Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1259447
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW signed up to; and we have an EU that clearly is not addressing the issue in humanitarian terms. But we have to stand up to all that. We can't just remain in the EU, and accept everything that's thrown at us. This year alone, 4,000 people have been sent back to Libya, most of them to torture and premature death. We have to use all the tactics we can, as an intelligent, progressive people, to say that this is an unsustainable and inhumane policy. Malta's race issues are often projected through the lens of 'irregular immigration'; yet at the same time, it is govern- ment's policy to invite foreign workers to fill local economic niches. This week, it was re- ported that a number of Turkish contract-workers are on hunger strike for lack of pay. Would you agree that our economic system, in this respect, also depends on a form of 'slavery'? I think that unrestrained capi- talism will lead us back to slavery again. Slavery, and fascism. I'm not the only one who believes this; lots of economists have written about it. But if a system is based only on the accumulation of profit, by the most powerful, it can only go in one direction; eventually, it will descend into slavery and fascism. This is why it's so important to realise our responsibility to unite and stand up for equality and positive reforms. Because it is very easy to slide into a down- ward spiral. When you have a lot of contract-labour coming in, with workers who do not have equal rights, or any form of pro- tection, those people become extremely vulnerable. Cases like those Turkish people, who hav- en't been paid in five months… it's scandalous. And it's our responsibility to stand up and say, 'this shouldn't happen in Malta'. We didn't build a free Malta for this to hap- pen. On the contrary, we built a free Malta to help vulnerable people… Some will surely note the irony, however, that this is happening under a Labour government; and that the daughter of Dom Mintoff – a man who was synon- ymous with the Labour Party for so many years – would protest against a Labour government's policies. Do you think your fa- ther would have felt the same way about the situation, were he still alive? My father came from a very poor family. He decided, at a very young age, that if he was ever go- ing to have any power, he would use it to help the vulnerable; and to fight for equality. First of all, he was trying to fight for equality with Britain – through Integra- tion – but when it became clear that the British weren't interest- ed in being equal partners with us, he fought full-out for an Inde- pendent Malta: where the Mal- tese would be treated with equal dignity as human beings… which was not the case before, under the British. That, in a nutshell, was his ide- ology. And he believed in it very strongly. His last words, in fact, were 'everyone should have a de- cent life'. And I think we need to remember and embrace that ide- ology… Do you feel that the Labour Party of today has drifted away from these ideological roots? There are many elements in the Labour Party that still strongly believe in justice, equality and peace. But I think some of them have stepped back. The same ideals are being up- held in some ways, however. The Labour government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis has been ex- cellent, overall: in protecting our health, and putting health first… over and above profit. As we have seen in other countries, that hasn't happened everywhere. But I think that today's Labour government is, and has been – and this has been continuous from Joseph Muscat, to Robert Abela – a 'business government'. Its priority is to help businesses. And I think that there are ele- ments in business which want to have a divided workforce, where there is inequality. So the Labour government will have to take a decision – if it is put to the test – about its own stand on labour issues. We hav- en't reached that point yet. This is why it's important that we seize this opportunity, and make it clear that we, as a coun- try, do have this vision of ex- cellence, equality and respect. I think there is a groundswell for that. But there needs to be more transparency. What is going on with the arms trade between certain Maltese people, and Lib- ya? What's going on with the oil smuggling? All those things need to stop. Part of my father's vision was also about solidarity between the countries of the Mediterra- nean. Not just the north… but the south of the Mediterranean, too. Because at the end of the day, that's what we are. We're an island in the middle of the Medi- terranean Sea… There is also an irony in the fact that the slogan 'Malta L-Ewwel U Qabel Kollox' – one of Mintoff's most memorable quotes – has been adopted by the self-styled 'patriots' who are opposed to immigration. Do you think your father's words are being mis- understood? Or could they have also indirectly contributed to an underlying sense of xenopho- bia? I'd say it was a slogan for the time in which it was used: they were colonial times, and we were trying to get away from being a colony. In that sense, it may still be relevant today: for instead of a British colony, we have become puppets of the EU. Not that I'm against the EU, myself. On lots and lots of lev- els, I think it's a very progressive thing that we're members. But certain EU policies are unsus- tainable, and inhumane… like its migration policy. But there is another reason why I think 'Malta L-Ewwel U Qabel Kollox' is still a relevant slogan today. Malta should aim to be 'first and foremost' when it comes to justice and account- ability, equality and peace. We should aim to be a country that is free from ignorance, arrogance and prejudice. This is the ideal that is worth our commitment… that all peo- ple in Malta and Gozo are safe, and treated equally with respect and care. And we could make this happen. Many of us already live by this code.