And there’s a big splash in the Mail Online
Published:
July 10, 2013 at 8:02pm
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2359373/Malta-forced-cancel-flights-repatriating-400-Somalian-Eritrean-migrants-human-rights-court-order.html
It gets more embarrassing, doesn’t it? All we need now is one in The Sun.
TOP READERS’ COMMENT:
Poor Malta. It is a tiny island and these economic migrants really don’t care about how adversely they affect it – all they want is to get to mainland Europe. Sending them back is the only way to stem the tide
– Tess Essex, East of England, 10/7/2013 15:11
It’s the Enoch Powell “River of Blood” syndrome. (See Daphne’s earlier post this month).
In Malta we say: ‘Jekk trewwaq il-ġamar, in-nar jieħu’. It roughly translates into: if you fan smouldering coal, sure enough you’ll get a fire.
You know what’s depressing? How all the comments from the UK are every bit as xenophobic and racist as those on local websites. Are the majority of human beings really that callous?
The Daily Mail is tne natural habitat of right wing middle England
Because they suffered enough in the UK and I can see their point.
Yeah, really? They’re suffering from the immigrants?
Dimwit, they’re suffering from the incredible greed of their bankers. All white, mind you.
Long hospital waiting lists. Not enough school places. One has to wait days to see the GP unlike 20 years ago.
Go and speak to white English people in some areas in the UK, such as Bradford, Luton, Tower Hamlets, Birmingham and you will what they say about immigration, especially from Muslim countries. You forgot the riots two years ago.
They are suffering from greedy bankers too, especially pensioners.
“They are suffering from greedy bankers too, especially pensioners.”
Bonnici, do you mean greedy pensioner bankers?
The way I see it, unfortunately, it is so. Xenophobia and racism are on the increase the world over.
I also sense that most people only pay lip service and are not effectively fighting these ugly monsters.
It is why Malta, at such a worrying time, needed a mature and a true statesman like Dr Gonzi and not the inept and futile JosephPL.
However, unfortunately, I also believe that one of the main reasons Dr Gonzi lost this election was precisely because he truly opposes racism and is a real man for all seasons.
I hope I am wrong, but my intuition also warns that Malta will again be facing some very difficult and violent times.
@ Catsrbest: “One of the main reasons Dr Gonzi lost this election was precisely because he truly opposes racism…”
Forget it please. He didn’t lose the election mainly because of immigration.
Have we all forgotten the fuss that JosephPL in opposition made (and rightly so) when a number of Somalis and Eritreans were summarily flown back to their countries. We were all shocked then because they were flown to sure torture and possibly death!
And what do we have now? The same thing except that this time NGOs acted in time to stop it. It’s no consolation for JM-PL to say “you did it too”. As a politician and now head of government he should have learnt the lesson and avoided this negative (and shameful) international on our country.
During the PN administration we have come to tolerate (if not accept) the immigrants among us. This does not mean we didn’t have the occasional bout of racist ferment (Norman Lowell’s speeches and a Labour MP suggesting ‘apartheid’ transport on the B’Bugia line, etc)
But overall the population followed the official line towards immigration. Partly because of some positive signs of burden-sharing and partly because we could see many of them interacting with us in a civilised manner (plus other economic benefits) we generally supported the PN’s handling of the situation.
With the current ‘change in direction’, when barely 4 months in office, this government has stirred the old phobias and dormant hatred of black immigrants. It is good to ask ourselves why this issue has been raised now. Of course, only time can, if ever, tell.
To me it seems so significant that only a couple of days before JM took his drastic (and risky) position, Lino Spiteri, after expounding on the humanitarian aspects of the issue, has thought fit to recall and applaud Mintoff’s stand at the Helsinki Conference on European Security.
Speculation as to the reason for JM’s action is of course rife. Some suggest that, short in delivering on his promises, this government is simply playing macho with us locals to prove his ‘worth’. Others believe that it is all made up to deflect local and international attention from the Dalligate affair. There may be other other reasons but let’s stick to the most plausible.
Talking of Dalligate: incidentally both Lino Spiteri and Dalli, though on opposite (political) sides, both hail from Qormi and they should know each other quite well, having both served as consultants to the Tumas Fenech Group (of companies).
Besides having an influential pen that has covered most ‘angles’, Lino Spiteri is also a sly (in the sense of mature, of course) politician. Having served as minister both under Mintoff and Sant, no one should be surprised if JM makes use of his ‘consultancy services’ too.
Whatever it is that pushed JM to this limit (he wouldn’t face the journalists himself after his meeting with J Dalli because he was contemplating his next bigger move), pardon me this digression. My point is I don’t believe Gonzi lost the election because of his immigration policy.
The reason for the revival of this xenophobic and racist discourse and behaviour is because, as the Maltese saying goes, “Jekk trewwaħ il-ġamar, tqabbad ħuġġieġa”.
Also, if they’re from Essex, you can safely discount their opinion. Just an example – remember that “lion” that caused a panic in Essex last year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-19397686
Yes, its innate. Only those who have strong morals and values manage to overcome it.
Browse the NewsNow website for an array of articles on the subject: http://newsnow.co.uk/h/Current+Affairs/Immigration
Read the headline:
MALTA was forced to cancel the flights not Joseph.
Of course Joseph Muscat represents Malta. His actions are our actions.
We will soon have some idiots stating that this is good publicity for Malta and our tourism sector… On that note, what is Karmenu Vella up to?
@ Paul Bonnici
You don’t have to live in England to know what is going on there mate. I was in Luton last April and I was one of a few whites there on a Sunday afternoon. But I didn’t feel threatened.
Bradford is like being in Pakistan same as Slough. Birmingham is all Chinese. Whose fault is it? You enlighten me.
These foreigners end up doing all the work which the normal English gentleman runs away from. Same thing is happening in Malta. Kicking them out now is not the solution and never will be.
I wonder what Tony Zarb feelings are right now . He has so much il- haddiem at heart . Perhaps he could get them members of same union? That would lift him a bit from the abyss he is in .