Too far too be right...
A few days ago I had the opportunity to watch a performance by a family of African immigrants residing in Malta about their experiences and how they ended up here. The performance was touching in that it avoided the sentimental and ideal, and simply gave food for thought. This particular family came from the Congo, a country torn apart by civil war, and to get here they have had to cross half a continent through some of the most forbidding landscapes on earth. Two days after this I read a letter in a local newspaper from this gentleman who was ranting on about how immigrants come here by choice, how violent and savage they are, etc etc. In short, the usual list of racist insults spewed out by the far right across the *ahem* civilised word.
And all this has made me wonder at how all of a sudden Malta, the subjugated race par excellence which has been colonised for the last couple of millenia, has suddenly become this superior Catholic pure race. Since when is multiculturalism a dirty word for Malta? We are the most ethnically 'impure' country in all of Europe. Go through our telephone directory and you will find Semitic, Italian and English surnames all over the place. We speak a language that is a hybrid of Semitic and Romance (with some Germanic words thrown in for good measure). Our national cuisine draws on Italian and North African cooking, and our pop culture is a strange mixture of Euro-kitsch and Anglo-American materialism. And yet, we have the guts to speak about racial purity.
Apart from that, the argument that immigrants come here by choice is hard to believe, even if you discredit the the hundreds of first-hand experiences recounted by these immigrants. Who on earth would decide to cross a desert and brave an unpredictable sea in a small open boat? no-one can deny that the journey entails these treacherous crossings (unless we redraw the map to suit political propaganda). There IS a desert between Congo and Malta, and there IS a sea. We have seen countless images of the poor state the vessels carrying immigrants are in. I do not believe that anyone is willing to risk their lives in such a way simply to upgrade to a better way of life. These people want safety, not comfort or luxury. Ironically, it is 'civilised' society which is constantly seeking luxury and comfort, often at the expense of the environment, or of minorities.
It would be foolishly idealistic to say that Malta has the resources to maintain a large number of immigrants. We are a small island, and we have our limitations; limitations which very often conveniently ignore. However, refusing immigrants and leaving them in the to drift, or as some have even suggested, opening fire on them, is definitely not a solution. Amazingly enough, the gentleman I referred to above could see nothing unchristian about the former option. Since when has charity become racially selective? When Jesus said 'I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me, etc etc', I do not seem to recall any footnote or bracket which said 'Terms & Conditions Apply'. God's love is not an insurance policy; it is unconditional and egalitarian. Even if (and please note that I do not believe it to be so) they are savage cruel child-sacrificing tribesmen, what happened to 'Love thy enemy' and 'Turn the other cheek'?
The Church and all its avid supporters should bear in mind that when the Church first started out, it was on the verge of being an exclusive circumcised-only club. It was only through St Paul (remember the chap? 'Our father, St Paul?) who brought the rest of the world into the Church. Where would the church be if it hadn't been all-inclusive? It would have disappeared with all the other exclusive sects in vogue at the time such as the Mithraic cult.
So before we judge and condemn, let us take a step back and look at the whole picture. There are problems which need to be tackled, but sweeping everything under the carpet is not a solution. Let us not take political extremism lightly. Today, immigrants are the target. Tomorrow, it might be you. Whether because you are an atheist, a single parent, a homosexual, a disabled person, a labourer, an environmentalist, etc etc. The world is vast and diverse, and that is a fact we should embrace not oppose. Diversity is what makes us strong, not conformity and even less so superiority.
And all this has made me wonder at how all of a sudden Malta, the subjugated race par excellence which has been colonised for the last couple of millenia, has suddenly become this superior Catholic pure race. Since when is multiculturalism a dirty word for Malta? We are the most ethnically 'impure' country in all of Europe. Go through our telephone directory and you will find Semitic, Italian and English surnames all over the place. We speak a language that is a hybrid of Semitic and Romance (with some Germanic words thrown in for good measure). Our national cuisine draws on Italian and North African cooking, and our pop culture is a strange mixture of Euro-kitsch and Anglo-American materialism. And yet, we have the guts to speak about racial purity.
Apart from that, the argument that immigrants come here by choice is hard to believe, even if you discredit the the hundreds of first-hand experiences recounted by these immigrants. Who on earth would decide to cross a desert and brave an unpredictable sea in a small open boat? no-one can deny that the journey entails these treacherous crossings (unless we redraw the map to suit political propaganda). There IS a desert between Congo and Malta, and there IS a sea. We have seen countless images of the poor state the vessels carrying immigrants are in. I do not believe that anyone is willing to risk their lives in such a way simply to upgrade to a better way of life. These people want safety, not comfort or luxury. Ironically, it is 'civilised' society which is constantly seeking luxury and comfort, often at the expense of the environment, or of minorities.
It would be foolishly idealistic to say that Malta has the resources to maintain a large number of immigrants. We are a small island, and we have our limitations; limitations which very often conveniently ignore. However, refusing immigrants and leaving them in the to drift, or as some have even suggested, opening fire on them, is definitely not a solution. Amazingly enough, the gentleman I referred to above could see nothing unchristian about the former option. Since when has charity become racially selective? When Jesus said 'I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me, etc etc', I do not seem to recall any footnote or bracket which said 'Terms & Conditions Apply'. God's love is not an insurance policy; it is unconditional and egalitarian. Even if (and please note that I do not believe it to be so) they are savage cruel child-sacrificing tribesmen, what happened to 'Love thy enemy' and 'Turn the other cheek'?
The Church and all its avid supporters should bear in mind that when the Church first started out, it was on the verge of being an exclusive circumcised-only club. It was only through St Paul (remember the chap? 'Our father, St Paul?) who brought the rest of the world into the Church. Where would the church be if it hadn't been all-inclusive? It would have disappeared with all the other exclusive sects in vogue at the time such as the Mithraic cult.
So before we judge and condemn, let us take a step back and look at the whole picture. There are problems which need to be tackled, but sweeping everything under the carpet is not a solution. Let us not take political extremism lightly. Today, immigrants are the target. Tomorrow, it might be you. Whether because you are an atheist, a single parent, a homosexual, a disabled person, a labourer, an environmentalist, etc etc. The world is vast and diverse, and that is a fact we should embrace not oppose. Diversity is what makes us strong, not conformity and even less so superiority.
posted by Gedudu at 1:13 PM
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