Editorial

The scenes of the brutal beating up of immigrants at Safi Barracks last Thursday must have shocked most people in these islands. They were scenes of shame which reflect very badly on our Christian heritage and tradition of hospitality of which we are justly proud. Certainly that was not the way to deal with what was, after all, a peaceful protest by people who feel they are being detained indefinitely for no reason at all.

So the Prime Minister's decision to set up an inquiry headed by a judge to determine whether excessive force was used was the right thing to do. One hopes that those responsible will be identified and punished accordingly.

Thursday's incidents, however shameful they may have been, hold some lessons for all involved and may yet yield something positive - the first and most obvious lesson being that a recurrence is to be avoided at all costs.

Michele Manca di Nissa, a senior UNHCR official who happened to be in Malta this week, said yesterday that they have long been putting pressure on the Maltese government to abandon its detention policy, which has now been modified slightly in that detention will not exceed 18 months.

But 18 months looks like an interminable life sentence to a man whose only "crime" was to escape the grinding poverty or political persecution in his homeland to seek a better fortune elsewhere. Isn't that, after all, what millions of people, and indeed, hundreds of thousands of our own compatriots, have done over the centuries?

True, these people may not be legal immigrants but they are driven by the desire to survive, which is understandable in any human being. So they fail to understand why they should be detained without freedom of movement, and make do with less than adequate living conditions.

Many of them cannot bring themselves to accept their situation and try to escape or rebel. After Thursday's incidents we learned - not surprisingly - that a number of them are having serious mental health problems.

So another lesson would be to thoroughly re-examine our policy of detention and resort to it only in exceptional circumstances. This subject, one presumes, will figure prominently in the upcoming national conference on immigration.

Incidentally, Mr Manca di Nissa yesterday appealed to the government to allow the immigrants to make their voices heard at the conference, and to ensure that they are given every opportunity to state their case. He also said that the UNHCR has not yet been invited to the conference.

Regarding the events of last Thursday, one has to see whether in those circumstances the Army could have taken alternative measures before resorting to brute force. Could not, for example, the protesters have been physically carried inside? Failing that, could not a mediator whom the immigrants trust, say a leading figure from one of the NGOs looking after them, been brought in to talk them into moving back to the barracks?

One must acknowledge too that the soldiers guarding the immigrants are under a lot of strain and that they put up with insults, protests and other displays of ingratitude, so Thursday's protest could have been the straw that broke the camel's back. And many soldiers and police feel that looking after immigrants should not be their job at all, as they are simply unequipped for it.

But this is no justification for the violent quelling of the protest. Soldiers are a disciplined force and should be steeled to face any provocation short of actions requiring self-defence.

Mr Di Nissa yesterday also touched on an important aspect of the problem, namely the lack of enough information and education. The government should explain why the asylum-seekers find themselves in Malta, how it is going about the problem, what help it can reasonably call on the Church, other institutions, NGOs and individuals to provide, what is being done in other countries, and how it is attempting to harmonise its immigration policy with that of other countries in the European Union.

Government should explain the sterling work being done by the Ministry of the Family and Social Solidarity, which is responsible for the open centres, and the government's own efforts to speed up the processing of refugee status applications.

It should also express its concerns regarding the sharing with its EU partners of the burden (for it is indeed a burden, especially in terms of financial and human resources) represented by the immigration problem.

All these issues should be reflected upon in the light of Thursday's events and contribute to the positive outcome of the long-awaited national conference. The alternative is a rise in racist attitudes and more violence.