An Eritrean mobile phone

I am not at all convinced about the genuineness of the "illegal immigrants" who seek refuge here. First of all, they are not seeking refuge here, they are seeking a "proper" life in the "real" Europe up north. I said "real Europe" because the scramble for Europe by the Maltese themselves is really on. We are probably being used as a bus-stop and these people (the refugees, I mean, not the Maltese gold-rushers, though on second thoughts...) get hot under the collar when they get stuck here.

Anyone who is crazy enough to put one's wife and children in a "deflating" rubber dinghy for "a better life" does not merit anything but a good chiding. We all want a better life but when was the last time you put your family in a deflating dinghy and headed for Italy? Yet, if you notice, it all seems like a very carefully-calculated risk and I would like the authorities to tell me (us) just a bit more about the latest incident. Am I right in saying that these people alerted our rescue personnel by means of a mobile phone? If so, how did they know the number, coming from Eritrea? I don't think I know it myself.

Letters in reply telling me about these people's sorry plight will be consigned to the "platitude" bin. What I say is, we have two alternatives; one is to re-inflate their dinghy and give them provisions and a compass, the other is to bring them in and make them work for our hospitality.

Keeping them caged with nothing to do is hardly kind. But I am sure there is a lot of community work they can be provided with. It would be better than to let them be exploited through black labour. Of course, they might escape in the process.