactly do you mean?
Daphne,
Please, can you give me your thought about all this illegal immigration issue?
[Daphne – I have done so many, many times over the last five years or so.]
Can you you remind me if you please? Because I’m noticing that you and your palls on this site are, once again, reducing this important debate to a ridiculous political arguments on whether JPO is given your vote or not. Something done in PN clubs (sorry offices) not in a blog like this. I’m still trying to see what JPO said wrong in his argument!! Aren’t we today living in a mush worse situation than 10 years ago? Don’t you think that IT IS an urgent National crisis that has to be tackled with urgency? Weren’t you shocked by the PM statement that he sees no urgency for this issue, when 22% of last year’s total number of immigrant landed last week? Or you are just predicting another embarrasment for the goverment and that is only what you care about?
[Daphne – No, I don’t think it is an ‘urgent national crisis’ (and isn’t a national crisis by definition urgent?). An urgent national crisis would occur if we were to be hit by a massive earthquake or tidal wave, something that is not outside the realms of possibility given that Malta is in an earthquake zone. You and those who think as you do are crying out for a lesson in what a national crisis really is.]
Alan JPO said nothing wrong, he’s looking out for Malta’s interest. What politicians are suppose to do.
Ethel great post.
Leo Said you should not vote according to your party affiliation, but what the politician does for the Maltese and Malta. Not Russians, Chinese or Africans. JPO should have no problems, 95% of Maltese living in Malta are anti ILLEGAL immigration. If things keep going the way they are going with illegal immigration in 2013, there will be no PN ministers.
NGT: JPO can count on Save Malta From Illegal Immigration projected 30,000 member in 2013 voter’s block vote.Unless this is a June MEP election plot by the PN. We will keep an eye on his actions.
JPO is not alone Gonzi called this an invasion. Tonio Borg voiced his concerns. A few PN MEP candidates voiced their concerns too. So he’s not alone in the PN.
It’s nice to have a constructive argument from the pro illegal immigration movement, instead of personal attacks.
Dennis Catania: Don’t you have a candy store to run?
Artecnica you are good. A candy wholesale business. We sell candy to 1,200 stores in New york, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Matter of fact today I have the best job. Walking through the warehouse with Minister Latisha James and gathering 5 pallets of Easter peeps to donate for under privileged kids at her Baptist church. How do you know about our business? Are you stalking me or are you from New York?
But what does me having a candy business have to do with this issue and JPO. Unless you want to donate $150. I can have a case of Easter peeps sent to the Marsa open center in behalf of your name. It’s to late to ship a pallet. A pallet has 24 cases.There’s always next year.
Mr. Catania,
Why do you persist in crawling all over our landscape with your childish pot stirring when you only trumpet your own lack of intellectual capacity and perspective? I have just read that the Canadians have discovered medication that could treat learning disorders. I’ll get you some on my next visit. Twit.
I would like to ask these anti-illegal immigrants, if you see a dog which has been hit by a car, would you help it?
Then why not these poor people? Do you call yourself christians?
“..an urgent national crisis would occur if we were to be hit by a massive earthquake or tidal wave, something that is not outside the realms of possibility given that Malta is in an earthquake zone…”
Heq him….this is like a magma plume. It takes decades to rise to the Earth’s crust…but when it reaches the top, all Hell will break loose.
[Daphne – You people really need to get a sense of perspective. Ohorgu ftit minn dik il-bozza, f’gieh kemm hemm.]
Dennis Catania: What on earth are Easter peeps?
@ Denis – I hardly think that the PN would use Pullicino Orlando in any plot – he’s an embarrassment. I wouldn’t boast too much about having a politician of his ilk supporting your cause either. His credibility is anything but high, so I really doubt whether people have much time to listen to what he has to say anymore. The pre-election accusations turned out to be pretty accurate (luckily for PN, many people, including myself, thought it was yet another Frendo story) – then he openly supports the FAA in their ludicrous scheme to stop a project which few people had proper knowledge of… and now this u-turn in immigration policies which can never come to fruition but will appeal to (what I suspect is) the majority of the public. Now, whether he manages to gain the public’s support with these rather see-through stunts is debatable, but I’d be rather surprised (and disappointed) if he’s given the green light to represent the PN come 2013. So what then? AN?
NGT: Dennis Catania is sympathetic. He calls himself a “Nationalist”, advocates policies that are akin to AN’s, while he resides in the USA.
[Daphne – Where he sells Easter peeps.]
I do agree with what JPO had to say, apart from ‘towing’ these human beings back. I think they should be repatriated, immediately, in a humanitarian way, ie a flight or ferry. But please, every one deep down knows that Malta cannot handle this influx.
[Daphne – There are processes to be got through before repatriation. Please, what is this growing diseased belief that we can circumvent institutional procedure and obligations? We saw it with the St John’s project, we’re seeing it with repatriation. One of my sons thinks that it’s because people of my generation grew up without institutions (or in a political climate where institutions were disparaged) and so we have been conditioned into thinking they are optional. As for older generations, they grew up in pre-Independence days and in an autocratic environment, and so were acclimatised into thinking that institutions could be bypassed at will.]
@NGT
Actually it’s pre-election PROOF. I myself saw the notary’s document on the web (Maltastar.com) a couple of days BEFORE polling day.
[Daphne – I’d hold easy on citing as proof anything that appears on maltastar.com. The site was run by a liar called Kurt Farrugia, who is now Labour’s propaganda secretary. He actually put into quote marks words and insults that I screamed at him – he claimed – when his own Super One film footage shows me sitting in silence. In fact, I’m suing him.]
I honestly did believe in JPO before the elections. A few weeks later, I lost this trust I had in him and I have a feeling that the PN’s trust in him is not much higher than mine. When Josie Muscat was kicked out of the PN some years ago and then tried (unsuccessfully) to enter the political field once again, he decided to go for the racist mob to get some followers. La storia si ripete?
[Daphne – The difference is that Josie’s sentiments are genuine, even if completely misguided. He was always far right in his thinking, and that accounts for some of the difficulties he had with the Nationalist Party as it began to move to the centre and adopt a more liberal approach.]
Easter peep warning – I just tried to download a file I Googled on “researching” “Easter peeps” (having never heard of them previously), and almost downloaded a “Trojan”, so careful!
This is not something reported. It was a photocopy of the document signed by Notary Frendo Randon.
[Daphne – Yes, I agree. Mine was just a warning against taking maltastar.com seriously. Anyway, it’s defunct. The same people are running a Daphne Hate Site and pseudo-Facebook page instead. It seems they can’t handle more than a couple of things at once. Or maybe they over-estimate my influence in dedicating their resources to trying to undermine it.]
[Daphne – No, I don’t regret it at all. The principle remains correct despite the incorrectness of Pullicino Orlando’s behaviour. The only people who can remove a parliamentarian are those who put him there, and if he carries on this way, that is precisely what is going to happen. They’ll remove him.]
Of course, unfortunately, seeing the position he is in, he will probably remove the PN from government before the people have a chance to remove him.
[Daphne – Ah, but then he would have to align himself to Labour, and I’d like to see the result of that. It might actually be worth it.]
It can’t be them. Your ‘favourite’ site is written in more than passable English.
[Daphne – It’s a coalition of various interests with a common hatred. They’re leaving clues all over the place, including the fact that most of the work seems to get done during office hours – which would be just perfectly in line with the bum mentality of people like that. There are certain advantages to not being entirely dumb. I can think of at least three people who support the Labour Party, hate me and write more than passable English, and they work for the same newspaper. I can think of somebody else who supports AD, hates me, writes passable English and works for another newspaper. I’m very good at recognising written ‘voices’. It comes from years of practice and a keen eye. The fact that they are anonymous and frightened of being found out is enough to tell you that they are people who can’t afford to be found out. Is this blog anonymous? No. Are you anonymous to me? No. We both know who the other is, because I’m not scared of you and you’re not scared of me. They, on the other hand, are scared – so it’s a matter of working out why.]
artecnica maybe Daphne could help you. One hint. Easter treats isn’t just about figolli.Although I love them. I guess you’re not from New York. They are a marshmallow Easter treat, they come in the shapes of chicks and bunnies.I’m giving you a good business idea for you, sell them in Malta and Gozo.
NGT: Things do change. You have to look at the situation on a day by day basis. Last year the boats came with 27 people on them, mostly summer. Now they are coming with 200+ all year long. For the interest of the Maltese. He has the right to change. I’m not sure if he ran a pro illegal immigration campaign either, I think he was silenced about it. In the last few months PM Gonzi called it an invasion. Tonio Borg voiced his concerns about the illegal immigration problem Also Carmelo Mifsud Bonicci has thrown his hat in. I don’t think JPO is the first one.We all admit these people need help. But is it Malta’s obligation to accept them from oil rich safe Libya. I don’t see why Malta can’t help a few thousand and malta has.Now it’s getting out of hand. I don’t think JPO’s job was to clear benches, chairs and tables of sidewalks for 5 years. He too has an obligation to protect the Maltese from a national crisis.
Thanks for keeping you last comment constructive.
Harry Purdie when you throw childish attacks, I throw them back at you with a little extra sauce on them. If you argue the issue, I’ll argue the issue back in a constructive manner.Go back and read some of your comments towards me. If I don’t agree with you, I have a learning disorder. Maybe when someone can’t argue an issue, someone might have a learning disorder. You ought to use that medication from Canada, you twit. I never used twit before. But since you like using it so much, I figured you must be one.You twit.
Amanda Mallia: You might of downloaded one of your husbands favorite internet stores.You might want to check were he is using those trojans. Try typing EASTER PEEPS.
Daphne I’m a witness. You sat in silence while your son was making a fool of himself on national TV at a national debate. Some MOM.
[Daphne – He didn’t make a fool of himself. He made a fool of Kurt Farrugia and Super One. And the result spoke for itself. Come September, if you will permit me a MOM’s boast, that same son will be in the exceptional position of being a postgraduate student at the London School of Economics, aged only 20. Meanwhile, Kurt Farrugia…..]
Denis Catania: “Leo Said you should not vote according to your party affiliation, but what the politician does for the Maltese and Malta.”
I am eligible to vote in Malta as much as you are eligible to vote in Malta.
Dennis Catania: If it is such a good business idea, why don’t you implement it yourself? If you don’t need the proceeds you could put them to good use elsewhere.
You remark to NGT “We all admit these people need help.” Apparently “we” don’t. Why else do you imagine so many of “us” feel that we’re more victimised than the victim?
And you may as well cut out your repetitive use of “pro-illegal immigration” to describe anyone who doesn’t back your potty campaigns. No one is pro-illegal immigration, least of all the immigrants themselves.
Dennis Catania: What’s with the sexual innuendos? You’re giving the impression that you’re a frequent visitor to the sort of place that supplies trojans and peeps.
Daphne – “You people really need to get a sense of perspective. Ohorgu ftit minn dik il-bozza, f’gieh kemm hemm”.
Daphne, somewhere on this blog, with reference to JPO, you have today graciously remarked that my judgement is clouded. Still, I venture to nohrog mill-bozza tieghi and the harga mill-bozza compels me to have the vision that, if the undesired influx continues unabated, then, Malta might one day indeed become the Haiti of the Mediterranean instead of Switzerland in the Mediterranean. You can now of course remark that it would not affect me and my personal posterity.
[Daphne – No, what I will say is the obvious. That those who are not entitled to refugee status are being deported, however slowly. So obviously there is no way on earth the situation you mention – where an island in the Caribbean is colonised entirely by manumitted slaves after the native population is killed by Europeans through violence or disease, can develop. I am not fond of hysteria. In another life, I would probably have been a mathematician. I tend to be attracted to facts and numbers.]
Pullicino Orlando has become the MLP’s and FAA’s hero merely a few months after they trashed him in the media. It’s a shame that he is sucking up to them (by threatening to destabilise the government). After all, they are not the ones and will never be the ones to vote for him. He might as well enjoy his instant and reclaimed fame while he can.
On a similar note, it is quite ironic that the coordinated elves commenting on http://www.timesofmalta.com, together with the Labour media, have not commented or written a single article on Bastjan Dalli who has been bailed out. We can understand the reason for Malta Today covering up the whole story, but the Labour media?
Denis Catania @ 0157hrs. So why are you and your friends barking up the wrong Mission? Organize a protest in front of Libya’s Permanent Mission to the UN on 48th Street. Invite the leading NY newspapers – Times, Post, Daily News, etc and the TV stations. Get journalists to investigate and produce a documentary on the huge racket’s that’s obviously going on.
Daphne – “No, what I will say is the obvious”.
It is also obvious that Malta is minuscule, a factor (besides other parameters), which has been important in determining the ethnology of Malta’s present inhabitants. Refugees will get their rights according to international conventions and refugees will exercise their then legitimate rights. Obvious is also what one encounters in once great Britain, in France and to a certain extent in Germany.
A Haiti in the Mediterranean is possibly not compelled to be exclusively of Afro origin. I have gone through the chores of primarily being a foreigner in a country, which had, and has, its particular problems with foreigners.
Ah! Another one of your underwhelming ‘retorts’. So saucy. When will you ever learn to get out of your sandbox? There’s a real world out there. Why don’t you log on to Twitter?
‘Easter treats isn’t’? Perhaps you should stay in your sandbox until you learn proper language skills. Sigh.
OK Harry Potter D Twit Purdie.
[Daphne – Denis, you’re doing yourself no favours here, and you’re a poor ambassador for your cause. Try to behave with some dignity.]
Denis Catania – I’ll ask you yet again, since you haven’t yet bothered answering, except by trying to divert attention by drawing my husband into the equation simply to try to get at me:
Are you sure of your age?
@NGT
Another point I missed out. You say “Lucky for PN many people thought it was yet another Frendo story.”
Don’t you mean UNlucky? Don’t you think that if those “many people” knew it WAS NOT another Frendo story and therefore had voted for a candidate other than the part-time journalist, the PN would have been spared the situation it finds itself in today?
Mr. Catania,
I see you found your shovel. Keep digging, my little friend.
Daphne,
Please congratulate your son for me. Post grad studies at LSE! One hell of an accomplishment.
[Daphne – Thanks, Harry.]
Ha toqghod inharaq ghax qallek “twit” Dennis? Kultant qisna tfal zaghar. I’m sure Harry (and people similar to him) isn’t so cocky face to face.
[Daphne – He talks just as straight face-to-face. He’s Canadian.]
Dennis Catania: What’re you on? Whatever it is, it sounds like fun. You should pass it around to the doomsayers in your support group.
Easter Peep Denis reminds me of the drumming Energizer Bunny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TBLQQAPS8c&feature=related
Will the emperor ever realise he’s got no clothes on?
Daphne,
Robert Arrigo says publicly:
“The migrant arrivals mainly are young. In time they will age and we will therefore be obliged to give them housing units, social security, jobs and eventually a pension. We will have to take care of them throughout their lifetime. To do so, we must discard our obligations to our real brothers and sisters, the Maltese, and their needs. Had we been living in a state where we are all above average, with no problems, then our intake of immigrants could be seen in a different light. The problem is made grave by the fact that these arrivals compound our state of affairs and replace our workforce, plus I doubt whether they or their employer pay NI contributions or tax”.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090225/letters/immigration-to-be-solved-as-one-nation
[Daphne – Don’t get me started.]
Daphne,
I am not saying ‘that institutions could be bypassed at will’, but as far as I know these people are not coming directly from their own country, with the exception of Libyans and Tunisians(that I don’t see the reason why they are brought to the detention centres, instead of the airport until the first flight comes available), they are crossing over from ‘stable’ North African countries, that like us are responsible for the safety of these human beings. Therefore, as the Italian authorities and vessels are doing(bringing them to Malta), Maltese authorities should send them back to the last country they came from, that is, if it is a safe enough country to do so. Reading the latest news, the latest escapees and uprising culprits were Tunisians, that in my understanding, have no war in their country. I am not an extreemist saying ‘tow them back’, or ‘re-fuel and turn them back’. What I am saying is: ‘Keep them in confined areas until we get to know what the real story is. If they are genuine, we will help them achive their goal which is a better, safer life in Europe(including Malta), but as most of them are not genuine, send them back to the last country they came from.’
Christian: “what I’m saying is…” is more or less what the current policy is. So what is your objection?
I know that this is a long post, but read this article from Foreign Policy magazine ( published by the Washington Post.Newsweek)
Posted on Tuesday, 02.24.09
Hundreds on boat returned to Haiti
An overloaded freighter carrying more than 200 Haitians — 27 of them children — was interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter returned 214 Haitians to their homeland Monday after the migrants were intercepted Friday night in a makeshift sailing freighter just east of Cuba. The freighter contained 27 children — 11 of them infants, said Petty Officer Barry Bena, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman. Friday’s interdiction comes amid a recent spike in Haitian migration to South Florida; January saw a significant increase in migration, with 742 Haitians interdicted at sea, records show.
Lt. Matthew J. Moorlag, a public affairs officer, said that, generally, ”economics, natural disasters, and weather are significant factors in migration.” Moreover, Moorlag said, “there may be an incorrect perception in Haiti and within the South Florida Haitian community that the presidential election would signal an immediate change in policy with regard to returning Haitians back to Haiti.” With 11 infants on board, the freighter represents a departure from typical migration patterns — one of which is a cause for concern among authorities.
LIVES AT RISK
”It’s kind of sad that the situation has gotten to the point where they are risking the lives of small children,” Bena said. “It shows how desperate the situation has become to put children that small in danger.” A Coast Guard cutter on routine patrol, the Pea Island, intercepted the ragtag freighter Friday evening about 23 miles east of Cuba, the Coast Guard said in a prepared statement. The freighter, which had a cobalt-blue wooden hull and a blue mast, was heavily overloaded with 187 adults and 27 children.
”During the rescue, one migrant fell overboard from the sail freighter and was immediately recovered in good condition by Coast Guard smallboat crewmembers,” the release said. No migrants or Coast Guard staff were injured in what proved to be a lengthy effort to move the migrants onto a cutter for their trip to Cap-Haitien, where they were repatriated. Authorities do not know where the vessel originated, Bena said. Aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, which returned the migrants to Haiti, all of the migrants were given food, water and basic medical care before their repatriation. Authorities have no information to suggest the voyage was part of a smuggling operation, said Bena.
The freighter was equipped with one sail and a 75-horsepower engine — the kind one might see attached to a 20-foot pleasure boat. A sailboat can move quickly in the Caribbean, as ”you have strong winds in the area that help guide boats away from the islands,” Bena said. With more than 200 people aboard, the freighter would have been at serious risk of capsizing, Bena said. “In an instant, people can shift and the whole thing capsizes . . . It makes for a really bad situation.”
TOP PRIORITY
Coast Guard Capt. Peter Brown, who heads law enforcement efforts in the region, said protecting migrants from such danger is among the agency’s highest priorities. ”The patrol presence of our cutters off the coast of Haiti continues to prevent the potential loss of life that has occurred too many times when grossly overloaded vessels take to the sea in an attempt to illegally migrate to the United State,” Brown said in a prepared statement. Interdiction efforts ”are as much humanitarian missions as they are border security missions,” Brown added.
[Daphne – The problem with this comparison is immediately obvious. The United States is not part of the European Union. Malta is.]
[Daphne – The problem with this comparison is immediately obvious. The United States is not part of the European Union. Malta is.]
DUH, you’re a genius, istra. But I believe that they still, maybe, have to respect International Law. Come on Daph, you could do better than that.
[Daphne – There’s NO NEED to do better than that. The United States can take a unilateral decision. Malta cannot, nor should it.]
Nope Malta can take a unilateral decision as much as the US, Russia, China and the rest of the UN P5, basic International Relations here. It’s the basis of LEGAL Sovereignty that underpins the modern State system, well at least since 1648, and the Treaty of Westphalia anyway. Take this away, and the whole structure falls down. We, as in, the whole world, might as well go back to Empires and Hegemons. LEGALLY, all states are EQUAL.
[Daphne – You’re wrong. There are consequences for Malta which there are not for the United States. I can jump out of the window. It doesn’t mean that I should.]
Darren, Malta is not even allowed to make a bilateral agreement with Libya on repatriating irregular immigrants. The area of immigration is now within the full competence of the Union, including external relations with third countries on the matter.
[Daphne – You’re wrong. There are consequences for Malta which there are not for the United States. I can jump out of the window. It doesn’t mean that I should.]
You’re wrong again, I’m afraid. Each state that has signed an international treaty has to abide with it. Pacta sunt servanda is the legal term. The lesser consequence for the US would arise from it being a superpower, with the Diplomatic weight it can bring to bear, not because it would be treated differently legally. This is the same as in domestic law. Rich people are treated legally exactly the same as poor people. However rich people can hire the best lawyers, while poor people have to make do with legal aid.
[Daphne – F’gieh kemm hemm, Darren. You really don’t comprehend the significance of being part of the European Union.]
Darren, this is not a race to the bottom. The US can disregard its international oligations all it wants; we should not. What’s worse is that those same politicians who just a few months ago boasted of our international obligations are now jumping on the xenophobic bandwagon.
(As a sidenote, forget Foreign Policy; it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. Try a real journal, for starters.)
Corinne,
It is not the current policy. The current policy is to keep them in an open centre for about 18 months, then they will get the right to stay and work in Malta. On the other hand, if they are kept ‘locked up’ (after all they did break the law by entering a country with no proper documentation), their case is studied, and only if they are genuine cases, they will be given leave to travel in Europe. The only difference is between staying on a 316km² island, and living in a 10,180,000km² continent.
Christian: Current policy is to allow asylum seekers to stay here while their cases are decided. Successful asylum seekers are classed as refugees. Others are granted humanitarian status. Those who do not qualify for either are repatriated. It is the slowness of the process and the mess between both ends to which you object, and not to the policy itself.
R Detra, wrong metaphor, I wouldn’t help a strange dog (in case it bit me and had rabies).
Denis Catania, most sensible thing you’ve said, regarding marshmallow peeps.
Paul Caruana Galizia didn’t make a fool of himself, unless you think standing up for your family is something foolish. I actually think it was rather brave of him to do that with all of Malta watching, but hey some people have their priorities straight.
And the ones classified as refugees stay on the island for good. Someone once mentioned ‘burden sharing’. Some people insist that the original destination is not even Malta, but once they land here, they are snookered with no way out. I also believe that once they are granted refugee status, they should be working a minimum amount of hours, paid for or voluntary, this should help them integrate more easily with the locals, as well as reduce the amount of money claimed in benefits.
See Ranier Fsadni’s analysis
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090226/opinion/the-pariah-strategy-for-immigration