Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/736806
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2016 10 JAMES DEBONO WHILE Malta has seen a "mete- oric rise" on ILGA-Europe's Rain- bow Index mainly due to legislative progress, a similar rapid rise on the Migrant Integration Policy In- dex is "unlikely" because "migrant integration is significantly more complex" to address and needs "a sustained information campaign to raise awareness and knowledge about what integration means in practice". This frank admission is made in a paper co-authored by Civil Rights Minister Helena Dalli – whose portfolio includes both gay rights and the integration of migrant communities – and Silvan Agius, Director of the Human Rights and Integration Directorate, in a paper published in Sociology of the Mal- tese Islands, a new book launched this week. In 2015 Malta scored 89% in the ILGA index – which measures progress on legislation and policy with regard to LGBTI rights – reaching the top spot in Europe after seeing its rating increase by 54 points over three years. But in 2015 Malta ranked 33rd out of the 38 countries assessed in terms of migrant integration. Moreover while LGBTIQ equal- ity can be addressed primarily through legislative changes, mi- gration requires "changes to the policies being implemented by dif- ferent parts of government" which required more "interdepartmental coordination." Dalli and Agius are also cautious of more "governmental efforts" on integration as these will not necessarily result in more positive attitudes, citing the "harsh words and protests" on online comments board and the social media which met reports on the minister's ini- tiatives promoting integration. One major stumbling block for integration is cultural: while many Maltese citizens have LGBTIQ relatives or friends whom they can relate to, "a significant portion of the population continues to have no direct contact with migrants" and less so within immediate cir- cles – something confirmed by a MediaToday survey commis- sioned by the ministry in 2015 dur- ing the launch of the Mind D Gap information campaign. Another obstacle is the "vola- tile and unpredictable" migration flows, which have seen the arrival of many undocumented migrants reaching Malta over a short pe- riod. While the slowing down of these emergencies, thanks to the action of Italian authorities, has given Malta some respite, "flows and routes can shift rapidly and any strategy has to plan ahead for this". The article does not refer to the political impact of the aborted pushback in July 2013 – an action later disowned by the Prime Min- ister as a "mistake" – but which may have hardened anti immi- grant sentiments among segments of the population, but lists a num- ber of measures aimed at promot- ing integration taken by the same government. These include action against precarious employment to give Maltese workers a level playing field at work, an area where they were facing "stiff competition" from migrants who are generally willing to accept lower pay. Ac- cording to Dalli and Agius this measure helped to assuage the fear of migrants "who take jobs of the Maltese." A policy framework for migrant integration was also launched and the Directorate for Human Rights and Integration was set up togeth- er with a Forum for Integration Affairs which includes representa- tives of migrant communities in Malta. While these steps clearly show the government's direction on mi- grant integration, "it remains diffi- cult to speculate how far and how fast the government can move in the field." But "success in the economy and other sectors will hinge on how integrated society is and the size of the contribution of both nationals and migrants in the country." The book, Sociology of the Mal- tese Islands, edited by sociolo- gists Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown, gives a scholarly overview of different facets of Maltese so- ciety, ranging from ageing and childhood to social class and envi- ronmental activism and the media. In the prologue to the book so- ciologist Godfrey Baldacchino re- fers to the "move away from rigid definitions of family, civil unions and identities" which reflects "a shift from a more dogmatic inter- pretation of the world – powered by Church and Political Party – towards a more pluralist one". At the same time "avid consumerism, traffic lock jam and a property boom have given rise to a notice- able backlash of environmental ac- tivism" which reminds us "on the finite nature of our land base and the dubious sustainability of cur- rent lifestyle patterns." News Promoting integration for migrants 'harder than for gay rights' – Dalli 'Meteoric rise' of Malta in LGBTIQ index unlikely to be repeated on migration issues, says civil liberties minister Helena Dalli celebrates the introduction of civil unions in 2014. A major stumbling block for migrants' integration is cultural: the Maltese have LGBTIQ relatives or friends they can relate to, but a significant portion of the population has no direct contact with migrants "Success in the economy and other sectors will hinge on how integrated society is and the size of the contribution of both nationals and migrants in the country." ERA objecting to Naxxar ODZ home for elderly JAMES DEBONO THE Environment and Resources Au- thority is objecting to a proposed old people's home on a 4,625 square metre site between Sqaq l-Imnieqa and Triq il- Gharghur in Naxxar. The proposal involves the demolition of a derelict structure and its conversion into an old people's home built over three floors. GAP Holdings is invoking a clause in the Spatial Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) to justify the development. The policy invoked by the developers states that community facili- ties like homes for the elderly could be allowed in appropriate locations in rural areas where "no feasible alternatives ex- ist." GAP has also described the site as a "derelict" one. The SPED advocates a sequential ap- proach through which developers are obliged to first consider sites in the ur- ban area before considering ODZ sites. Only this week GAP Holdings presented an application to build 69 dwellings on a vacant 2,000 square metre site within de- velopment zones in Luqa. According to plans presented by GAP Limited only 360 square metres of the Naxxar site are presently built up. But the plans refer to a larger footprint tak- ing up 1,970 square metres for a building built before 1978, of which 1,610 square metres no longer exist. The new project has a proposed footprint of 1,959 square metres. The application envisions two base- ment-parking levels and development over a ground floor and two overlying floors. But the Environment and Resources Authority has notified the developers that the ODZ development will lead to an intensification of development, which would commit the entire site. The ERA also informed the developers that an Environment Impact Assessment is re- quired for the development. An online petition against this develop- ment expresses the concern of residents that the development would increase pol- lution, and traffic congestion in Naxxar when there already are two large-scale, similar elderly facilities and when other non-ODZ land is also available for this development. Another old people's home is being pro- posed on land lying outside development boundaries set on a vacant 12,500 square metre plot of agricultural land in tal- Balal, Naxxar in the vicinity of Gharghur. Other ODZ homes are being proposed in Fgura along Wied Blandun, Santa Lucija near the Wied Garnaw valley and in Vit- toriosa near the Ta' Hawli valley.