Editorial: For the needs and rights of all

Like almost all states worldwide, Malta has been a multicultural society for all of its history. Malta’s history, culture, social structures and traditions, its language and its economy have been forged by many international and local realities. Each and every one of us possesses not just one identity but multiple identities, identities that are not fixed but which change over time.

This is true of all communities and societies everywhere, Malta being no exception – a reality that is highlighted by the many changing legal, educational, cultural and religious institutions, laws and traditions upon which this country is based.

Thus, multiculturalism is no new phenomenon. Migration from and to these islands has deeply shaped the identities of its inhabitants.

Recent decades have highlighted current dimensions of that multiculturalism, especially, but not solely, in the context of the fact that, today, some one in five of the islands’ population was born outside Malta.

While the most recent edition of the State of the Nation survey commissioned by the Office of the President highlight’s Malta’s growing acceptance of multiculturalism, it also highlights a “strong degree of ambivalence” on the matter.

That reality, plus the fact that the island’s recent economic growth has depended heavily on migration, poses a number of significant challenges that our society needs to manage appropriately. The reality of migration and multiculturalism also requires an effective strategy that incorporates the needs, rights and aspirations of all. Only through recognising this can we hope to build a society where equality, well-being and human security in all its dimensions prevail.

In this context, the announcement of a public consultation process to shape and inform a new integration strategy for Malta for the next five years is to be welcomed. The process is spearheaded by a working group including local council representatives, Identity Malta, the Police Force and people from the refugee and migrant communities. It is being supported by the government’s Human Rights Directorate.

The purpose of such public consultation is to gather the diverse views of the community at large, ranging from those of individual citizens to civic, professional and educational bodies and those of representative voices of our foreign-born residents.

Tellingly, the consultation document describes integration not as a final or fixed destination but, rather, as an ongoing process and journey that involves government at all levels, society across the board and migrants of whatever hue.

Furthermore, the consultation process emphasises a number of key dimensions from the promotion of mutual understanding to increased interaction and civic participation. The strategy also proposes countering misinformation in the media and in political discussion and debate, a dimension of growing importance in the context of increasing ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ bigoted or outright racist viewpoints and behaviours.

The consultation document highlights a number of key areas in which it seeks public input, from the role of education to fostering an environment of acceptance, to the importance of sustaining dialogue. Significantly, it also refers to the need for a “whole government approach” (how this might fit with current government strategies at sea and the rhetoric used around them is tellingly not mentioned). Diversity in Malta’s media is also referenced as a key issue, something immediately relevant in the light of government control of much of that agenda.

Public consultation on integration policies and practices for all living in Malta is self-evidently a positive process. How its findings and results are translated into policy and beyond that into practice will be the real test of its significance.