Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1181922
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2019 INTERVIEW like this for hours, but at the end of the day it's a very simple argument that we're making. There needs to be commit- ment… This is precisely what has been lacking so far, though. Earlier this month, Europe's interior ministers meet to discuss (among other things) the draft agreement drawn up at an earlier meeting in Malta. With few exceptions, other EU member states refused to commit to the deal. So when you say 'there needs to be more commitment', does that extend to the European Union as a whole? Yes, certainly. I feel I must stress that the EU needs to do much, much more. We sup- port all lobbying efforts in that direction. But I don't think the argument should be, 'we need commitment because the EU is somehow going to benefit'. The reality is that Malta – eve- rybody living here – is also suf- fering as a result of the lack of an inclusion policy. So it is in our best interests to address these issues. As long as you have social exclusion – which takes many different forms, including racism – and as long as here is a huge gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', across the board… in particu- lar, when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees, because it coincides with intersec- tionalities regarding race and other factors… when all this is in place, society as a whole loses out. If we are commit- ted to social well-being, then it means supporting the well- being of everyone living here. That is the only way we can have a win-win situation. It will always be 'lose-lose', when there are social divisions. We can see examples of this in many different places in Malta: not just in terms of deprivation and marginalisation, but also in heightened hate-speech, aggression and violence. No- body enjoys living in that kind of environment. So, yes, there needs to be more commitment from the EU. Yes, Malta needs to visibly demonstrate its com- mitment to integration. But is in the interest of all of us to invest in more social inclusion. We also need to start look- ing at the wider context. It is true that Malta has been re- ceiving asylum seekers for 20 years. But in that time, Malta has also gone through its own dramatic changes, which have nothing specifically to do with asylum…. 'Specifically with asylum', perhaps not. But surely there is a connection between Malta's dramatic changes, and immigration in the wider sense? I was just coming to that: we now have a declared economic policy that relies on migration – and for obvious reasons I have no issue with that at all, myself. But it doesn't mean that we can celebrate having a diverse population, without making the changes that need to be made to support this process. Obviously, the area I am very focused on concerns asylum seekers and refugees. But that's not the only consid- eration. Population growth, in itself, has implications across the board. We need invest- ment in our education system, healthcare… even in our roads, which are now used by many more people. We need to focus on environmental issues, too: more safe spaces, green spaces, and so on. Not to mention our sense of national identity, and what it means to be Maltese. Even if most of these people will not, eventually become Maltese – and the majority won't, of course; least of all, those who are beneficiaries of temporary, subsidiary protec- tion – the reality is that we are still living in a multicultural, multi-lingual, and diverse soci- ety. Yet we have not made the necessary investment. But what sort of support structures do you have in mind? For instance: when we say 'foreign labour', we sometimes overlook the fact that the peo- ple coming here are also hu- man beings. As such, they need to provided with the necessary support mechanisms so that we can all adjust to this real- ity. It cannot be just a matter of shipping them in, and as- suming that all they're going to do here is work. Basing an economic policy on foreign la- bour, also means providing for the needs of the people who come to the country. Also, there is an issue of de- pendency. If all foreigners moved out tomorrow, the eco- nomic consequences would be catastrophic. With so much dependence on foreign labour, entire industries would im- plode. So I think we do need to start a conversation about where we are heading. Do we want to be part of a globalised world, or do we want to re- main locked in the models of the past? This raises a small irony. 'Globalisation' was once a buzz-word in Maltese politics… especially in the years building up to EU accession, which was itself rooted in the premise of 'taking our rightful place on the international stage'. Yet immigration is also rooted in the same premise of a 'globalised world'… In some levels, we have not just 'embraced' globalisation, but really held it close to heart. But at the same time, it seems we are denying the existence of the other side that comes with globalisation. By neces- sity, it means learning how to live in a diverse population. And we haven't made the shift. In fact, we haven't even started a conversation about making that transition. It's not just the asylum system that is strug- gling. It is much, much bigger than that. The whole system is struggling to cope. When it comes to asylum, however, I have been arguing for many years now that we are dealing with a 21st century re- ality, using 19th century tools and approaches. That is not go- ing to work. There is much to celebrate about globalisation; but there is also much to chal- lenge and question. There is heartache and trauma involved in this process. We need to talk about all of that, too. And by 'we', I mean everybody living in Malta: Maltese and foreigners alike, regardless of race, creed, colour, sexual orientation, or any other factor. I think that sweeping these is- sues under the carpet, or mak- ing great shows of strength and defiance, isn't going to get us anywhere. It only reinforces the toxicity. a long-term plan PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BIANCHI