Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1259447
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2020 OPINION plains that Maltese 'natives' were being "increasingly depicted in racialised terms which natural- ised their poverty, ill health and religious beliefs; drawing an im- plicit contrast with their Europe- an and Protestant rulers." Not even the Maltese ruling families, vassals of empire, could completely avoid racialisation. They founded the Casino Mal- tese as a reaction to being barred from the prestigious British-on- ly Union Club. Signs that stated 'Dogs, Indians/Irish/Blacks Not Allowed' were ubiquitous across the Empire. The colonial gaze was reflected in the hierarchy of the Casino Maltese, only this time it was a small minority of Maltese puliti (polite society) looking down on the Maltese masses. It doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to un- derstand that the working class fared worse. Born as British sub- jects, destitute Maltese workers forced to migrate to the British settler colony of Australia, were subject to the White Australia Policy, which aimed to keep the number of Maltese arrivals low. During one stand-out incident, Prime Minister Billy Hughes tried to prevent the disembarka- tion of Maltese men or 'coloured job-jumpers' and kept them im- prisoned aboard a ship for weeks. More recently, this racial am- bivalence was leveraged for po- litical mileage by the 'Yes' (to EU membership) campaign. One instance saw 'Yes' campaigners presenting EU membership as a neat segue from Malta's Nor- man conquest and the victory of Western European Chris- tian culture. Throughout the campaign, the alternative to EU membership was unfavourably compared with 'inferior' rela- tions between Arab countries and the EU. There were various legitimate reasons for joining the EU. The benefits centred around the economic, environmental and security pillars. Indeed, there is general consensus that EU mem- bership remains overwhelmingly positive and that there is a strong correlation between member- ship, and Malta's recent eco- nomic growth and pockets of ex- cellence like its LGBTI+ human rights record. However, in the current tense immigration stand-off, we should be reflecting on the less palatable side of the discourse surrounding membership and the racist dog-whistles that are coming back to haunt us. Leaping past post-colonialism Maltese voters understood all too clearly that settling the de- bate about our ambivalent white- ness was the cherry on the EU membership cake. They eagerly ate it up, seemingly settling Mal- ta's identity question. The coun- try leapfrogged past post-colo- nialism into a post-racial reality without ever settling anxieties about our standing in a racialised pecking order. What could have been an op- portunity to reconcile a post-co- lonial identity with an exciting EU future was transformed into an exercise in forgetting. Our whiteness rubber-stamped, our anxieties repressed, bubbling away beneath the surface, only to flare up during debates, from abortion to immigration, that challenge our identity as white European Christians. I first started writing this article on Sette Giugno, the public holi- day during which we honour the four compatriots gunned down by British soldiers in 1919. The timing could not be more apt. The Sette Giugno monument itself became contested as both groups of protesters claimed ownership over the symbolism of this pivotal moment of civil diso- bedience. The absurdity of the small group of blue-collar, anti-mi- grant protesters recycling Dom Mintoff's anti-colonial slogans was not lost on observers. The distortion of history com- pounded by the Nazi salute and monkey sounds during the BLM demo, was as pitiful as it was nau- seating and disturbing. Under Mintoff's Labour government, Malta joined the Non-Aligned Movement and the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisa- tion, in support of 'the ideals of national liberation and Third World solidarity'. Racist groups like Imperium or Patriotti Maltin are not worthy representatives of the working class. The decoupling of the working class from Malta's tradition of internationalism is a gross mis- representation. Sette Giugno is notable for having catalysed the anti-colonial movement. But it was the excessive grain and bread prices charged by Maltese merchants, also suspected of having been war profiteers, that first triggered the riots. It was the homes of these profiteers that were ransacked. With the exception of Movi- ment Graffitti and some others present last Monday, the absence of a class dimension in the debate about migrant solidarity remains a glaring blindspot. George Floyd was not only killed because he was black. He was also killed for being poor. And irregular immigration re- mains a flashpoint in European politics because immigrants are poor and their host communities are predominantly the working class. Globally, diversity campaigns are enriched by the inclusion of a class analysis of both migrant and host communities. Activists are aware that the only way of reconciling them is through an intersectional response. Whilst racist rhetoric is cause for alarm, what does it say about those whose vocal positioning on matters of human rights or debates on rule of law and good governance, can often be ac- companied by a gleeful stream of ridicule of working class Mal- teseness? More often than not, it will take the form of sneering at their crude English accent, cari- caturing them as an ignorant and vulgar horde and therefore not puliti. How is this abuse aligned with the values of diversity and inclusiveness? In the taunts of "Go-beck-to- yor-cuntry!" and hamalli, there are distinct echoes of the co- lonial dehumanisation of the Maltese, such as the Victorian English woman quoted by Zam- mit saying of the Maltese as pos- sessing "inarticulate sounds of brutes than of human beings". The silent majority bristle at this punching-down and this plays into the hands of those who wish to ferment tension. There is a large number of voters who abhor the racist taunts but for whom the influx of immigrants remains a legitimate grievance. The vocal and influential minor- ity's ridicule is viewed as proof of bad faith. Another instance of point-scor- ing at their expense to curry fa- vour with 'outsiders'. But mock- ing those who are uncomfortable about immigration will not re- duce the salience of irregular im- migration in Maltese politics. Time to pause and reflect Where does this debate leave us? How do we square the cir- cle between the dehumanisation that we have internalised and that we now inflict on 'inferior outsiders' and 'inferior Maltese'? Admittedly, we can't draw di- rect parallels between the op- pression of black American citizens and migration in the Mediterranean. There is Malta's right to balance its sovereign- ty with EU obligations, as well our generous welfare state. This greatest of all European inven- tions is the price we willingly pay for greater social cohesion. There are still lessons that we can learn from the American ex- port of BLM. At the very least, it can offer a window into the ex- plosive outcomes of racialised inequality. We are not doing enough to prevent the brutalisa- tion of our growing community of Afro-Maltese and other bi/ multiracial citizens. I came across one muted call for the decolonisation of our physical space, starting with Queen Victoria's statue – one of hundreds of identical statues sprinkled all over colonies – that stands in front of the Casino Maltese in Valletta. My personal preference is for a broad re-ori- entation of our popular under- standing of history, starting with the State's display of the Knights' eight-pointed-cross in Malta's embassies. Removing symbols without an informed discussion about their underlying ideologies is pointless. And dogma papers over complexities, including the partially progressive nature in- herent to the contradictions of British imperialism. We owe it ourselves and future generations to have an authentic national conversation about the dysfunctional situation that we find ourselves trapped in – on one hand squeezed by the EU to manage irregular immigration solo, and on the other, repurpos- ing anti-colonial rhetoric that rings hollow. There are no easy or fast an- swers. I can only offer this: in the ab- sence of answers, the only option is to pause and reflect on how we move forward now that Europe's past is catching up with our pres- ent. Dr Michaela Muscat is a sociol- ogist writing in a private capaci- ty. The full article, complete with references, can be read at www. michaelamuscat.com Whilst racist rhetoric is cause for alarm, what does it say about those whose vocal positioning on matters of human rights or debates on rule of law and good governance, can often be accompanied by a gleeful stream of ridicule of working class Malteseness?