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Bring the Immigrants out of the Shadow (Times of Malta
26th. June 2010)Fr Dionysius Mintoff
OFM, director, John XXIII Peace Lab, Ħal Far
The
idea that Unions in Malta would endorse
legalising immigrants
strikes some as absurd. Malta has a hard enough
time competing with cheap foreign labour. Why
undercut them within our own borders? Especially
with a good number of Maltese citizens losing their
jobs?
These questions deserve an
answer since the bad economy will only strengthen
the stiff winds of opposition that the Government
and Opposition will have to fight. Legalisation is
already politically treacherous thanks to the
tireless works of restrictionists who have spent
years denouncing illegal immigrants as harmful to
the country’s health. They have long compared the
undocumented to invaders and parasites.
To understand why that view is
misguided helps to remember that Malta has largely
brought that argument and spent energy to seal the
border as tightly as possible. It has done
everything it can to make illegal immigrants
miserable in the hope that they will abandon the
idea of arriving here, and tell everyone back home
to forget about Malta. And how has that worked? It
hasn’t.
The refugee work force is still
overwhelmingly undocumented as are the workers doing
the other dirty or dangerous jobs in places like
hotels, care-workers and restaurants. Soaring
unemployment has hit both skilled and unskilled
workers hard. But laid-off workers have not been
lining up to pick potatoes and a hidden population
of one thousand (?) undocumented immigrants has not
begun a mass exodus anywhere.
Nor have the forces of global
economic migration magically adjusted to fit the
Maltese mood. Workers still cross the border.
Although the numbers are low – a sign of the
downturn particularly in home building. When the
economy recovers, the flow will revive. Economic
forces are dynamic, even if our immigration policies
are not.
The Unions, at least, understand
that here is a better way. They see the immigration
situations. Despite the huge burden our country
provides basic social services to many displaced
Africans. It is true that other countries should
share the burden. We should not be punished for our
generosity. It is true that many are left on the
verge of homelessness and hunger. Even in
humanitarian crises no one should be satisfied with
mere hospitality for homeless Africans to become
homeless Maltese.
The Unions must look at this
situation as an issue of worker employment. If
undocumented immigrants undercut wages and job
conditions for Maltese – and many do, by tolerating
low pay and abuse and bolstering an off-the books
system that robs law-abiding employees and taxpayers
– it is because they cannot stand up for their
rights.
“Workers do not depress wages.
Unscrupulous employers do.” Unemployment in many an
industry is above 12%. Many young people are out of
work. So what should we do? Unions must suggest a
reform that allows immigrants to legalise.
It is true that the Government
temporary shelter and aid give little comfort to the
refugees who are highly vulnerable to contagious
disease and violence. This help acknowledges the
scale of the crisis but ignores the hundreds of
available spots that go unfilled every year.
Unions should do more and they
have a particular responsibility to those displaced
by war and hunger which caused them to be driven
away from their homes. Unions must work hard to
find a way that allows immigrants to legalise.
The Peace Lab believes that if we
can free them so that they can come out of the
shadows, we can not only improve their lives, but
all workers’ lives.
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 US
Ambassador Visit to the Peace lab. (24th. June 2010)
Fr. Dionysius Mintoff together and a
number of volunteers were pleased to welcome the US
Ambassador Douglas W. Kmiec to the Peace Lab.
He was taken around the place and was
given an insight of the work and activities which is carried
out at the JOHN XXIII Peace Laboratory of
Malta.
It was explained
to him how this site, which was originally part of
the Hal Far airfield involved in intensive air
combats during World War II, has been turned into a
sanctuary with a number of associated buildings,
surrounded by extensive gardens was
changed
from a War station to a Peace Centre.
Today this
is a living practical example of the role
that a non governmental, voluntary organization can
play in shaping the conscience and opinion of the
majority.
During his visit met several of the immigrants who
are given
shelter and hospitality
at
the Peace Lab, and heard from them their worries and
aspirations for the future.
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John XXIII Kindness Award 2010
(23rd. June 2010)
For the forty
seven years running the organising committee of
the Peace Laboratory asked for the co-operation
of all Heads of Schools and person in charge of
Institutions and Organisations in the selection
of a boy or girl who deserves this award.
The Award apart
from seeking a winner will also emphasise the
innate kindness that one finds in the vast
majority of children. The award is granted on
the basis of love, kindness and generosity
towards others.
Dylan
Caruana a Form IV
Student who attends St. Michael School
Qormi has been
selected for the Award of Kindness John XXIII
- 2010.
Dylan has been
studying at ST Michael School for the past four
years. In that same scholastic year the school
admitted Saviour Pace who suffers from
Downs’
Syndrome.
Dylan was often
offering all kinds of help to Saviour, staying
next to him during those lessons that Saviour
could cope on his own such as during PSD, Drama,
Art and Physical Education. Dylan went even
further, he tried to do his best not to let
Saviour be bullied or in any way “abused” by
other students.
Dylan is also
an all rounder, good at his studies, excels as a
sports man especially in football and has an
excellent record in his behaviour.
After examining
carefully the applications from fifty four
schools the Peace Lab selected Dylan
Caruana to be the
winner of the 2010 edition and asks the
President of the Republic to present him the
gold medal bearing the image of John XXIII to
mark the anniversary of the death of the good
Pope.
The award was presented by President
George Abela and is given every year, by the Peace Lab, to commemorate the
anniversary of the death of Pope John XXII.
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World Refugee Day: An Appeal by the Peace
Lab
(20th. June 2010)
Joe Abela, Peace Lab Co-ordinator
The advance of science and technology has in many
ways made our world smaller, and turned it into a
single village. But in this globalised era, not all
people have similar opportunities and quality of
life. The global village is full of contradictions
and discrepancies.
Many injustices are visible and tangible. Every day
some people make fortunes, while just as quickly
others are reduced to poverty. Some people live in
peace and comfort. And rubbing shoulders with them
are many others who have no peace and no comfort.
There are people living in
splendour and opulence, while many others cannot
make ends meet.
The globalisation game has winners and losers.
Tourists and vagabonds; merchants and slaves;
consumers and objects of consumption. Bought and
sold just like any other commodity in the global
market.
World Refugee Day leads us to look at these ugly
truths that we seldom reflect on in the rest of the
year. In our hurried lives, filled with work,
shopping and entertainment, there is precious little
time to spare for those who have nothing to eat, who
cannot work, cannot buy, and cannot live in peace;
for those people who are persecuted and have to flee
their town or country, for those who have no rights.
For people living in comfort, such thoughts are just
a waste of time. Every year, several thousand people
are forced to flee with just the clothes on their
back, launched unwillingly on a journey with no
clear destination, in the hope of finding somewhere
to live in peace. This reality affects us heavily in
Malta, thanks to our location in the middle of the
sea between Africa and Europe.
We have got used to the sight of boatloads of
immigrants, especially in summer, packed like
sardines, in search of safety. We are used to
complaining about them, and throwing at them any
accusation we can think of.
Some of the most common allegations are that they
bring disease with them, that they're taking up
scarce funds, that they are invading our country.
Our politicians find it convenient to tell us how
much time and money and effort is taken up because
of immigrants, and that they're doing their utmost
to deliver us from this plague.
We have no time to listen to their stories. We don’t
care much that the unjust rules of the global
markets turned their lives upside down, destroyed
their jobs and their economies, and left them with
no hope for a better future. The global markets
leave them no option but a slow death if they stay
in their country. The weak, the poor and the
vulnerable have no other choice.
What led to all this?
Millions of people around the world – men, women,
young and old – die from hunger, infectious
diseases, war, terrorism and other conflicts. Those
with enough strength and money do not resign
themselves to this cruel destiny, but leave their
country clandestinely, hoping for a better future
when they reach the countries that control the
global markets. The markets that brought them so
much suffering. The same markets that brought
weapons and conflict to their country, that
slaughtered their children and ripped their
communities apart. The same markets that made their
crops worthless by giving subsidies to the already
rich agricultural businesses of Europe and North
America.
There is a market that puts a heavy price on the
voyage to Europe. All these markets see them only as
objects, and not as individuals; they give them no
value, and no rights.
Solidarity
In this day that the United Nations has dedicated to
refugees, the Peace Lab in Ħal Far stands in
solidarity with the in the globalisation
game. In solidarity with those people who still
believe in life, and therefore rejected the destiny
of death and decided to undertake the voyage to
Europe in search of a better life.
olidarh individ who lost
their life on the voyage between Africa and Europe.
In solidarity with those individuals who are locked
up in detention centres, their only crime being that
of looking for a better life.
An Appeal
On this day, we appeal to the Maltese population to
show mercy to the immigrants and refugees, and to
look at them not with suspicion, but with love and
understanding. Finally, we appeal to the authorities
to implement a policy of integration. We appeal for
'integration' to be more than just a word bandied
about in reports and conferences and then promptly
forgotten.
Together we should work to make our country a place
where immigrants can live their life with dignity.
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 Photographic
Exhibition ‘Africa’ in Parliament
(March
2009)
In March 2009, the Parliament
hosted the Photographic exhibition ‘Africa’ in
its
Committee Room. After travelling through various
cities in Italy, the exhibition was brought to
Malta from Assisi on the initiative of Fr. Dionysius
Mintoff, Founder and director of the PeaceLab (Laboratorju
tal-Paci), and Hon Galea, Speaker of the House
of Representatives.
The exhibition comprised
50
portraits by Cesare Pippi. The photos showed a
diversity of African faces, mainly of children and
young people from Mali, the Ivory Coast, Zanzibar,
Kenya and Senegal, amongst others.
In his speech during the
opening of the exhibition, Hon Galea said that this
exhibition should help the vi sitors to understand
that Africa is not just about poverty, dictatorships
and was, often leading to illegal immigration into
other countries. Although these aspects feature
prominently in the news, Africa is also a continent
full of opportunities wherein lies a great part of
the future of the world. Mr. Speaker noted too that
the exhibition was taking place at the same time
that the House was debating for aid.
Fr. Mintoff also referred to
the fact that the exhibition was being hosted in the
place where decisions are taken, enabling visitors
to look at Africa from a different perspective, not
solely as a continent begging for aid.
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 Franciscans
International Inaugural Award of Human Rights 2010
(6th
April 2010)
Rev. Fr. Dionysius Mintoff OFM,
of the Franciscan OFM Province in Malta, was awarded
with the ”Inaugural award of Human Rights 2010″ at
the Franciscans International in Geneva. The
celebration was held at the Franciscans
International Offices in Geneva on the 9th April
2010.
Fr. Dionysius
was one of two Franciscans who simultaneously
shared their dream of Franciscans working for
justice at the United Nations (UN), in 1982. The
seed that he planted with Sr. Elizabeth Cameron OSF
(RIP) grew into what is now known as Franciscans
International, (FI), the first collaborative
ministry of the whole Franciscan Family.
Extracts
from messages of congratulations :-
I know very well that
you spared no effort and continue your hard work
to help suffering humanity especially with your
activities in the Peace Lab. You certainly
deserve the award.
On behalf of
myself and all the people of Malta I send you my
congratulations with my wishes for good health,
peace and many years to carry on your work for
the benefit of all.
Dr. George Abela - President of the Republic of Malta
Fr. Mintoff's past has been a life
dedicated to other. In spite of his advanced
age he remains active and alert;
by no means is he ready to rest on his
laurels; his energy is legend and so it remain.
Dr. Tonio Borg - Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Award presented by Franciscans
International to you is a living witness of your
hard and long work in the Peace Lab for the past forty
years, in a variety of actions in favour of
peace, justice and solidarity among the poor.
Dr. Joseph Muscat - Opposition leader
Really the Award is in the exact place.
You deserve more then one Award. Your known
effort to help the needy, the refugees and the troubled people and
your love and tolerance regarding the people of
other faiths, one great example for the leaders of all
religions.
I am sure that with motivate you to do
more good deeds, charity and sacrifices.
Imam Mohammad El-Sadi - Head of the Islam Community Malta
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 Franciscan Minister General visits the Peace Lab
(28th
October 2009)
Fr Hosè Rodriguez Carballo O.F.M. is the
re elected Minister General of the Franciscan Order. Together with Fr.
Francis Walter o.f.m. he visited Malta on the 28th October
2009. The aim of his visit was to appeal the local Franciscans to preach
peace and love to a society where wealth and power are regarded as the
most important things in life. He could sense the “peace” that Francis
possessed in all the convents run by the friars in many parts of Malta and
Gozo. Modern Maltese appreciate this aspect of Franciscan spirit. He is
subject to so much pressure and tension from racing against the clock.
Fr. Carballo the minister general
accompanied by Fr. Sandro Overend the Provincial of the Fra nciscans
visited the Peace Lab. During his stay he joined the volunteers in prayers
and later inaugurated the Minores/09 an internet service in order to
alleviate the anxiety of not only the Asylum seekers but also of their
families. Fr Carballo stated that this service functions and gives great
mental support to its users.
Today the Franciscan Order is still one
of the largest and most vital religious Orders of men in the Catholic
Church. This Order numbers some 25,000 members throughout the world. Of
these, 6,000 work as missionaries in third world country territories.
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 Nuclear Bombing on Hiroshima
(August 2009)
Message
to the United Nations
On the occassion of the 64th Aniversary of the Nuclear Bombing on
Hiroshima,
6th. August 1945,
Peace Lab (Malta) has delivered a message to the United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
In his message Fr Dionysius Mintoff, founder and Chairman of the Peace
Lab, expresses his organisation’s admiration and support for the
Secretary-General‘s five-point plan to acheive a nuclear-weapon-free
world, calling for
greater progress towards achieving
this aim.
Humanity
still faces serious threats from this global scourge nearly 20 years after
the end of the Cold War.
Nuclear treats result from various sources including nuclear deterrance,
weapon hoarding, nuclear testing, the constant development of long-range
missiles and concerns that more countires and even terrorists may be
seeking nuclear capability.
Recalling Pope Benedict’s Pentecost speech the message expresses a hope
that all heads of states and other parties concerned pursue negotiations
in ‘good faith’ pushing formost in their agenda the value of life and
peace as a human right.
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For the attention of new MEPs (Times of Malta
Tuesday, 7th July 2009)
Fr Dionysius Mintoff
OFM, director, John XXIII Peace Lab, Ħal Far
While congratulating the MEPs on their
election, I take the opportunity to share with you the following
reflections.Immigration has been a
major topic during the last electoral campaign. Unfortunately,
intransigence and parochialism, rather than humanity, empathy and sense,
were the characteristics that mostly transpired in speeches and
manifestos. Now that the campaign is over, it is appropriate that issues
are discussed in a sober and intelligent manner.
Unlike what was suggested by some during
the electoral campaign, the issue of immigration may not be resolved
through patrols and repatriation. Apart from aggravating the victims'
ordeal, these simplistic proposals fool the local electorate into thinking
that a solution may be obtained in a high-handed, unilateral and insular
manner. We know, on the other hand, that the problem will remain as long
as we do not consider the reasons that induce people to leave their
country of origin. Most of these reasons are related to the unjust
economic, cultural and political relations that hold between Europe and
Africa.
As
members of a Parliament that represents one of the world's major political
and economic blocs, they ought to work for a comprehensive solution to the
problems of Africa and the third world. They need to be daring and
creative in their initiatives. In this regard I take the liberty to
suggest that, with fellow Parliamentarians, they promote initiatives like:
1.
An embargo on the sale of arms to Africa.
2.
The promotion of fair trade.
3.
Sanctions against European multinationals that are blatantly exploiting
the African continent and devastating communities and landscapes.
4.
Incentives to Africans and Third World governments that promote democracy
and human rights.
5.
A common and human European policy concerning immigrants who manage to
arrive in Europe; a policy that turns detention centres into training
camps that prepare these immigrants to enter the European workforce.
6.
Common European policies that banish the exploitation of immigrant workers
and promote the rights of the latter.
I
trust that their performance in the European Parliament will be
characterised by concern for the good of the oppressed and the promotion
of human rights
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John XXIII Kindness Award 2009
(June 2009)
The annual John XXIII Gold Medal is an
annual award to children in Malta and Gozo who have shown kindness and
generosity to less fortunate people in need of help.
Eleven-year-old Amy Zahra has been awarded
the Pope John XXIII Kindness award for helping out her friend and classmate
Jessica Bezzina who suffers from a rare developmental disorder.
Amy and Jessica are both students at the Sta
Monica Primary School in Birkirkara and, for the past four years, Amy has
been helping Jessica who has problems communicating.
Jessica suffers from Cornelia de Lange
Syndrome and can only communicate through gestures and loud noises. But Amy
manages to understand her friend and calm her down.
Every morning Amy waits for Jessica at the
school doors and accompanies her to class where other students also give a
helping hand.
“I’m very happy that the help I have been
giving to Jessica had been rewarded. I did not help her for the reward but
its nice to get some credit,” Amy said with a smile.
She added that, before Monday, she had never
heard about this award and was very surprised when she was informed she had
been chosen.
The award was given to her by President
George Abela and is given every year, by the Peace Lab, to commemorate the
anniversary of the death of Pope John XXII.
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Hiroshima Survivors Visit (November 2008)
The Peace lab has
since its founding in 1970, been very active in raising awareness among the
Maltese public about peace issues especially Nuclear Disarmament. It
has collaborated with international peace organisations to organise and
conferences on this subject both in Malta and other European countries.
The horror of nuclear war was very
clearly shown by the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Every year the Peace Lab commemorates the bombing of these
cities in the local media.
The Peace Lab warmly welcomed and
sincerely thanks some of the survivors of these bombings for accepting our
invitation to come as guests of the Peace Lab to deliver us the truth that
war knows no law except that of might.
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UNHCR visit to Peace Lab Halfar
(April 2008)
The UNHCR
delegation from Geneva and Rome visited the Peace Lab to hear the views of
this non governmental organisation on the present situation of asylum
seekers in Malta.
The UNHCR
delegation led by Mr. Walter Irving met fr. Dionysius Mintoff o.f.m.
director and Mr. Joe Abela co-ordinator of the Peace Lab and many youths.
Though the
government is spearing no effort to help these youths to secure an
independent future, fr. Mintoff explained that many difficulties are
cropping up each day especially for the rejected cases.
At the moment
there is no repatriation policy in Malta; however it will come some time in
the future. The problems in Africa are too big and complicated to address
here but it has to be realised that this situation will not go away. Simply
sending someone back to the same circumstances means that they will likely
try again. They could end up in Malta a second or third time.
Rejected
people are given the permission to remain in Malta for three months at a
time. They are provided accommodation at an open center and the daily
allowance at a reduced rate. They can enter legal employment if they find an
employer to complete the work permit application form.
They are free
to leave the open center and find accommodation in Malta, become self
sufficient and find employment, but again this is primarily in the illegal
market place.
Thought should
be given to equipping rejected people with skills relevant to their home
situation thereby encouraging them to stay and build a life for themselves
and their families.
Before leaving
Mr. Irving wrote a shore message to the Peace Lab director and residents. It
runs as follows ‘Thanks for your hospitality. Another visit to the Peace lab
which never changes!, the wonderful gardens, the welcoming atmosphere and
the many refugees who have obtained strong support. Always grateful to call
on fr. Mintoff and to get a little of the magic and dynamism of your centre
and home.
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 Ghettos on Malta -
by Marika Azzopardi
{Published
in The Malta Independent 24th. January 2009)
It is the same story over
again. People who want to go to Europe end up in Malta and become embroiled
in a situation that sees them unwilling captives on an island that hosts
them unwillingly, whilst some legal, international, European or African,
technicality is being resolved elsewhere. And in the meantime war goes on in
their country, their family members grow older and further apart, time is
lost and lives stand on hold, in oblivion. Yet, we have to pause and think
before blurting out haphazard statements - if the perilous weather
conditions of a wintry Mediterranean sea cannot deter these migrants from
risking a crossing, things must be really bad where they come from.
Fr Dionysius Mintoff tries hard. He works
unstintingly with the poor people of Hal Far, the poor people who visit the
Peace Lab each and every day asking for help, for support, for supplies.
They are the poor people of Africa who are even poorer, even in Malta. He
knows the Maltese people cannot support this situation for very much longer
and he knows the people of Africa are pawns in an international gamble that
cannot be resolved any time soon and which very few really care to solve.
Yet, he keeps trying to find solutions.
He does his best to
organise events that will keep communication levels high and its channels
wide open. Last Sunday, World Refugee Day, the Peace Lab organised a
successful repeat of last December’s Open Day when Asylum Seekers
congregated with members of the Maltese public who were interested in
sharing moments of African and Maltese culture.
Dance, laughter, talk. Some
tea and music – tribal sounds from Africa, folklore dance from Malta. Fr
Dionysius recalls the words of one of the organisers who coined the whole
event a ‘spontaneous fusion’. It is merry-making that tries hard to ward off
ill-feelings and to somewhat dispel the harshness of reality.
A reality which surfaces
during Holy Mass at the Peace Lab, when images of distressed people who land
here on boats, are shown on the big screen within the tiny chapel and the
words of a Somali man reverberate in tandem… “There was an island in front
of us, it was Malta. I didn’t want to go there, nobody wanted to go there;
we all knew it is a small island and that so small a country cannot give
shelter to all the people escaping from Africa because of war and famine.”
But ultimately when fear of stormy waters takes over, when the boat is
intercepted by law and order, there is really no choice.
The Somali man laments,
even whilst knowing that detention of its very nature, must be tough. “I
would like simple things – sleeping in a bed, not on a mattress on the
floor; a door for the women’s showers when my wife is washing herself; hot
water, electricity…. We are too many people in so small a space and we
cannot wash properly our clothes and our blankets. It is so dirty here.”
As I sit writing, I watch
the rain dismally. It’s been raining all day – a long, wet, dull day. My
feet are cold, my hands are cold, but I have a de-humidifier and a heater
for company and at least I am dry. I wonder about the people returning to
the tents this afternoon and finding all their possessions, probably,
soaking wet.
I listen to the news – Gaza
is burning, the British are trying to save their banks, Obama is being
inaugurated as president soon. And then I read a news article on a recent
issue of The Guardian Weekly which talks about how ‘Malta grapples with
influx of immigrants’. Perhaps we should look closer at our own shores to
discover what Aidan Jones refers to as being “ ….2,000 (men & women) in
ramshackle camps” and “…two cramped, unsanitary open centres that are
effectively African ghettos.”
Ghettos on Malta? Yes.
Jones writes of the Maltese reality and the fact that the Maltese are hardly
to blame for the situation they’ve been handed, even though Malta’s
18-month-long detention policy is being openly criticised. It is easy for an
outsider to speak up about such a problem. Yet no outsider has well and
truly come up with any real solution to the problems of the Africans on
Malta, to the Maltese problem. After all, this African problem that is also
a European problem, has well and truly become a very real problem of the
Maltese and one which won’t be disappearing very quickly.
Meantime, Fr Dionysius worries and frets.
For the very same reasons that Jones recites in
his article.
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