RACISM OR PLAIN COMMONSENSE – the despicable dishonesty of trying to make political gain by twisting
We Maltese are experts in confusion, particularly jumbling up a whole series of events and then drawing conclusions to suit one’s view and outlook. In some cases it is dishonestly stretched to extremes to win political points.
Two events this week loomed as “news” when in fact in my opinion they were totally and completely non-news touted about purely for political reasons and aimed solely at putting the country, the Government and the people in a bad light.
At the centre of both items was immigration and immigrants (mainly black people) and what is being generally perceived as the country’s invasion by foreigners and the way both these sectors are currently influencing life and development in Malta and Gozo.
The Government has shown clarity on both issues; in the immigrant sphere those that are here are here and are to be treated on a par with all other citizens in accordance with full human rights; as far as a further influx is concerned, Malta will follow its international obligations and will certainly not be bullied. As for other nationalities, Malta’s economy has crescendoed and this labour is needed to fill jobs and with skills whose resource is lacking because of labour shortages.
The Opposition has clambered on this bandwagon not to be helpful but to try and attain political gain and in doing so has adopted a whole myriad of contradictory stances, from whining and wailing that the Maltese have “lost” their country to a full somersault of not being so hard-hearted after all so why not make Malta an immigrant salvage centre? The extremes are bizarre.
Amidst all this, during this week particular news sources with their own malicious agenda “highlighted” two particular events; that a band club in Marsa had applied a “members only” rule but is only banning black people and then another report that Police in the Marsa area are stopping black people and asking for identification documents.
Well, a private club has every right to bar undesirables from entering its premises, particularly drunks, drugs traffickers, druggees and troublemakers in general – whatever their colour and whatever their nationality – and particularly in an area like Marsa which has become notorious for its rate of criminality. If the majority of these in the Marsa area happen to be black, then that is a fact and not feigned discrimination.
The Police have been constantly lambasted for allegations of being passive and “not doing their duty”. Because they commenced doing their duty, again in the Marsa area, they were profiled of having carried out a racist exercise. Every person is legally bound to carry means of identification; the Police have every right to stop any person and request to see their identification. Taken in the context of the Marsa background, this is much needed.
The dishonesty of it all is that these “news sectors” tried to portray the events as being “racist” and another example of the failure of Justice and Law and Order in the country.
Neither of the developments is or was racist. They are exercises in common sense and the maintenance of Law and Order.
Racism is when a black person is barred from treatment in a Government hospital or Health Centre simply because they are black; racism is when a black person is not allowed to ride in a public bus because of their colour; racism is when a black child is barred from a school because they are black.
God forbid that such things happen in this country; they must NEVER be allowed to happen, and if they do then the full strength of the Law should be applied to bring criminals applying such discrimination to book.
However, the greatest criminal act is that of trying to milk political capital out of such situations, a dirty, despicable act of which the perpetrators should be thoroughly ashamed.
ALBERT JEROME FENECH
