I’m waiting for the first person to say that Malta is too small for these immigrants, that they are taking our resources and invading our culture
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August 8, 2013 at 1:45pm
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Malta is too small for these immigrants. They are taking our alcoholic resources and invading our splendid culture.
Push that boat out to international waters including the locals who joined the party. Keep them there until their supply of vodka runs out for a day or two. That might change their mind about the harsh life on a boat.
I’m pretty sure there are Maltese people in that film, with the pushback mentality.
Alcoholic resources, invading our splended culture…. what is wrong with you? Are you such a prude that you never went on a boat party. This was simple fun and now its turned to this debate. Do me a favour and go back to the hole from where you came from and enjoy the obviously depressing life you are leading.
[Daphne – Oh good grief, another Nordic with no sense of humour or irony. Shoults, ‘dutchie’ (as the name might indicate) doesn’t live or work in Malta. S/he is Maltese, ‘taking the jobs of the Dutch’ in the Netherlands. And his/her comment is IRONIC. Please find somebody to explain that in English you can communicate your contempt for a particular opinion by saying what seems to be the precise opposite. This is one such example: “Oh there go those Swede taking our alcoholic resources”, meaning “I don’t think anyone is taking ‘our’ resources, but it’s funny that the Maltese who think Africans are doing so don’t say the same thing about Scandinavians.” Look, I couldn’t be bothered trying to explain further. This is a cultural/linguistic problem. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7801047/Globish-How-English-Became-the-Worlds-Language-by-Robert-McCrum-review.html ]
I’m glad you replied, Daphne. I would like to personally thank you for showing the world that the legal immigration system works.
We have accepted people from all over the world who do it LEGALLY.
I for one wish for those people coming on these boats a safe journey and hopefully a better future from the one they are running from however implying that a simple boat party is the same as accepting this people is beyond me.
I have read some of your pieces and honestly thought a person like you would have more brains but thank you for proving me wrong in my previous comment.
I don’t need this to realise how pathetic many Maltese are. But I think one should distinguish clearly between legal and illegal immigration.
Who tells you that most Maltese are objecting because it is ILLEGAL immigration?
It’s just the colour and the race they are objecting to. If it were not so they wouldn’t be also objecting to those who are adopting children from African and Asian countries.
you my friend are COMPLETELY RIGHT, its just stupid fools who cant imagine to put themselves in their shoes- under such terrible conditions- and imagine if the same thing would happen to Malta and there was noo way out, WE TOO would receive the same labelling as them if we fled our country
Oh, the racists have no problem with sexy blondes who are in Malta without a visa or work permit.
Yes, because Somalia’s affairs are so well in order, everyone who applies gets a bio-metric passport the next day. In fact it’s so groovy at the moment that it’s only outdone by Libya, whose civil war has stabilized the country immensely.
It’s regular and irregular Mr. Fenech.
So much so that if they are granted asylum they then become legal immigrants, whilst if they are not granted asylum, they are sent back to their country.
Who tells you that these are legal immigrants? We have plenty of blondes who come from outside the EU, without a visa or a work permit.
Even worse, we have quite a few who are trafficked but the police have become very adept at ignoring the issue as they do not want to get on the wrong side of their “protectors”.
Pushback the males on board…keep the females :)
Let’s use the Rinella cannon and our egg-shaped police minister as ammo.
I’ve just heard the news on Radio Rai3 where an item referred to a state ceremony commemorating the death of over a 100 Italians in a BELGIAN coalmine tragedy some 60 years ago. This happened in the late 50s and although there were other nationalities involved the majority were Italian.
In her speech Mrs Boldrini, a Minister, referred to the African immigrants reaching Lampedusa saying that the look in the eyes of the African immigrants IS THE SAME as the look of Italian immigrants on reaching other European destinations in search of a better life back then.
Like the Italians we too know what emigration means. Probably every family in Malta has a relative who was/is an immigrant in other parts of the world. The look in THEIR eyes must have been the same as that of the Italians on reaching another, foreign destination. Similarly today with the look in the eyes of African immigrants reaching our and others’ shores.
This is the difference between a government and another, between a people, a culture, and another. And our government has the nerve to label itself socialist, liberal and progressive when all it does, when faced with a challenge, is throw a tantrum as if the whole world is falling on it.
I say this because, even outside the immigration issue, all they have done so far is finding excuses to blame the previous administration without doing anything to tackle the problems they have been elected to solve.
The biggest problem with the kind of immigration we’re facing is jobs. I don’t mean the sort of dirty jobs only immigrants would settle for, but proper dignified jobs. That’s an essential first step for any immigrant to integrate into society and Malta cannot create these jobs out of thin air. I don’t think the “keep all the immigrants at all costs” camp really gets this.
I can just imagine the number of S.T.Ds on that boat, jaqq.
You take an S.T.D if you’re not careful, how about when you’re at the hospital in the same room with around 20 immigrants who just arrived in our country with all their diseases waiting for the doctor to cure them? Which btw they can be transmitted just by staying near them.
Those diseases you should be scared of no the ones on that boat party ..
We have diseases that can be transmitted through drops in the air, STD, and they weren’t introduced to Malta by irregular immigrants. I can be in any public place and become infected.
In fact, I worked with a person who had active pulmonary TB for a number of years who kept it to herself although it was infectious. I was more in danger of catching it then and from a fellow Maltese than I am of catching something from immigrants now.
So I advise you to be careful, ma tmurx (Alla jhares qatt) tigi infettat minn siehbek fuq ix-xoghol jew xi mara/ragel li terda fuq il-‘boat party’ u twahhal fl-immigranti li tiltaqa maghhom l-isptar.
The ignorance of this comment and many others stated above is ridiculous. sort your heads out and your facts!
You are shallow minded!
I think you meant ‘narrow-minded’, shallow-minded would be the exact opposite of a person worried about S.T.Ds.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up.
I’m sure you haven’t paid a single cent for us to go to that boat party (unlike the illegal immigrant who are coming here weekly). So you cant compare us (the ones who were on that boat party) with these immigrants.
I’m not being racist, But something has to be done to solve this immigration problem.
I’m sure you haven’t paid a single cent for us to go to that boat party (unlike the illegal immigrant who are coming here weekly). So you cant compare us (the ones who were on that boat party) with these immigrants.
I’m not being racist, But something has to be done to solve this immigration problem.
Bil-garanzija illi li kieku tithol dingy wahda fil-gimgha li tkun gejja mil-Libja (bla ebda dukumenti fuqhom) mimlijin tfajliet ta’ bejn 20-30 sena, hadd ma jghaddi kumment wiehed kontrihom.
Anzi, kulhadd jigri bid-dghajsa tieghu biex jghinu lis-suldati.
Oh come now you are being Racist against White People by saying they are full of STDs on the boat etc that is a Boat Party every year is organised and I go to it and this year I will go to it too.. Its just Maltese, tourists and students from European Union countries in it having a blast, enjoying a drink and socialising !!! Arent you against tourism now ??? BTW before you start throwing insults at me I AM MALTESE ! :D
Nordics! Kemm ma niflahkomx! Not just excessively naïve and brainwashed, but their attitude towards southerners verges on ‘racism’ (some do in fact consider Mediterranean people to be another race).
—here we have another person who loves to generalize! what a surprise!
I have many friends from Scandinavian countries and what you just stated about their mentality is UTTER BULLSHIT
Well, stereotyping is what they do best. You mention an Italian to them and ‘mafia’ comes to mind.
Of course I’m generalising. I myself worked with Scandinavians for a number of years.
Well that, my friend, is because you all speak so much about matters of which you know nothing about. How would you know that “nordics” are naive and brainwashed? Are you sure you are not the brainwashed ones? Think about it babe.
Forgive him. He misses the Golden Years of the USSR.
There is a difference between tourists and immigrants. Tourists enter Malta legally and help our economy. The large influx of illegal immigrants we have had recently in Malta is a severe strain on our resources.
[Daphne – David the Unimaginative Pedant. I was wondering when you were going to pop up in this debate. Those are not tourists. Those are people from the Nordic countries, who live and work in Malta.]
Daphne please ! Who and what gave you the idea of who are these people? That reply doesn’t even make sense. These events are a huge hit with young tourists visiting Malta and even maltese people. Please don’t try giving comments on events who get attended by mostly young people, because clearly you have no idea !
[Daphne – ‘Clearly you have no idea’. There speaks somebody who thinks boat parties, summer, alcohol and the seasonal influx of foreign flesh were invented in 2013. Oh dear. I have some 30-year-old photographs – sadly not digital – which bear a stunning resemblance to that video. The weird thing is that even clothes look the same.]
Nordic is a bar in Paceville. I didn’t know their boat parties were exclusive to Nordic people though …
Then you didn’t really watch the video. I’d say half are Maltese. You can tell from the accent.
Of course they are not…. at least half of the people on the boat are Maltese…
Sorry to those who don’t agree, but comparing a boat party to immigrants, and especially in the way who wrote this article did is just mind blowingly stupid!
This isna boat party, which i paid for to attend out of my money in which i did not put a burden to anyone else, in which i just had fun and enjoyed myself, i did not invade anyone’s space, expect anyone’s healthcare cause of my deseases nor expected anyone to harbour me for free or throw away my identity to be forced down a country’s throat and live upon the genorosity of the people living in that country.
I am not a racist, who is here without permit should be treated the same. But, the ammount of immigrants is just insane in Malta, one who uses Arriva around Marsa, Msida, Gzira, Qawra amongst others will surely clarify this.
I don’t want to argue about what’s right or wrong cause everyone has opinions and then there are always extremists, BUT, comparing a boat party for young people just having a blast and enjoying summer to immagration just shouldn’t be done if the writer wants to be taken seriously. At least that’s my 2c, maybe we should all pool in for the writer and get her a free ticket, if she doesn’t like it she can jump off and swim it back (i bet it will be a first hand illegal immigrant experience).
Take care everyone :)
You don’t want to argue what is right or wrong because everyone has opinions? What kind of an argument is that.
If I have an opinion and I am convinced of it then I will argue it/ Otherwise what kind of a person would I be? If I feel something is wrong, then I will fight it. Your kind of argumentation is for the lily livered.
Your attitude is that of supposedly good people who sit by while atrocities are happening. With hindsight they condemn what happened but do not acknowledge that they too were responsible.
That was the behaviour which made Hitler’s Germany, Pinochet’s Chile, Stalin’s Soviet Union … the blights which they are on human history.
And 1. why suddenly all this fuss about the number of migrants, when they have actually decreased overall?
2. The fact that you are here legally does not mean that you are not a burden – unfortunately, quite a few of our fellow Maltese are burdens on society and have no intention of becoming productive members of it and 3. you do realise that those migrants who have a job – which is a good number of them – are paying taxes don’t you?
Aghmilli pjaċir, jekk tara biss sal-ponta ta’ mnieħrek, aħjar ma tagħtix it-2 cents tiegħek. Għax dawk it-2 cents lanqas daqshekk ma jiswew,
Chill out man, ya talking like a bumbaclat.
Watch the link below and see the true word of Zion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eylmlEdsDw
Maltese people partying with the people from another culture , one love.
True, boat parties are doing a good job of bringing people together from all races.
Maltese men in general can’t understand why Maltese girls attend these events and to mix with men from different cultures and form relationships. This has a lot to do with why people become racist in Malta.
There are lots of immigrants everywhere. You just happen to notice – and resent – the ones who are black.
dawk gew .. hallew qabda flus u jonfqu kem jifilhu…
dawn l-istudenti jkunu l-peak tat-turismu ta’ Malta fis-sajf apparti li jhalsu mijjiet al korsijit tahhom u jiggeneraw xoghol al Maltin fi skejjel tal-ingliz /hotels.
u ma gewx ILLEGALMENT !
Stennejt ragunar ahjar minghandek.
Lli kieku minflok Somali u Eritrej kienu nies Cinizi x’kien jghid Muscat? Ma nahsibx li kien juza’ l-pushbacks.
Kien jara kif ser jakkomodhom u jaghtihom l-akbar trattament ghax ‘kull qalb trid ohra’.
Aren’t these people first of all called tourists??? They enjoy themselves and enlarge our economy and many jobs are tourism dependent.. The more tourists the better.. More hotels more restaurants more nightclubs.. More jobs and a better economic situation for everyone..
On the other hand illegal immigrants crunch on our economy on our restricted land.. Get priority service on our health service .. And the only people I got to know that benefit from these people are local mobile networks and dirty illegal prostitutes and their bar pimps in Gzira and marsa
Who said that these people are immigrants most the people in that video are maltese.. Why would immigrants want to party on a boat, how would they even know about it.. this video is being used for the wrong advertisement.. lets face it.. you gives a shit about the immigrants on the boat.. are they harming you? are they annoying you.. no. all parts of the story these people aren’t doing anything to you.. I am not saying that they actually are immigrants on that boat… but stop being a cunt
Come on Daphne put the money where your mouth is. And i think you shouldnt bother if an open center is opened in your backyard.
[Daphne – No, I wouldn’t bother at all. And it would be infinitely preferable to a housing estate full of brain-dead, loud and crass Mintoffjani.]
Wow,
How ignorant and self absorbed can you be?
I am one of many immigrants working in a betting company here in beautiful Malta.
It’s quite astonishing how some Maltese can be so ignorant. Please look up on how much these immigrants contribute to your country.
Just the Betting business is over 15% of your GDP, mostly which is income from abroad. All these people who work with this pay taxes here and spend there money here.
If there wasn’t for these immigrants Malta would be much worse off than Italy, Spain or Greece.
We even pay 30-50% more for electricity, water, bus-fairs and internet. Which is actually illegal according to EU-laws.
Kick us all out and you will go back to the stoneage.
Malta is one of Europes most racist country. Where is your empathy Daphne?
[Daphne – You know, Mark, the inability of many Scandinavians and Germans (and even not particularly well educated Britons) to understand irony is legendary. There is absolutely no need to write in here to prove this true. I never for a moment said that Scandinavians are taking Maltese jobs. If you were a regular reader, you would understand that I am all for open borders and an open economy. My point, which apparently has to be spelled out to some ‘Nordics’ just as it has to be spelled out to some Maltese, is that it is strange how those Maltese protesting about Africans taking their jobs do not protest about Scandinavians taking their jobs, which means that it is not about jobs but about racism. I hope this is sufficiently clear. I am not Scandinavian or German or a certain kind of Briton (or even particularly Maltese in thinking and outlook), so don’t expect me to be relentlessly literal.]
This is totally off point but what amazes me is that for example when a British man comes to Malta to do a job they usually pay him more because hes ”foreigner” and he must be incredibly tremendous at his job because he is a foreigner and yet probably a Maltese who is just as capable gets paid far less. Malta’s Logic.
Well Miss, here is a fact for you. Without these immigrants Malta would be in the exact financial crisis as Greece, we have also provided over 5000 workspaces for the Maltese people who we also give the same salery as we do get our self. We also use insane amounts of money in this country, in restaurants, shopping and the nightlife. And last but not not least, the taxes we pay here as well that you as MAltese benefit alot more from than we scandinavians do. So what i am trying to is that you need to look at the facts before you post a message like this.
[Daphne – You’re picking your fight with the wrong girl, Jay, because you haven’t understood a thing. And married women are Mrs, not Miss.]
Regarding the post , that We the immigrants are taking your jobs . Did it crossed your mind that maybe …. YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED for those jobs? Maybe your are not THAT SMART ? . The JOBS where there and will always be there , why didn’t you apply for them?? Because you are not qualified !!!!
Next time you want to make a comment regarding Immigrants , it should be About THANKING US , for raising your economy up , and coming here in the first while .
:)
When someone has the need to state “I’m not a racist” he probably is. Just like when someone says “It’s not about the money,” it usually is.
To be fair, most of those are actually Maltese
Before you judge the people on this boat, I think you should think about all the locals you just insulted. They just had a release from a stressful week on a Saturday morning with people they like staying with. Not only is it prejudice, but insulting! This has nothing to do with illegal immigration so you’re are completely out of context!! I’d get your facts straight before you start blogging bullshit!
[Daphne – I’d get my intelligence quotient examined if I were you, Andrew. The post is not about a boat party. You embarrass yourself with your pubic declaration that you haven’t worked out something so very obvious. Also, your communication skills are those of a 14-year-old. I wouldn’t advertise that, either.]
Is it all right for former Soviet bloc women to come to Malta and overstay their visa because Economy Minister Chris Cardona likes their shows in Paceville?
We are all the same! Some spending money and some seeking help …if u disagree with the boatparty disagree with being human its fun and comparison to immigrants is stupid! Also there aint diffrence to white and black! Wake up! Please OIM!
[Daphne – How distressing to think that this person is old enough to drink, but still can neither think nor communicate.]
You know at your age going out to dinner would be a highlight of your year, at our age going out and drinking, listening to music and meeting out friends is our highlight of the week after a week at work we can do what we want over the weekend. Who are you to judge us ?? Who do you think you are to call us immigrants when we are 100% Maltese if you think we don’t belong here see how many people want us to leave this island and see how many people want you to leave. I guarantee more people want us to stay, you think you have a right to mention any Maltese in that video …. Why don’t you wright about something interesting? Why don’t you wright about something that is true and you have hard facts. This just goes to show how you never had fun when you where young, and have nothing better to do now that you are old. Get off your high horse and wright something true for once in your life. This is ridiculous, just cause we have fun on a boat.
Look forward to your answer if you even read any of the comments that are posted, not just start up shit and ignore everyone that actually comment.
[Daphne – Here is my answer: you clearly do not have sufficient intelligence or linguistic skills (wright?) to understand what that post is about. It is not about criticism of the boat party. Boat parties never bothered me and they never will – we are in Malta, after all, surrounded by sea. I couldn’t care less if you want to drink on a large hired boat, though I am thoroughly astonished that 30 years on, people haven’t found anything different to do to what my friends and I did circa 1983, though the world and Malta have moved on with a great deal more variety. This post was about the fact that not all immigrants to Malta are Africans, and that very many of them are from Northern Europe. So if Malta is too small for Africans who ‘take our resources’, why are the same people not saying the same thing about people from Scandinavia. If a person bases his argument not on legality or illegality or on EU/non EU, but on size and resources, then he has to apply it across the board. Oh, and a word to the wise: you’ll be 48 before you know it. The important thing is that you notice it’s happened, which is sometimes difficult because it happens so quickly (yes, it does). You could all too easily not do so, and find yourself ‘grooving’ at Marraskesh like a Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and the Law Commissioner.]
Drunk and debauched – I love it :)
I’m so sick of people using the ‘racist’ card. brings back memories of what has happened to the poor U.K…now it’s starting here. I am not opposed to people of different races landing on our island, it’s just that the moment we joined the EU, these people have found their way to Malta more frequently. I strongly believe that the people who really need help are still stuck in their country…survival of the fittest (financially) you could say. The ‘good doers’ are the ones to blame. Mark my words…alot of you are feeling sorry for them now, but you will regret the day you ever did.
Scandinavian companies and the people including Maltese working in them pay taxes which all Maltese benefits from in the end. WE
Immigrants comes to Malta
Not just that they spend so much money here too, in store and all the flats they are living in. Also there are so many Scandinavian companies in Malta which give more job oppertunties for Maltese with higher pays. I for one work at one and I’m Maltese. So dont compare illegal ones to illegal ones. I have nothing against illegal immigrates, but trying to compare them is ridiculous.
[Daphne – Any African person working in Malta is by definition not an ‘illegal immigrant’, Tina. ]
yes I do know that, I dont have a problem with it what so ever. Seems like you enjoy making arguments to me.
[Daphne – Well, Tina, that IS the point of a website like this and the job of a newspaper columnist.]
Scandinavian companies and the people including Maltese working in them pay taxes which all Maltese benefits from in the end. We can remove all these Scandinavian companies and send them back to where ever they belong and then you and the Maltese people can say good bye to a huge amount of taxes being paid every year to the Maltese government.
Immigrants comes to Malta because they forced to. I am sure that if they had the choice between Malta and other countries, they would not chose Malta as they by now must have heard how selfish Maltese people can be.
I hope that one day all these Maltese people will end up in the same situation as them, so they can finally understand that its not about the color of a person or where they come from, but about being able to help each other regardless of the situation.
Ps. stop complaining about young people having fun on boat parties etc. You don’t hear us complaining about your parties.
[Daphne – Michael, nobody gives a damn about your boat parties. They look to me practically identical to the boat parties of 1983. Even the boat itself appears to be the very same one. This is not about the boat party. This is about Maltese people complaining about Africans taking their jobs (jobs nobody else wants) when they do not complain about Germans, British people and Scandinavians ‘taking’ jobs they might rather like to have. I myself am all for as many different people as possible coming to live and work in Malta. It is the only way to drive Malta into the real world and force Maltese people to grow up. A big cause of Malta’s mentality problems is that over the last four decades or so the island became isolated from all cultural differences except at arm’s length via tourism.]
this is the video you post Daphne?? a video of a party boat in summer??? why don’t you post a video of the countless African immigrants selling fake sunglasses or distributing sunbeds at the beaches everyday, not paying taxes and draining the economy!!!! you are truly a modern day Nazi with your propaganda. Unfortunately because of people like you we are living in a day and age, in where a person has the courage to shout out ” I wish Malta to stay Maltese and not be over run ” you call him a racist…. I call him a Patriot!!!
[Daphne – A Patriot with an initial capital letter is a missile, Mark: http://www.army-technology.com/projects/patriot/ ]
a witty saying proves nothing. Voltaire
[Daphne – “I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.” – Voltaire.]
Maybe the reason you so wish these immigrants to come to Malta is to lessen the percentage in the population of people who hate you. Give the immigrants a couple of years and they will soon see things as the rest of us do, unless they are illiterate….
[Daphne – “They will soon see things as the rest of us do”. You make the mistake, as always, of thinking that you speak for the whole of Malta, while failing to recognise the schism between the two Maltas, and the fact that the schism is not political, political preferences being a reflection of a fundamental cultural gulf. Oderint dum metuant. Let them hate so long as they fear.]
The fact is that you wrote a blog relating to a boat party which you now don’t give a shit about. You should have thought about this, before you made your blog public.
It seems that you are pissed off because you didn’t get an invitation to one of the greatest parties on the island and therefore you yesterday decided to write a crappy blog where you trying to compare a boat party with an immigrant problem
How about you apologize for making such a bad example and then write a completely new blog about the real problem that you trying to make people comment on?
[Daphne – Don’t push your luck, Michael. You failed to understand this post because, to put it mildly, everything was ‘lost in translation’ between the language of a literal culture and that of a not-at-all literal one. There is absolutely no need to become rude and aggressive. And no, I have absolutely no wish to be at any boat party, yours or anyone else’s. I subscribe to the very odd idea (and here’s another example of saying one thing, in British English, to mean the precise opposite) that ‘to everything there is a season’. The thought of repeating the habits of my teens and 20s, in my 40s, bores and horrifies me. I enjoyed it then, I would not enjoy it now. This is your time for boat parties. Enjoy them (I mean it). By the time you get to your 40s, you will be enjoying completely different things, and if you’re not, then, well…]
Dear Daphne,
I am one of the owners of “The Nordic Bar” and hence one of the organizers of this boat party and I must admit that I don’t understand your agenda or arguments in this debate.
Malta has for years tried to attract wealth and resources to the island to sustain a healthy rate of economic growth. This has been done in several ways (I will mention a few):
1) The permanent residency scheme
If you have enough money to buy a decent apartment – you are rich enough to get permanent residency pretty much without questions being asked.
2) Elaborate tax schemes
If your company are not domiciled in Malta and do not have “direct maltese activities” you can claim “tax returns”. This scheme is a bit complicated because you have to pay the tax first and then you get the discount upon dividend distribution. But it is all for a purpose and the purpose is to attract “tax thinkers” because while they do get the tax return there are still some tax to be paid and they will obtain Maltese services within these Maltese structures.
3) The iGaming business
I really want to DARE YOU. Send all the Nordic people home. Do it and take a look at your gross domestic product after all the gaming companies disappear. The fact that your are even debating whether or not the Nordic community in Malta is contributing or taking away resources from the native Maltese is clear evidence that you have not really researched the subject you are taking about.
I am sorry to be harsh but when you single out the group who contribute the most of all to the maltese economy per capita (through the iGaming investments) and ask if they are not taking away maltese resources I have to think that you are either just trying to provoke or are downright oblivious to the contributions made by Nordic people in this country.
The last point I want to bring up is that A LOT of the people that go not only to our bar but also on our boat parties are tourists.
So by attacking this entire concept your are basically lashing out at tourists and the iGaming industry (these are the two groups that are most heavy represented at the boat).
Isn’t it just a little bit funny that you are taking about resources and it shows that the people you are actually using to make your point represents two of the absolutely largest resource-contributors in Malta?
Time to get real Daphne. This is not about nordic people, immigration or misplacement of resources is it? Because if it is you must be somewhat slow minded. I think even a kid kinda understands that the Nordic people on this island is a pure value creator.
This is just a way for you to stir the pot about the immigration debate once again because you need the airtime? Am I right? You know perfectly fine that your “question” to start this article is ridiculous, right?
Have a good day and mind the blood pressure and talk a walk in the sun.
Mikael
[Daphne – Mikael, you will by now have read my responses to other people from Northern Europe who have not understood this post. While I appreciate your detailed explanation, it should occur to you – though you are clearly not a regular reader – that I share your views about people coming to Malta to work. I am all for open borders, for Maltese getting out, and for as many different people as possible getting in. That’s the only way for the economy to grow and, most crucially of all, for Maltese society to avoid fossilisation and stagnation.
That’s why I supported and still support EU membership. However, British English allows a person to state disapproval of an opinion by appearing to repeat their opinion. The disapproval is understood (to speakers of the same language), but those who speak a different form of English (Scandinavians, etc) take it literally. This is what has happened here. You will notice that there are people on this thread who understand what was meant. They are all, by no coincidence, either British or Maltese who have had a British-influenced education. Those who failed to understand it are all Scandinavian, German or Maltese with a different kind of education which causes them to read and interpret things literally. I hope it is now clear that you and I are on the same page when it comes to Scandinavians (or anyone else) working in Malta.
I should also point out, as this appears to be an issue, that the kind of boat party shown in this video is actually a rather old tradition, so nobody – certainly not those of my generation who went on plenty of them as far back as the early 1980s – could possibly find them new, daring, shocking or exciting, or find anything to criticise at all in them. It is nice to see that while practically everything else has gone out of style, drinking on a hired boat that tours the island has not.]
Mikael, in addition to being unimaginative, you are quite arrogant aren’t you? I was a patron of your bar. Not any more.
It was not my intention to come across as arrogant but when a person writes a downright ridiculous statement in an attempt to be sarcastic and afterwards accuse people of being illiterate and “culturally challenged” when they don’t get it I might become a little more direct than otherwise. If that came across as arrogance I apologise.
[Daphne – Yes, Mikael, on the available evidence I would have to say that the meaning of the post was lost in translation to a Scandinavian, made worse by the fact that you are obviously not a reader of this website and so unable to interpret that post in context – the context being that all my regular readers know what my position is on immigration, cross-cultural influences, and freedom of movement in Europe.]
Daphne, I speak a few languages besides Danish and actually do pride myself in being able to understand sarcasm and irony. The reason why I didn’t understand the sarcasm in your post is because it is downright strange. As I stated in my comment – I don’t understand your agenda or arguments.
[Daphne – No, Mikael. It isn’t strange. The fact that it is strange to you, a Swede to whom English is a ‘learned language’, does not make it strange in and of itself. Even if I were to learn Swedish fluently, which is never going to happen, I would not presume to know the implicit meaning in what Swedes say among themselves, or accuse them of having ‘strange opinions’ just because I have failed to understand what was said, and then keep arguing with them about it. The fact is that I am a native of speaker of (British) English and you are not. There are obviously going to be misunderstandings. You are not to blame for those, and I am not to blame either. It is pointless and fruitless to keep arguing about this. Just admit that you didn’t get it, and move on. Of course you don’t understand my ‘agenda’ (I have none). You are not a regular reader. This is probably the first time you have read anything I have written in 25 years, and then only because if affects you directly. But if you want to understand Malta, this is a great place to start, because it is written from the perspective of an outsider who is really an insider (or vice versa).]
When presenting a sarcastic argument you need to be able to see some form of logic in the statement or the absurdity in the statement (to bring out the sarcasm).
[Daphne – That wasn’t sarcasm, Mikael. That’s irony, which is different. Irony is self-evident. Some languages and cultures don’t allow for irony. Maltese is one of them, incidentally. It is a culture and language largely devoid of both.]
You ask: “Why don’t Maltese people complain about these immigrants” and the answer is simple: Because they contribute to society. The Maltese have actually (as stated in my comment) constructed a system designed to attract these type of immigrants. And hence, since the answer to your statement is simple and not absurd the sarcasm is lost on most people.
[Daphne – Oh for God’s sake, now you are taking things too far. I’m beginning to suspect that the problem is not cultural or linguistic at all, but intellectual.]
The debate related to the African immigrants evolves around the cost of helping these people and the jobs and opportunities they might take from the native Maltese population. Since most Scandinavians create jobs and growth in this country the two groups can’t be compared.
[Daphne – “The native Maltese population”: another example of ‘lost in translation’. Now that, you see, conveys in British English a patronising contempt of the very people you are talking about, one step up from referring to the Maltese as the ‘indigeous tribe’.]
To put it in perspective you could, In a debate about faeces tasting bad, post a video with a cheesecake in it and write: “I don’t understand why people don’t complain about this tasting bad?”. Would it make sense? No, people would be puzzled exactly like they are now.
You talk a lot about you being a columnist and since you obviously take this title serious and are proud of it you should realize that it is your job as a columnist to communicate your point in a way that is clear and understandable to people.
[Daphne – I do that, Mikael. But then if Swedish immigrants fail to understand the one thing they’ve read of mine, that’s their problem. It’s astonishing how you have managed to convince yourself that your shortcomings in comprehension are somehow my shortcomings in communication. Roughly 70% of Maltese people don’t understand me either, for linguistic and cultural reasons. Exactly how is that my problem/failure rather than theirs?]
When over 50% of the people commenting in this article clearly don’t understand your point, agenda and sarcasm then maybe you should consider that you failed this task instead of blaming people of being illiterate or culturally different. I am Danish and the art of sarcasm doesn’t change from Danish to UK culture and I have never before been told that I have a problem understanding UK sarcasm.
[Daphne – They are commenting on this post, Mikael, because they were directed here via Facebook. They are not my regular readers and have never commented before. This shows you their agenda, and their level of comprehension. By the same token, you can argue that the 1000 people who posted abuse on this site last August when I criticised Dom Mintoff were right in their view, and that I had ‘failed to communicate’ with them. You can also argue that because hundreds of Maltese are posting hopelessly idiotic comments on Cecilia Malmstrom’s Facebook page, that she has failed to communicate – rather than that they have failed to understand because of their limited intelligence and insufficient education, which is the case.
And another thing, it is extremely bad manners, when you set up shop in another country, to throw your weight about as though you are some kind of member of the British Raj employing the natives as servants. If I were to set up a business in Stockholm, I would not go about insulting the Swedes and telling them they should be grateful for my input. That provokes a negative reaction, which is what you are doing. If you tell people they should be grateful for what you do for them, their natural reaction is to tell you to f**k off and die. It even happens to politicians.]
I understand your point fine after reading your reply to my comment but maybe you should have considered just writing your actual point down instead of trying to compare apples and oranges in an attempt to be sarcastic.
Well, I said my bit and no harm done. Best of luck to you in your future endeavours.
Mikael
[Daphne – Yes, and when I am in your neck of the woods, I’ll come for a drink.]
First of all – I am Danish. I don’t hold it against you that you didn’t know. I just don’t want the Swedes to catch a bad rep for my apparent bad manners.
[Daphne – ‘I don’t hold it against you that you didn’t know’. Why would you? Outside Malta, people don’t know I’m Maltese until I tell them, and I don’t hold it against them. Why would I? And why would they know I’m Maltese until I say so?]
And I am only writing this reply to get one point across and then I am done here because I don’t want your last statement sticking to me. At no time have I said, felt or acted like I am in any form a king employing servants down here. That is a ridiculous statement…!
I bring money, take risks, pay taxes and pay 50% more for electricity/water (for some reason I still can’t understand) to set up shop in Malta. And I don’t expect gratitude or special consideration for this at all. But I expect the same respect as is given to any other valuable and contributing members of society.
Regarding the level of my intellectual capabilities I won’t try to convince you that I am not retarded. It seems that everyone not exactly on your page gets that label here on your blog and I don’t want to argue on that level.
So this will be my final post and once again – I wish you the best.
Mikael
[Daphne – I never said you are retarded. That is definitely not a word or a description I would ever use about anyone. It’s the equivalent of making fun of people of subnormal intelligence, like joking about cripples or something. I said something else entirely: that two people coming from different cultures, even when they are ostensibly speaking the same language, need to interpret what is being said, because words are never taken at face value in any language. When you are speaking to somebody who shares your culture, you do this automatically: reading the implict meaning in what is said. When you are speaking to somebody from a different culture, you have to work out the implicit meaning. That’s all.]
Mikael, it worries me that somebody with your responsibility cannot see the wood for the trees here.
Firstly, your video is on Youtube and therefore is open for public view, discussion, change of discourse and narrative.
Secondly, please read the headline of this article. It suggests Maltese people welcome Europeans in Malta but not those from Africa.
Nordic pre teens contributing to the wealth of Malta – well, if you notice at 2.14 of your video I can see the Maltese dude making the most of that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJT7pINxl8c
Dear God, Daphne – when I saw this post I really wasn’t expecting this sort of reaction from people. How on earth did they think you had a problem with the boat party?
I think whenever you post something which gets over some 100 FB recommendations (Mintoff, certain videos, young individuals like Goodlip or Abela Garret), people pour in from nowhere and take things entirely out of context. It’s a shame, really.
[Daphne – They’re just people from a completely different culture who don’t understand that in English you can say one thing to mean completely the opposite, and that this is supposed to be understood. Also, because they are coming in via Facebook and are not regular readers, they do not know my views on the subject and so are unable to put the thing into context. I suppose it is a useful illustration of how you don’t have to be black or African to be culturally alien. I find it very difficult to communicate with Germans (as a generalisation, allowing for individuals) for instance, because I can’t relate to the forma mentis, the use of language, or the humour, and they tend to be foxed by mine. Though we are both speaking the same language on the face of it – a form of English – in reality there is often a blank wall of bewilderment. I have a similar problem with many Italians, and definitely with Americans, but strangely not with the French, despite the obvious linguistic difficulties.]
I find it hard to believe that educated Nordic people don’t get sarcasm.
[Daphne – Who says these particular ones are educated?]
The fact is that they can communicate decently in a second language (a useful tell-tale for Maltese people too, incidentally). On a separate note, fascinating how uptight they are getting. The video has been on Youtube a while and is shown, on repeat, on their screens at Nordic itself (the bar in Paceville). It’s a good video, so I can see why. They seem to think that showing it on this blog will lose them business – I can’t see why.
Not only do you not have the authorisation to publish this video on your blog but you are also unaware that many of the people on the boat are hard working locals, educated locals, who want to let loose at the weekend and in the summer especially!
There are plenty of things I’d like to say to you but in order not to offend you directly or risk getting into trouble I’d just like to say think before you write in your sad little blog and get authorisation before using content that doesn’t belong to you!
PS: You sad sad woman.
[Daphne – Will one of you people who understand what this is all about kindly take this person aside and quietly explain things to him/her? I spend all day dealing with the thick, tiresome and dull-witted, and I have had quite enough for now. Here we have somebody who actually thinks that ‘authorisation’ is required to ‘publish’ a video uploaded on Youtube with an embed code.]
Daphne you are calling most of the people illiterate and dumb and closed minded and however else. How perfect do you think you are? The most clever? :D Wake up !
‘The most clever’ – fantastic!
http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/comparative-and-superlative-adjectives-american
I don’t see why this is an issue in the first place…. It’s only helping our country. However, the video of the Boat Party has absolutely nothing to do with what has been said on this blog and how deep the discussions have gone into.
There is nothing to complain about black people taking jobs of the Maltese. Maltese themselves don’t want them, but particular jobs need to be done, so who else is left to do them? For example you see Maltese drivers of the garbage trucks and who is picking up garbage bags you think? 95% of the time I’ve seen its black people. And why complain about people from other EU-countries taking Maltese jobs. Half of the country barely speaks its second national language, English, and some don’t at all. I personally think its a disgrace for an EU-country. Malta is very small, and based on tourism. Who could possibly help out our country to go forward? If not for the foreigners, our country would not be what it is today.
Earlier this month there was a serious discussion about an Institute here on the island. What was that all about? Nobody wants to work, people just care about easy money… (Who doesn’t obviously) but life doesn’t come that easy unfortunately and we all know that. Half the students had failed their exams thanks to such lecturers who are suppose to be academics! Disgracing what should be, British education. Most Maltese people don’t really want to work, so their called lazy people, I’m sorry but its a fact.. and for instance, just look at the working hours of most shops, 2 hour break (where in the world will you find such breaks in Europe? Honestly, I’ve traveled in most of Europe and lived in 3 large countries I have never heard of 2 hour shut-down ..) and the amount of public holidays this island celebrates, it’s good for us, people, however, the economical side to it quite suffers… Not everyone in this country is capable (or willing in the first place) to work in places which require long hours, effort and high educational standards unfortunately..There are other jobs which are suitable for people with different wants, have’s and needs. I love Malta, I’ve been living here for a decade now, but these have been proven facts for a long time. I read the news everyday, Malta complains about wages, working hours, politics etc. and the country in the end remains the same. This is not an issue caused by foreigners, but by the Maltese government. We barely reach the average standard level of an EU-country…. That is why most people would rather employ foreigners who have had additional experience and knowledge back in their hometowns.
This is not meant to be offensive to anybody of course, people know this themselves but have been closing their eyes too much.
You are probably going to tell me that I am out of context, as you have said in many other comments, but may I please know, why have you used this video for such a subject on illegal immigrants when most of the people on this boat are Maltese, others being students and tourists from Europe? Why use this video when it is almost completely out of context on your own subject?
[Daphne – Read back up through the comments and my responses, Martina, and try to understand. I’m sorry, but this isn’t an explanation service for the slow-witted, nor am I a politician who needs your vote, so I’m not going always going to have patience with the sorely testing.]
Is it possible that the Maltese citizens are complaining about immigrants not because of the race or religion or skin colour but because of what they do?
What I mean is if a person comes from any part of the world (ANY) gets Maltese citizenship and works, pays taxes and is not sustained by the government thus not depending on the government and taking tax payer’s money will the Maltese people complain? NO.
If people come here legally and do actually contribute to the economy there would be no need for arguments and attacks because it would help this country’s workforce (people above working age and below pensionable age) and help fight against the problem we have in Malta of aging population and lack of workforce not to mention the boost it would give to the Maltese economy.
It would even help (and this is why I am personally bothered with immigration in general) if the immigrants coming inside the country were skilled workers not more unskilled workers because that would form more unemployment but of course this is something that will never happen because of the narrowness of people’s minds and from not only people condemning immigration but also those who approve (this is from my personal point of view if anyone wants to reply please do it in a civil manner).
PS I’m only 16 and whatever I said is just my personal view.
My biggest problem with the Maltese people is the fact that they automatically assume every dark-skinned person here is a ‘boat person’. It’s such ignorance.
I am an African American here (not long term), yet I get the dirtiest looks as if I’m here illegally etc…but when they find out I am American the attitude changes. Shameful.