Pope Francis in Lampedusa
Published:
July 8, 2013 at 9:43pm
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This journey of Pope Francis is touching.
He wanted to show solidarity with the poor Africans, so he went to Lampedusa, the very point where they reach European land after their dangerous journey.
Now contrast that with John Dalli. He too says he wants to help the poor people of Africa, but instead he went to a villa in the Bahamas on board of a private jet.
I have just heard today an interview by a Greek Minister on BBC repeating what the Maltese PM and two Maltese bishops have stated, appealing for help for his country from the European Union.
Are they all racists?
Now the Pope, who no one accuses of being a racist, spoke in the same vein of the globalization of indifference to this crisis. The Pope spoke of the Christian humanitarian perspective. Politicians have to deal with the effect of immigration on the resources and the security of the country.
Most rational Maltese of all political hues are not racist. At the same time they are not in favour of illegal immigration as we all know that this is a strain on our limited resources.
[Daphne – People always say that African refugees will be a ‘strain on our resources’, but they never explain how and why, or how, once they are in Malta and working, they are more of a strain on our resources than, say, a Spanish waiter with full freedom of movement. So will you please try explaining it to me yourself, because I am at a loss.]
David, it takes an unusually vivid imagination to state that the Pope and Joseph Muscat speak “in the same vein”.
Actually, and unfortunately, most Maltese ARE racist. They – we? – have always been but the last few years have brought out the ħdura.
You’d be surprised at who is racist. Quite respectable people who appear to think that they can get away with saying the most horrible things about persons whom they do not know from Adam.
Racism is judging somebody and behaving in a certain way towards to somebody simply because of the colour of his/her skin. Would you still say that most Maltese are not racist?
I always liked the following definition of racism – that it is the lazy and stupid man’s way of judging otherwise. A short cut, so to speak.
That man is black so he’s garbage (as Norman Lowell says); that one is white, so he’s perfect. A racist couldn’t be bothered to get to know a person and judge him/her on merit. Maybe because said racist might then realise that he is not as superior as he thinks he is.
Josette, an interesting comment.
Back in 1992, I came to Malta to search for investment opportunities. I was living in Switzerland at the time. I asked a very close friend to come with me. He asked, ‘Where are we going?’ I said ‘Malta’. He replied, ‘No way, they have a problem with blacks, I would not be accepted’.
I am very happy he didn’t come. Over 20 years later, it appears the situation is becoming worse.
My friend is now deceased. However his wisdom and words are now playing out, before our eyes, as this government entrenches itself in racism.
Maltese racists are pitiful. If they stepped outside their mountain village mentality they’d see that they themselves are seen as black garbage by people elsewhere.
“Most rational Maltese of all political hues are not racist”.
Actually, all rational Maltese are not racist. The problem is that most Maltese people are not rational.
We (read the European colonisers) did not see them as a burden or strain when we plundered their natural resources, did we now?
Actually, I will have to respectfully disagree. From the colonisers’ view, the Maltese were part of the peoples being plundered (if we had resources to be plundered).
Daphne, if you ask the British they will tell your about the strain on their resources. It will be even worse in Malta. I live in London, 30 years ago you could get a GP appointment on the same day, in some places you have to wait one week. Hospitals are packed and the standard of medical treatment and moral have gone down dramatically.
I was recently at St Thomas hospital, my local hospital, the corridors were packed with people, most of them wearing Muslim clothing, Africans (not UK born) and Eastern Europeans – I can tell an Eastern European from miles away. To make things worse, the government is closing down some A&E departments all over the UK.
[Daphne – The doctors and nurses are immigrants too. What would they do without them. If Britain were to pull out of the EU, and cast out all non-British EU citizens and all other immigrants, its economy would collapse. Britain became a strong economy on the back of immigration. And it became a strong culture on the back of immigration too. Social cultures which are resistant to the absorption of ‘alien’ influences become fossilised. In any case, you yourself are a Maltese immigrant to the UK. You didn’t go there under freedom of movement as an EU citizen, but decades ago as a proper immigrant. ]
Were will these people live? Is there space in our main hospital? Do we have jobs for hundreds of immigrants? If they don’t work who hsaqll feed them? Besides I don’t think there are many Spanish waiters.
[Daphne – Where will these people live? They will work and pay rent, like everyone else. Within a generation they’ll be well on their way. If all those Maltese who went to Australia in the 1950s and lived literally in corrugated huts with dirt floors, no lavatory (they used a bucket and buried the contents in holes around the hut) and one communal tap in settlement camps could do it, why not anyone else?
Is there space in our hospital? I wouldn’t worry about that. 500 million people with EU passports have freedom of movement in Malta, and we’re not worrying about them, are we.
Do we have jobs for hundreds of immigrants? Yes, because there are hundreds of jobs Maltese people will not do, which is why everywhere you look, those jobs are filled by immigrants. if there were no immigrants readily available, then we would have to import some.
If they don’t work, who shall feed them? They’ll work, because they’re not Maltese and have no understanding of a culture in which food is not directly related to work, or in which you can sit about all day getting your nails gelled while the government sends you a cheque through the post.
If you don’t think there are many Spanish waiters, you don’t go out much. And not just Spanish, but a whole lot of other countries too.]
Is this David Farrugia? it certainly sounds like him.
Why are you worried about hospital space? Most migrants are young, fit and healthy. I would add that they are generally healthier than your average Maltese Joey.
‘Do we have jobs for these people?
Are you serious? They’re better at everything they’re employed to do, mainly because they usually come with a higher level of education than the Maltese, civilised, multilingual and willing to work.
I’ve seen employers who took them on, at times initially sceptical and intent on giving them the most menial of tasks, they won’t let them go now.
And it’s always the best companies in their field, contracting, catering, retail. It’s the usual ‘workers’ who won’t lift an extra finger or diversify their skills who feel threatened.
But then, isn’t this what Labour’s after? Create another worker’s paradise where change, diversity, innovation and the will to beat the odds become taboo.
Has anyone in this country realised what an utter contradiction it is for the traditional, albeit distorted, left to allow a vile anti-semite to infiltrate its agenda?
Muscat used to call his movement dak tal-moderati u progressivi. How is it no one bats an eyelid at this degree of degeneration in spirit?
Labour’s mafiosita’ is on the rise, what we’re seeing is no different to the incidents provoked by the Camorra in the Salernitano.
They will allow these people in to dilute rights and employment conditions, only to have them kicked out when it’s convenient.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King.
Oh, I thought you were quoting from Labour’s electoral campaign video.
As Pope Francis refers in his homily to God’s earliest words in human history: “Adam, where are you?” “Where is your brother?”
http://www.romereports.com/palio/popes-mass-in-lampedusa-dont-give-into-the-globalization-of-indifference-english-10486.html/
I would ask the Pope to lead by example by burden sharing.The Vatican state employs thousands of workers like Swiss guards,cleaners,builders,cooks in convents,limousine drivers for the cardinals and their staff,public convenience attendants,road construction,restoration projects just to name a few which can be easily done by these illegal immigrants which will help these people finding a good job and a house to live…and finally will integrate themselves in Vatican state for a better future…and will live happily everafter.
[Daphne – The typically stupid argument of an irrational Maltese person. If only people who can’t think rationally were to be deprived of, say, the vote, and not given it back until they pass basic logic tests, Malta would have been such a better place.]
@Doris – the population of the Vatican as at June 2012 was 836. It s total land area is 44 ha. Your irrational hysterical response is so devoid of meaning … oh why am I bothering.
Doris, this is a stupid argument which I’m getting quite fed up of hearing. Why doesn’t the Vatican take some immigrants? Why doesn’t it sell some Bernini’s? Why doesn’t it donate some money to Malta to support immigrants?
The Vatican is the world’s smallest country. Instead it makes up for it by having branches worldwide which help immigrants, including the Jesuits in Malta.
It sends out many missionaries to these immigrants’ countries to help out with basic things and start discussions with governments to ameliorate matters. The Pope is also a politician urging other leaders to follow his lead.
The Church is the world’s biggest charity; it organizes collections and donates money where needed.
So although there are no irregular migrants living in the Vatican, believe me the Church makes up for it grandiosely.
I think that when Pope Francis was speaking to Joseph Muscat, they were on different frequencies.
A petition is going around Facebook. Do the people who signed it even know the definition of the word PLAGUED?
Well if they don’t they can see this: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plague
This is what the petition says:
”Malta has been plagued over the past years by a massive influx of illegal migrants, who are reaching our shores now at a very alarming rate. Whist we as Maltese understand the situation of these people, and we respect them as individuals and are willing to lend an open hand in order to support them and help them, we are feeling that Europe is not doing anything to protect Malta from this invasion.
We as Maltese, although we accept other cultures, feel threatened that traditional way of life and culture are being compromised for future generations. The influx is so massive that eventually these cultures, which have a totally different way of life than ours, will take over. We are already seeing this happen in other countries, and we do not want to follow suit.
Our prime minister today has made a formal appeal to Mr Von Rompuy, and we as Maltese support him in his plight as we believe as it is first and foremost in the interest of our nation.”
This is so sweet.
“We as Maltese, although we accept other cultures, feel threatened that traditional way of life and culture are being compromised for future generations. The influx is so massive that eventually these cultures, which have a totally different way of life than ours, will take over.”
And what about being taken over by western culture? Is same sex marriage, divorce, abortion, cohabitation, anti-Catholic attitudes, liberalism, materialism etc. a demonstration of our so dear cultural heritage?
Or “inzeffnu kif jaqblilna?”
If our traditional culture is a Christian one, then it’s not threatened, it disappeared a long time ago, the minute we were called to put it into practice. We Maltese used to think we were holier than the Pope. This Pope is certainly proving us wrong.
Immigration and multiculturalism in the UK is not working. You remember the riots of 2 years ago?
30 years ago there were hardly any mosques in the UK, now it is full of mosques.
Go to Tower Hamlets in London and tell the ethnic English to let more immigrants in.
[Daphne – It clearly IS working, Paul, because Maltese as you are, you feel that Britain is sufficiently yours and that you are sufficiently British to complain about the presence of other, dastardly immigrants who are ruining your patch.]
The pope was wasting his time going to Lampedusa if he was trying to reach to immigrants, these are mostly Muslim.
When Islam gains more ground in Europe, the Vatican will be turned into a Mosque. We wont see this in our lifetime but it will happen at the pace of immigration.
[Daphne – You miss the point, Paul, and catastrophically so. He didn’t go there to preach to his flock. He went there to draw attention to their plight, and it doesn’t interest him – as it shouldn’t – whether they are Muslim or Catholic. All that concerns him is that they are human.]
All this fear and for what … the three great religions have existed on our doorstep for thousands of years. The threat to Christianity, Catholicism and the Vatican does not come from external factors but from internal ones – both Christians who no longer see the Church’s relevance today and Christians who forget that the basis of our religion was supposed to be tolerance; Maltese Christians who by the way probably attend mass every week repeating a lot of words by rote and not paying any attention that what they are saying diverges completely from their words and actions in their everyday life.
This Pope is trying to show us what it truly means to be a Christian, something which racism and xenophobia and pure egoism seem to have made us forget. To be honest if we are going to abandon that which is supposed to truly distinguish us as Christians, then why should I care if the Vatican were turned into a mosque? The Vatican is a symbol; if it starts to represent the vacuum which most of our home-grown racists have in their soul, then it will have lost all its relevance.
“But if the EU won’t budge and accept a mandatory burden-sharing, then other measures will be taken, including a humane push-back policy !” (Eddie Privitera)
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-07-09/news/afm-intercepts-group-of-102-migrants-2023686144/
Is this Labour’s latest spin on the subject? Humane push-back?
In the mid 70s we had been invaded by many North Africans – mostly Libyans who not only remained here but many of them married Maltese girls. The great majority – or better still the absolute majority of Arabs are Muslims, and when marrying Maltese girls they insist that their wives change their religion.
In the case of African immigrants, albeit there are those who are Muslims, there are more than a good number of Christians amongst them, thus professing our own religion.
Having stated the above I want to say that I have worked in two Libyan-owned factories in the past and I had always had very good relations with the Arabs both in Libya and in Malta.