Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/556862
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 AUGUST 2015 26 Letters The arrival of irregular immigrants on our shores has ignited and exposed our racism. Comments on radio talk shows, all talk of what they are costing the state coffers and the hard public statements of certain ministers and backbenchers, betray racist undertones. The response in last Thursday's internet poll in The Times supporting unilateral repatria- tion is a further confirmation of this. Malta is a passionately racist country. Unless this monster is tackled in our schools, homes and places of work the suspicion, hatred and prejudice is likely to grow. Bob Marley sang 'until the colour of a man's skin is of no more sig- nificance to the colour of his eyes there is war.' The tolerant tone of these lyrics run a chord with just the few. Amongst the majority a strong and persistent bias reigns. We must un- derstand in the words of H.G. Wells that 'our true nationality is mankind.' People can be grouped by any number of physical differences, height, foot size, resistance to certain diseases. Race is no more significant than any other trait. Witness the outrage to the presence of black persons in Malta and the absence of any comments to the numerous northern and eastern European persons working, at times illegally, amongst us. The outrage or tolerance depends on one base criterion, race. *** We urge the education authorities to tackle this monster in our schools by providing teachers, schools, and students' parents with the necessary modern tools to be informed on the myriad of issues linked to immigration, race and poverty. Government is certainly sending mixed messages. The compassion of Minister for Family and Social Solidar- ity Dolores Cristina, is in stark contrast with the belligerent tone of the deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg and parlia- mentary secretary Tony Abela. Which is the voice of government? Bar the public statements of the Prime Minister, who has repeatedly spoken in compassionate terms about the plight of irregular immigrants, the minister for family is a voice in the wilderness round the cabinet table. As for the Labour Party, its lack of outright condemnation for the brutal behaviour of Armed Forces personnel in January and its failure to even ask for the inquiry to be completed have con- firmed its pandering to the electorate's whims diminishing its credentials as a progressive political force. In the absence of vision and drive by the political class, the media must fill the void. A media-led campaign highlighting the dangers of racism is urgently called for. *** All politicians worth their salt have the duty to be better informed on the issues at stake because misinforma- tion leads to xenophobia and worse still racism. This is a time for politicians to be leaders. Fanning the f lames of fear, prejudice and ignorance will only per- petuate racism and extremism. This is a time to take a stand. Now is the time to smash racism. Editorial • 14 August 2005 Smash racism New Labour is new no more Having read the article 'The man who will make British Labour unelectable?' (MaltaToday, Sun- day, 9 August), I couldn't help but wonder whether the late Margaret Thatcher was right in claiming that socialism is dead. After all, self-declared socialists such as the ones interviewed for the purpose of the article are keener on a more moderate approach which embraces capitalism, rather than traditional socialist values. The preceding point which went through my head while skimming through the article, which seems to bash Jeremy Corbyn, popped into my thoughts because of one major factor – that Conserva- tives in Britain and everywhere else around the world have forced socialists to think that their left- wing approach towards problem- solving is too old to work. Tony Blair, an avid supporter of the theory in question, sought to reform Labour in 1994 and together with aides such as Peter Mandelson and Alastair Camp- bell came up with "New Labour", which moved Labour to the centre of the political spectrum, making the British Labour party seem much more open to entrepreneur- ship and business in general. In taking this decision, one would argue that New Labour's architects were perhaps proving Margaret Thatcher right – real socialism was dead and it would be replaced by a centrist economic policy which when coupled with a progressive social agenda would be just enough to keep the party on the left by a whisker. However, New Labour is new no more, it has rather become old news for new young socialists who are unable to draw a line between the latter and a conservative economic policy. Young people all over the world are looking for newer solutions, and while in the States some would argue that the answer was found in Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, in Britain it seems that Corbyn is the object that shines the most on the left. Make no mistake, although born in the 1990s, I do understand the troubles which British Labour went through in the 1980s, when it was dubbed unelecta- ble. Michael Foot's legacy is the reason why some still have a bitter taste of a traditional Labourite movement; the very thought that Labour could elect a traditional socialist to the leadership scares them to death. It would be unwise, however, to dismiss Corbyn's 2020 vision with a 30-year-old criterion. One must rather look elsewhere, and at newer times preferably to find criteria which then could be ap- plied to Corbyn. The Scottish issue, where the Scottish National Party seemingly wiped Labour off the map in Scot- land, also needs to be taken into account. The SNP's nationalism, coupled with an anti-austerity message, made Labour seem too centrist for Scotland and as a result only one Labour candidate survived the so called "electoral tsunami" which saw over 40 La- bour MPs losing their seat. With regard to this issue, we have yet to ask ourselves – what will it take the Scots to regain their confidence in Labour? A centrist leader, or a more tradi- tional and authentic socialist? Brendan Zerafa Marsaxlokk Independence monument's origins On reading President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici's book 'Konvinzjoni u Esperjenza', I took particular interest where reference was made to the com- mission and execution of the Independence monument, as documented in his book. While appreciating Dr Mifsud Bonnici's appraisal of my work, I was at the same time astonished when he wrote on page 420: "kelli nispjegalu xi xtaqna min- ghandu: figura ta' mara zagh- zugha, qed tinhall mill-irbit; qed izzid il-fiducja fiha nnifisha, qed thares bi sfida lejn il-futur" ("I had to explain to him what we wanted from him: the figure of a young woman, untying herself from shackles, showing growing confidence in herself, looking at the future challengingly"). I took exception to those words because what he wrote gives the impression that the whole artistic idea, including the details, were those of the cabinet. In actual fact it was Chevalier Paul Naudi, chair- man of the Committee for the Celebration of the 25th An- niversary of independence, who had contacted me and asked me to prepare a scale model for a monument commemorating Independence. In the competition, which was held for that purpose and in which I did not participate, no indication was given as to what form this monument had to take. When no one was selected, Chev. Naudi commissioned me to prepare a scale model, and even then, he gave me no direc- tion regarding how the work had to be expressed. The whole artistic idea of the monument was mine and not as indicated in the book. I contacted President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici for clarifi- cation and in a letter dated 16th June, 2015 he affirmed that : "L-izvilupp tal-idea huwa kollu kemm huwa ta' Ganni Bonnici. Huwa l-artist. Il-Ministri u l-Kabinett ma kellhomx u ma ppretendew l-ebda meritu hlief li ghamlu ghazla tajba meta hadna d-decizjoni li naghzlu lill-iskultur Bonnici ghal dan l-inkarigu." ("The idea's develop- ment is entirely Ganni Bonnici's. He is the artist. The Ministers and the Cabinet did not have and did not assume they had any merit except in making the right choice when we decided to pick sculptor Bonnici for this task.") Ganni Bonnici Attard Malta's culture of dependency With reference to Wednesday's editorial 'A national culture of dependency', I believe it failed to identify "who is to blame for this state of affairs" which the edito- rial itself raised. Instead of saying what I think would be the right answer to that question, I opt to quote one of my favourite movies, 'V for Vendetta', taken from a speech which the main character 'V' addresses to the citizens of London: "Because while the truncheon (guns and violence) may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terri- bly wrong with this country, isn't there? … How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsi- ble than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror." George Caruana Mosta Women and religion Over the years, we have had too many religious programmes on the non-religious station Campus FM. The latest is a series of lec- tures by a woman on women and religion – as if there isn't enough proselytising in priest-ridden Malta! In this age of religious fanati- cism, we now have female pros- elytisers too. Women have always been reli- gion's most gullible dupes, from the hysterical Mary Magdalene to the God-doubting Mother Teresa. Maltese women are devotees of id-Duluri, a cult that harks back to Isis, the original Sorrow- ing Mother, and to Demeter, the Mater Dolorosa of the ancient Greeks. A week before Easter, you see mournful Maltese women shuf- fling behind a kitschy statue of Mary, with a dagger in her heart, while they mumble their dreary rosaries. It is a fact that women shed tears on demand. No wonder they're so devoted to the sad, lachrymose cult of id-Duluri! In Mediterranean countries, religion is "a secondary sexual characteristic of the female". John Guillaumier St Julian's Jeremy Corbyn, apparently the object that shines the most on the left