Saturday, 21st February 2009
COME ON GUYS, GET ON WITH IT
The Labour Party is being surprisingly circumspect and giving me little, if anything, to write about. Yes, sure, the usual suspects like Anglu Farrugia and Jason Micallef get up to their familiar antics from time to time, but there’s nothing really juicy into which I can get my teeth.
This, of course, is the usual excuse of the columnist or blogger who has no inspiration or inclination to write and who thinks he has to get off his back-side and meet a deadline. The beauty of blogging is that there isn’t the formal structure that the print media demands, so you can slack off and pretend that you needn’t write if you have nothing about which to write.
Which is true, but only up to a point. For my weekly column, Wednesday night rolls up and I have to sit down, poise the laptop where it should be and hammer out the requisite number of words, whether or not Joe Muscat or whoever had done or said something worthy of a few pointed barbs.
In fact, there is something to write about – there’s plenty. I could have another rant at the parliamentary economies with the truth resorted to by the FAA in their desperate defence of St John’s, valiantly preventing the wanton demolition of the nation’s place of worship for the erection of a tower-block in the manner of the early Seventies.
I could – yet again – demand the resignation of the Cinema and Theatre Classification Board, for their obtuse refusal to recognise that I have a brain and that they have no right to tell me how to use it.
Apparently, one of the reasons why the literary luddites lowered the boom on Stitching was that it contains blasphemy against the state religion. I am open to correction on this, as I am sourcing this from reports carried in the foreign press and we all know that “foreign” means godless dens of sin and iniquity: why else was the Church against Integration all those years ago?
So, it seems that Ms Friggieri has taken upon herself the role of crime prevention: the play is blasphemous, so it can’t be performed. The idea that criminal prosecution could have taken place after the event seems to have passed the lady by completely.
A new target for a good old rant has shown up in the form of the ADT’s deployment of speed-cameras all over the place, establishing a new, and ludicrous, speed limit of 60kph.
I have to ask: has anyone within the decision taking process actually tried to drive a car at this stupid speed? Quite apart from the fact that you’re risking being whacked in the rear by someone who – quite justifiably – assumes that an appropriate speed is a tad higher than an arthritic snail’s pace, you can’t actually maintain a decent cruising progress at 60.
But does that worry the ADT? Of course not, as Bill Hacker used to believe, we have to do something, in this case about bad driving, this is something so let’s do it.
One can only hope that someone, somewhere will see sense and get speeds up to normal levels. A bit of decent traffic policing would help, too: for instance, if I get cut up on the Mriehel Bypass again by some fool who thinks I’m sitting in the outer lane in slow traffic for my health, I might very well succumb to a spasm of road rage.
The Labour Party has done something I can comment about, of course. It has proposed, and the Government has agreed, that a debate be held about the problem of illegal immigration.
No sooner had this news broken than the filthy racists, both the indigenous and the extra-territorial ones, started bellowing their usual slogans, generally mis-spelled, often hardly coherent, but always venomous.
I don’t know if Joe Muscat and Lorry Gonzi read this blog. I imagine they have better things to do with their time. But you – yes, you, the one reading this – could do me a favour, especially if you’re one of the honourable ladies and gents who has speaking privileges in the House.
Could you pass the message on to your leaders, and to your honourable colleagues, that this is the time, the perfect time, for the country to see a show of unity and a clear, unequivocal and resounding condemnation of racism, overt and covert
Tell the racists that their contribution to solving this problem is not welcome, would you? That we have a problem, dwarfed as it is by the problems that drive these human-beings towards our shores, is not in dispute.
What is in dispute is the way some people, who think they’re superior to anyone with a darker skin, for some unfathomable reason, think the problem can be solved.
It’s Friday night and time for supper, so any errors are the result of my failure to proof-read.
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Comments
As everybody has left us to swim the heavy seas alone, the solutions have to be immediate and must be found by ourselves, as one nation.
Robert Arrigo MP (Nationalist)
ABC: You have more to digest now. As I said earlier - the chickens are coming home to roost, one by one.
You should find no problem this week for a new subject to your invective.
@ Il-bocca
No need for Lil'Elves & "upper Ranks" to do anything to 'oppose' the government/PM presently or even voice their justified annoyance at how their present/future is looking: I see members of the government themselves are doing a pretty good job of that on their own steam and quite pulically too.
Opposition to the present one seat GonziPN majority is pretty much coming from inside itself, it seems, without any help required from the outside.
'nuff said, methinks.....
I also note that you lost your scrumpled tick list this week....?
Not even THAT bit of 'fun' this week...?
You seem a little flustered, perhaps?
Hmmm....
Ah well! No doubt we'll be regaled with your funny wit very soon!
And looking forward to it I am too...
I fail to understand your comments addressed to me.
Show me where I suggested that immigration was no problem, that I ever mentioned the colour of their skin unless prompted by someone else's remarks, that I am racist or that we should treat the immigrants as refugees.
That does not mean that we treat them with less dignity or deprive them the basic necessities once they land here,
Instead of attacking Minister Mifsud Bonnici and the Prime Minister, why do you not and your party answer a basic question: What exactly do you propose to stem the flow of immigrants here?
Please don't suggest that we consult, again, with Mr. Gaddafi, your and LP's friend because he is a type of leader one cannot depend on if your life is at stake.
Maybe Joseph's visit when he 'discovered' the secret pact with Italy regarding immigration and other problems, was one big flop and a mere waste of time and money because since, not only the immigrants did not decrease, but larger boatloads have been arriving.
I am sure that you will have a balanced, logical, impartial suggestion(s) which fall within the international laws and obligations.
Instead of ignoring you, I have reproduced, word for word, what I wrote and I beg you read it again:
"You are old enough to remember the 50s and 60s - the discrimination against American blacks - the beatings, segregation, murders, the KKK etc. - and you dare accuse the 'Anglo friends from the North' as practicing a century of abuse?
The British never detained suspects for six or more years without trial, torture them, ridicule their religion in contravention of human rights and the Geneva Convention. Your country did and it took a black President to try and put an end to it although it will never erase the Guantanamo shame! "
The issue was the treatment of blacks by the white Americans since you chose to single out the "Anglo friends from the North". You have to admit that many 'white Presidents' from the fifties on, fell quite short of doing long overdue justice to the blacks.
Since Mr. Barrack Obama is the first and only black President, the USA ever had, then referring to him as a black President is by no means demeaning.
BTW when will you answer my questions to you?
The 52 Somali and Ethiopian passengers in one of seven boats crossing the Gulf of Aden were made to jump after the smugglers spotted police and refused to sail closer to shore, the U.N's refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.
It said 35 people made it to land, six drowned and 11 others were missing presumed dead.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/24/yemen.refugees/index.html
@ Denis Catania & Joseph Martinelli.
Racial Prejudice and illegal immigration are two different subjects and ought to be treated as such. A racist may be against illegal migration but only when the immigrant is of a different colour. That is prejudice in its worst form.
My feelings about different races are an open book, every person is different than the other yet basic characteristics, like the colour of our skin put us in different groups, tribes and races, God made us that way and we can’t deny an obvious reality.
I have absolutely no prejudice about other races and would fight in favour of the well being and emancipation of all colours, however I feel more secure and serene when I am surrounded by people whose culture I can understand. Prejudice, in my book, is when a person thinks, feels and acts superior than the other person of a different race.
Legally or illegally and peril less, the Africans cross over to Libya, settle, integrate and live a much better life than the one they leave behind in Chad or Eritrea.Some of them are still not satisfied and would prefer to live in Europe and expect us to collect them and save them from the self inflicted dangers and treat them like genuine refugees.
To make our lives even more difficult, before they leave Libya they destroy their passports and other documents to hide their nationality and conduct. For all we know we might even get criminals who ran away from prison. And Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and ‘The Boss’ are complacent while the Maltese are living in fear and anger, because it’s not just I who is angry, your friends who voted Gonzipn are angry too.
Libya is a big country with a small population of mixed light and dark skin people, Africans and Arabs....the black Libyans came from the South and emigrated from Africa a long time ago. The same situation prevails in all North African States not excluding Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. But the origin of the Libyans, Gaddafi’s conservative attitude and and the PL’s attempts to portray Gaddafi as our brother has got absolutely nothing to do with the illegal immigration problem except in your mind.
Libya is a land of great opportunities for people and commercial entitities that want to make money; British, Italian, German and American companies offer very good wages to ex patriots and locals alike. Nobody goes to bed hungry in Libya and no Libyan would risk their life to run away from their Country to come to Europe via Malta on a leaking rubber dingy, they are a lot smarter than you think.
I do expect you to understand basic English, therefore I suggest that you read my comments one more time and not extract, out of context, the phrase you decided to criticize me on.
@ CharlesJ Buttigieg
If the immigrants are coming from Libya, why do they not carry Libyan papers with them. Besides, without sounding racist, I do not think that Libyan skin is of the same hue as the immigrants' arriving here! The problem is that Gaddafi has not changed a bit and the MLP's attempts at making us believe that he is our 'brother' giving him privileges and land, keeps blowing in their (and our) face.
@ I M Dingli
Of course I refer to the 70s and 80s - simply because some of the past elements still remain within the LP in human form and in the political aspect as well. There is a direct local connection. The Canadian policy of 1908 as suggested by our 'angered' friend CJB, has no consequence on local politics.
The Chinese wisely remind us that, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Our ancestors must have been masters of Chinese wisdom. They always made do with the little they had.
As long as the EU remains a group of sovereign states, with each acting for its own best interests, then perhaps, Malta should do the same.
Everytime a new boatload of migrants arrives, only one person is acting criminally: the Captain. He is the one engaging in human trafficking, preying on the misfortunes of desperate people. His boat should be confiscated and destroyed, and he should be heavily fined and jailed for a long time.It won't take long for the message to get through to the others in the trade. They'll evade Malta at all costs.
The migrants should be given Maltese Citizenship so that they may move freely to seek their future.
Maybe there are better solutions. Let's hear them.
Are you going to publicly slant JPO as a worm now ABC?
The chickens will soon come home to roost. And it will be VERY, VERY amusing!
...now copy that in case you ever need it for redress.
I don’t know how JPO feels about it, he’s probably on the band wagon to purge himself from the Mistragate-scandalous-image or maybe he’s using this issue to say thanks to ‘The Boss’ for defending him during election time and selling him down the river afterwards.
My answer is yes, I want to send them back because we have no vacancy and the colour of their skin has nothing to do with it. They are not coming from Eritrea or other poverty stricken African States; they are coming from Libya where a lot of Maltese go to make good money. They are taking us for a ride and I don’t like that Sur Martinelli. Do you like to be taken for a ride dear fellow Maltese residents?
Now that you have my answers ask your other friends, the intelligent and righteous ones, if they want them to stay. Go on do it, never mind the rhetoric in three episodes.
Do I sound angry? Yes I am very angry seeing the Country which I sacrificed so much for going to the dogs because people like Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and ‘The Boss’ are doing absolutely nothing about it.
Quoting a 1908 edition of the New York Times outlining Canada's policy of not admitting Hindus, does not strengthen your argument. Such was also the policy of Britain and other nations as well. The fact is that what you refer to was 1908, but you cannot apply events of 1908 to today's.
Time changes a lot of things, policies change by choice and by necessity. In time nations, especially seeking population and economic growth saw value in having immigrants settle on their land be they black, yellow or any other hue in between.
Canada and the US followed by Britain are prime examples, therefore it is hard to criticize these three for not helping African countries out. Canada went as far as altering the uniform rules for the RCMP to accommodate Hindus wearing their tourban in uniform! Did all Canadians agree? Not so but the rule still permits Hindus to wear their traditional headgear.
A 'Welcome to Canada' programme was instituted by the Liberal government a few years ago whereby any Far Eastern prospective immigrant who had $500,000 or more and promised to open his own business, was admitted with a minimum of security checks.
Continued
Malta is small enough to be able to trace these incoming immigrants but in the case of the US it is fair to say that they receive thousands each year from Cuba and Mexico with the important difference that these illegal undetected immigrants immediately go underground abetted by false document dealers and employers who take advantage of the immigrants' plight, pay them near starvation wages while threatening them to report them to Immigration police if they dare complain!
This is to show you that the immigration problem is not unique to Malta/EU and that it is not so simple to handle by both little Malta or mighty USA.
It is futile to wish that we can provide fuel and supplies to these people and turn them back. Turn them back to where? Libya? If life in Libya was peachy, why would the immigrants pay a hefty fee to risk their lives crossing the Med for better fortunes in Europe? Send them back to Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea where piracy seems to be the leading industry?
Malta is blessed with an ideal geographical location but also prone to a few curses which immigration is one.
Continued
It is also a fact that USA, Canada, Australia, EU and other wealthy nations do help African countries but quite frequently the aid which flows there ends up in the wrong hands. So, one would argue that if some aid is misused, why provide more? It is a fact that those governments are corrupt, dictatorial and more interested in arms trading and piracy than to provide the barest necessities for their own citizens. And you (and JPO) want to send the immigrants back to those countries?
JPO on more than one occasion seems to march to his own drummer but in a democracy one has the right to express his views, however it does not mean that he is right or that political mileage should be milked out of a dire situation.
It amazes me how a few months ago JPO could not do anything right and today he seems to be regarded as God's gift when it comes to the St. John project and the immigration problem.
What next? City Gate, Old Opera House, Ghadira road, Sikka l-Bajda....?
If they are in distress at sea we should help them out...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.
We must act now. The consequences of inaction are too TERRIBLE to contemplate." -Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando PN
ENJOY Dear ABC!!! (preferebly before dinner!)
The suggestion to give the illegal immigrants a second chance and regale them with freedom of movement within the EU is a dangerous and an inequitable one because that would tantamount to rewarding international law breakers and a golden opportunity for human traffickers to make their dastard business more lucrative.
By giving a fish to a few thousands Africans Malta won’t solve Africa’s problems, a concerted effort by USA, Canada, Australia, EU and other wealthy nations would however help Africa and other poor nations to learn how to catch their own fish.
@ J Martinelli & Denis Catania. Part One.
The Maltese problems goes beyond discrimination and prejudice, it’s more about the arrogance of groups of people that enter our shores illegally in search of greener pastures to our detriment. Had they been groups of Europeans the ill feelings would be the same. When a ship-load of Eastern Europeans entered St. Pauls Bay in the early 90’s, hundreds of Maltese Nationals gathered by the sea shore to jeer at them. The authorities finally gave them supplies and made them turn back even though the ship wasn’t seaworthy. At that time we were not EU Members and EFA was our PM and he did not ask the opposition to offer solutions.
The New York Times
May 7, 1908
Canada for White Men.
Arrangements made: That will keep Hindus out of the Country.
Ottawa. Ontario. May 6. An arrangement has been made by the British and Canadian Governments for the exclusion of Hindu immigration from India .It was disclosed in the House of Commons this afternoon in a report from Mackenzie King, Canadian minister of Labour who recently returned from a conference on the question with the British government.
He states the British government is in favour of keeping Canada a white man’s country. They did not wish to pass restrictive legislation to keep the Hindus out of Canada, as that would add to the difficulties of a delicate situation which now exists in India. A solution of the problem was found in the Indian act which provides that no native of India may leave India under contract labour in any country which is not on a list of countries which have made laws that the Indian government considers adequate for the protection of Hindus. Canada is not on the list.
While the agreement you quoted happened one hundred years ago, I referred to events which happened much more recently and by DenisCatania's own admission, there are some even today who still regard the blacks as an 'inferior' race.
Discrimination whether practiced by Americans, Canadians or Maltese, is wrong and I condone none of it. The pity is, that sometimes Maltese discriminate against Maltese which makes the act even more reprehensible.
The illegal immigrant problem is a fairly new phenomena and what we are going through now is a process which, hopefully, will some day teach us to understand the plight of these people better and larger countries within the EU more receptive to giving them a second chance to lead a better life and at the same time relieve Malta of an onus which is becoming unbearable.
Denis Catania's statement that, "...they don't want freedom of movement within the EU for African new arrivals" is false and clearly illustrates Mr. Catania's negative attitude regarding the black race. I hope he will explain who 'they' are? Could 'they' be Britain, Germany, Denmark, France?
Malta shoulders a disproportionate load, but we wait for Denis' solution!
@ Joe Martinelli & Denis Catania.
“..........you are old enough to remember the 50s and 60s - the discrimination against American blacks - the beatings, segregation, murders, the KKK etc. - and you dare accuse the 'Anglo friends from the North' as practicing a century of abuse?”
Truth is that the Canadians are more refined in their ‘modus operandi’ than the Americans but their results are not very different.
In thebeginning of 1900 the Canadian Government,in its endeavours to keep Canada white, made a secret arrangement with the British Government to exclude immigration from India.
@ Syephen Farrugia
How could you possibly link the quoted article regarding crime and corruption in the American administration as reported in the Canadian Press article to the illegal immigration problem in Malta?.
You have the cheek to consistently refer to me as 'from Canada' and then you use an article written in a Canadian paper to unsuccessfully draw a parallel to Malta's situation!
Clutching at straws, are you?
What you should enlighten us with is the remedy, but you do not dare go there because you know very well that the problem is not here. The problem stems from the tyrannical, corrupt and criminal leaders from where these unfortunate immigrants escape.
@ DenisCatania
"... he wants the Maltese to fix the problem his Anglo friends from the north caused over a century of abuse". Of all people you are the least qualified to make remarks such as this one! Talk of abuse! You are old enough to remember the 50s and 60s - the discrimination against American blacks - the beatings, segregation, murders, the KKK etc. - and you dare accuse the 'Anglo friends from the North' as practicing a century of abuse?
Continued
The British never detained suspects for six or more years without trial, torture them, ridicule their religion in contravention of human rights and the Geneva Convention. Your country did and it took a black President to try and put an end to it although it will never erase the Guantanamo shame!
GonziPN is doing its best out of a difficult situation without discriminating the colour of one's skin, contrary to what you maliciously suggest. You and others like you say a lot of rubbish while suggesting nothing which makes sense to prevent more landings while at the same time, staying within humanitarian and international laws and conventions.
You should be attacking Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen et al, for maintaining regimes which place human lives at the very bottom of their agenda while lining their pockets on the backs of their own citizens and from whatever foreign aid they receive.
If you pity the immigrants who live in tents in Malta, why don't you get hold of your rich buddies and raise enough money to build permanent shelters for them?
It will go a small way to atone for America's abuses on the Guantanamo detainees.
Spouting cryptical anecdotes will not help to absolve you from the hand you have lent to this mess we are in. You may not need any evidence after painting all who are genuinely worried as 'racist lepers' to steer clear of. If anything you should answer to your arrogance shown at anyone, be it political (elves) or patriotic (worms) which you have bandied freely about in your public outbursts aimed at political apology!
If you choose to dance to the public tune, you must learn to duck the flak - and you are doing a lousy job of that!
If Stephen Farrugia 'holds the higher moral ground of defending our country', then he should do well to put his money where his mouth is and reveal the identity of these funds and private coffers, otherwise, shut up!
With regards to his 'so good' suggestions written by him in The Times, in connection with illegal immigrants, and not receiving one comment, I would suggest that perhaps not one soul found it inspiring enough to warrant one single comment!
And can anybody tell me why whites normally marry whites and blacks marry black? Is it always racial prejudice or is it a natural attraction and \or common sense to minimise matrimonial difficulties. And to those who intend to react negatively to my honest opinion I ask them- would they feel very happy if one of their daughters take home a refugee from Zimbabwe or will they prefer them to marry some nice European boy preferably with a solid family background?
Having said that and exposed myself for some vicious attacks by some hypocrites, I do not see our current difficulties as a racial problem as according to Dr. A. Borg Cardona, the majority of the Maltese aren’t racists, our real problem is the limited space and thousands of people, their race immaterial, are invading us illegally and our government is doing absolutely nothing to control the situation except trying to pass on the bug to Brussels. And we all know how much they care.
I live in an area which isn’t as insular as the rest of Malta. We have neighbours from Britain, different parts of Europe, Canadians as well as Americans. We meet socially, enjoy bags of mutual respect and rarely notice our different nationality background. I would not wish for any of them to pack up and go home and I feel very comfortable in our ambience. Ours is an affinity group, it’s not about the white colour of our skin ,its all about the Christian and European culture we share which makes us live in a good level of harmony. Does this make me a racist? I don’t think so; it just gives me serenity as I’m in company of my own ilk. Can anybody, and I’m excluding no one, deep down, feel differently when they truly search their soul and have some time-off from hypocrisy? Does anybody believe that any of the illegal immigrants at Hal Far living with their own people would be happier if they move and live independently within the Maltese community if it were not for the appalling situation they are living in?
I hope you have something in writing regarding the above because on the other hand. I now have evidence in case I ever need it, for calling me a racist without reason.
Please , cut out your superior attitude, all of you because we hold the higher moral ground of defending our country.
With regards to the illegal immigrant question - people like Stephen Farrugia, should realise that everybody agrees that these immigrants are a major challenge to Malta. The difference is that he and others like him simply spout racist rhetoric without making any reasonable suggestions as to how this difficult problem can be addressed. I have no ready answer either, but then neither I do not believe that one can simply turn these people away on the high seas.
...then he laments that he has found it difficult to write about any issues this week!
I always remember his famous quote of about 4 years ago when he cheekily told all Balzan residents (and implicating all other areas) to lump everything in a truck and leave home if they do not like black immigrants living next door to them and taking over!
I will see that he is made to retract every word he has said if it is the last thing I do before I am forced to evacuate this wretched country which he has helped to lower so much in the mud!
Just let us assume that you have a point, at all - what is your solution which will eliminate the present problem and prevent future immigrant landings?
Part 1
ABC I was not intending to go into the racism/illegal immigration problem since your comments are right on and require no further embellishments. So I will not!
I do however want to discuss the speed limit issues. Your comments themselves unintentionally justified the 60 kph limits. You wrote: "A new target for a good old rant has shown up in the form of the ADT's deployment of speed-cameras all over the place, establishing a new, and ludicrous, speed limit of 60kph", and further "...the fact that you're risking being whacked in the rear by someone"
Now, you know I reside in a country which has highways for miles and miles, four lanes or more in each direction, and here too, are nuts who although the highway speed is 100 kph, make me feel that I am stuck to the tarmac as they cruise past me at 120 or 130kph, so, I too feel the unlikely threat that someone will get me through the back door.
Continued
Part 2
Having said that, speed limits here for residential roads is 50 kph in most two lane (one in each direction) streets. When the road widens to two lanes each direction and outside residential areas the limit is 60 kph. As one leaves the city, the limit increases depending on the width of the road and the length of the stretch of road.
Now, tell me, in Malta how many roads qualify for a higher limit than 50 or 60 kph? Not many, you must agree. But even with wider roads here, in rush hours, as an example, it takes more than an hour to cross the City of Toronto (in good Summer weather) because it's bumper to bumper traffic. When is Malta's traffic not bumper to bumper, especially weekends? So, is it that much of an inconvenience to stick to 60 kph? Besides that nincompoop who risks smashing into your posterior would avoid the embarrassment and the hefty bill to him or his Insurance company.
Even here speed is the main cause of collissions/fatalities, followed by the drivers' unwillingness to adjust to road conditions.
Breaking the speed limit is breaking the law .
I could never fathom why people like you always felt the need to defend, never challenging the motives of these hapless people who, by definition, are all, without exception, criminals, in view of their illegal entry in Malta.
It is not right and fair to tar objectors to these migrants and those who do not go along with your views on the matter as abominable racists. One needs to understand and sympathize with the concerns of the people, who are worried about this situation.
No doubt, having said this, I will also end up on the list of the accursed racists.
Yes, you are to blame.
What about getting as many Malta-based bloggers as possible to join a MALTESE BLOGGERS AGAINST RACISM campaign? Come one guys, let's get on with it. Write to me at watersbroken@gmail.com or leave a comment at http://watersbroken.wordpress.com
.....Barbarism...Civilisation...Degeneration.....
We have entered the last phase, with some cities having already entered back into the first phase of Barbarism phase. Hopefully, one day, we will start all over commencing from Cvilisation.
a) your manner of expressing your ideas is allowed full rein by the Times, so we can all see how people like you think and
b) I hold myself to a higher standard than you obviously do.
Yours truly,
Stehen Farrugia
Nationalist majority against immigration.