When the first illegal immigrants arrived in Malta a few years back, they were pitied. Now however with the numbers increasing daily most of us Maltese are getting alarmed.
Where is it all going to end?
Many Maltese are grumbling but are afraid to write for fear of being branded as racists. I am not a racist but I am not afraid to point out situations which are about to get out of hand, and, guys, just in case you have not noticed the situation is about to explode.
Unless we voice our opinion, this problem will never be tackled seriously. It is nearly too late. Without taking into consideration the hundreds of immigrants who will land this month, apparently there are already some ten thousand of these people in Hal Far, Marsa and in other parts of Malta. Maltese families are frightened to venture out of their homes at night.
I stated on several occasions, and I will state it again. Frontex, the organisation on which our Government was pinning its hopes, is a joke. Not only has this organisation not solved the illegal immigration problem, but it looks as if this year there will be even more immigrants landing on our shores than ever before.
Last summer one boatload used to land every week. This year in spite of Frontex, landings are happening nearly on a daily basis.
The upkeep of these people is costing our Government, and incidentally you and me as taxpayers, millions of Euros. The hundreds of soldiers who are constantly being used to guard and help these people are unable to carry out their normal duties.
Our friends the Europeans are calling us all sorts of names under the sun for not providing these immigrants with caviar and champagne. They expect us to provide them with homes and jobs. In the meantime apparently UNCHR, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights has stopped us from sending 400 of these immigrants to Finland.
At the same time our North African neighbours are taking us to task for accidentally letting some immigrants drown.
If these neighbours of ours really cared they should not let these immigrants cross to Malta in the first place.
Therefore our Government should not take any notice of the comments of either the E.U. or the North Africans. It should act according to what it thinks is best for our people, and what is best is for Malta to regain the situation prior to the arrival of these immigrants.
It is true that during the last four years some 2000 immigrants were sent back to their country, while perhaps another 1000 will be absorbed by the United States, thanks to the best Ambassador we have ever had, Molly Bordonaro. This however is a drop in the ocean.
What are the Ambassadors of the E.U. countries in Malta doing to help us with this situation as they traipse from party to party?
To make matters worse some of our MEPs seem to be more interested in getting rid of Russian and Ukrainian tourists who have out stayed their welcome, than in sending these boat people back to their country.
As the number of immigrants increases, there exists the danger that this community will engulf us, change our lifestyle as well as our religion. Apparently, some of these immigrants already are trying to convert some Maltese to their religion.
The last thing that I personally want is to see our churches transformed into mosques as is happening in the U.K.
Forty years ago Britain was faced with a similar situation. The government of the day took the wrong decision, and now Britain is in a mess. Apparently 800,000 Britons left England last year.
What are the decisions open for our Government?
There obviously exists the option of carrying on with the policy which is in existence at the moment i.e. that of rescuing them and placing them in Hal Far. However in my humble opinion this is not an option.
Another option is to send these immigrants back to their country of origin as soon as they touch our land. However in most cases this is impossible, since they do not carry passports and they are not in a hurry to say where they were born.
Of course, the most sensible solution is for our North African neighbours to take them back, but they refuse to do so.
Perhaps the United Nations should help by creating a multinational force to stop these immigrants from converging into Libya from other neighbouring African countries. However this is a tall order. Another option is for our armed forces to meet these people on the high seas, give them food and drink and a compass pointing in the direction of Sicily. Our armed forces could also meet them halfway, tow them back to Libya’s territorial waters, and point them in the direction of that country.
Finally our Government could announce that our boats will no longer race to rescue these immigrants.
Then our armed forces will cut all communication and stay in port and let the other nations look after this problem. After all most of these immigrants are not political refugees. They come to Malta uninvited with mobiles in their hands in order to seek a better life.
Perhaps we should copy the Australians who absolutely do not allow any illegal immigrant even to land on their shores. Are we too polite to do just that?
We are being kinder to these people than to our countrymen, who are living below the poverty line and who need help.

Chev Maurice Mizzi
Bidnija