Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1120492
23.05.19 9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday, the newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN COORDINATING EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALISTS: MASSIMO COSTA | LIAM CARTER BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 THE arraignment of two soldiers over the racially-motivated murder of an Ivo- rian immigrant has unmasked the dan- gers of xenophobia and racism. Lassana Cisse Souleymane was mur- dered in the vilest of ways. He was killed in a drive-by shooting, with one of the accused reportedly admitting to the police that he was targeted because he was black. Unfortunately, it has taken the mur- der of an innocent man, a father of three, for many to wake up to the dan- gers of flirting with xenophobia and racism. This wakeup call must jig society, po- litical leaders, social institutions and businesses into action. Murder may be the ultimate sacrifice a person had to pay but in the words of Education Minister Evarist Barto- lo this week at the inauguration of a new building at MCAST, it would be a mistake to stop at shock over what happened. "On a daily basis, we may be killing someone with prejudice… we need to accept diversity not simply tolerate it. We have no alternative but to open ourselves to the world," Barto- lo said. Xenophobia harms people, society and business. It stifles creativity and innovation, breaks individuals and de- stroys a country's soul. This country has experienced expo- nential economic growth over the past five years that has brought with it an influx of foreign workers, who have plugged labour market shortages. This has brought with it a multitude of chal- lenges Malta may have never experi- enced before. And it is only natural that in times like these the challenges can cause people to fear the unknown. These fears have to be addressed. Is- sues of law and order cannot be swept under the carpet. Disorderly and an- ti-social behaviour must be nipped so as to ensure that communities feel safe and orderly. Councils and private companies need support in the form of cultural medi- ators to address some of the challeng- es posed by foreigners, who may not know Maltese customs, laws and cul- ture. This is where the country has prob- ably failed. And in the absence of ed- ucation, cultural mediation and effi- cient law enforcement, fear takes root, allowing some to capitalise on this to fan the flames of prejudice. The foreign workforce is a necessi- ty and it is in the interest of human- ity and social wellbeing that they are made to feel welcome in Malta. It is within this context that the busi- ness community needs to step up its game. A greater effort has to be ex- panded to ensure workplace mediation takes place between Maltese and for- eigners. Wages to foreigners should be within legal parameters and just. This must happen within a socie- ty-wide effort so that these new chal- lenges are transformed into opportu- nities for all. In a globalised economy, countries that embrace the diverse talent of a multicultural society could turn out to be the more successful. Malta is no different. This country has always had a very open economy. Businesses have interacted with inter- national players for centuries. Embrac- ing openness should not be a problem for Malta. The current influx of foreign work- ers should not scare us but it has to be well-managed to avoid xenophobia rearing its head. Xenophobia harms people, society and business