Migration has always been a challenge for European countries. It is likely to remain so.

Given Europe’s growing demographic deterioration and the socio-economic distress in countries on its borders, European countries must embrace pragmatic migration management strategies. This approach is crucial to avert the social tensions that are already palpable in most countries.

The legal and illegal migration phenomenon has to be addressed from different angles. Of course, European countries should protect their borders from illegal migration.

So far, the solution adopted by the EU and the UK is to export the problem to developing countries. The UK is sending illegal immigrants to Rwanda. Italy will be doing the same by sending illegal immigrants to Albania. The EU has been throwing money at the problem by paying countries like Libya and Tunisia to control the exit of immigrants from their end.

However, controlling the European borders will not resolve the problem of dealing with migrants already living here. Governments have two options to address the challenge of integrating migrant minorities into the broader society.

It is crucial to distinguish between the concepts of integration and assimilation. The concept of integration or inclusion aims to ensure social cohesion so that immigrants can accept European societies’ laws and fundamental values. On the other hand, host societies have to respect immigrants’ dignity and distinct identity. So, integration is a two-way process that is an essential element in ensuring sustainable results.

However, most European countries today favour assimilation, a more passive process, as it causes less friction with the indigenous population. This approach is proving to be an illusion. More people are following populist politicians who exploit people’s fears by promoting an aggressive stance against migrant integration.

A better migration strategy is needed to avoid the social upheaval experienced by the US in the second half of the last century. The history of the emigration of Europeans to Australia and South and North America demonstrates that it takes more than two generations for the assimilation process to be regarded as completed.

Societal leaders must no longer ignore the integration of migrants by putting the migration management processes on the back burner because they fear a backlash from voters

The language issue must be central to any migration management strategy. Language proficiency is crucial for migrants’ successful integration into their host country. Understanding the complex effects of language barriers on immigrants is critical to creating better support systems and integrating immigrant communities more fully. We need to turn language diversity into a bridge rather than a barrier.

One would be naive not to acknowledge that our educational system is not already struggling with ‘linguistic discordance’. Linguistic discordance is a term used in the medical field to refer to the discrepancies between the languages of patients and doctors. It lends itself well to describing the mismatch between the language of schooling and the language children use at home.

Local educators can confirm that bilingualism in Malta sometimes affects literacy outcomes in our schools. We start learning the language long before we enter school, whereas some children go to school and are confronted with reading a script that does not match the language they communicate with at home.

Migrant children are now compounding this problem, as a diversity of students with different mother languages attend our schools. If the teacher does not speak their language or explain things in a way they understand, the learning process becomes more challenging.

We are already experiencing ‘learning poverty’, a concept relating to children’s basic literacy skills in a specific age range. OECD programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) statistics prove that Malta needs to do much better in enabling students to master the language skills required to be successful in the workplace.

We need a multi-track language policy for migrants. Adult migrants face a fundamental change in their lives due to migration. They lose their familiar surroundings, networks and social roles. In our case, unless they are given the opportunity to learn English, they face a lack of social acceptance, the experience of social decline, discrimination, and racism.

Language courses for adult migrants and their children must be based on needs analysis and have differentiated curricula that consider the migrant’s work and family situation. Of course, special training for teachers to teach in classrooms with plurilingual learners is crucial for the success of training programmes.

Societal leaders must no longer ignore the integration of migrants by putting the migration management processes on the back burner because they fear a backlash from voters. 

Encouragement and motivation are critical issues for successful integration. Access to fundamental civic rights must ultimately be a vantage point for language learning, not a bonus.