Accepting and embracing

It was heartening for me to read ‘Byron Camilleri slams hateful comments towards Filipinos’ Santo Niño celebration (January 22).

As a Chinese-American who moved to Malta less than a month ago on a digital nomad visa, I fully expected some instance of racism with my move.

Living in America, Britain and Australia for years has given me plenty of personal encounters with hate and a dismayed conviction that being a visible minority is not always a pleasant experience.

So, I was entirely unsurprised to see the negative comments on social media against Filipinos’ Santo Niño celebration.

What some would consider to be the over-the-top gaudiness of the celebration only provides additional ammunition to those decrying the takeover of Malta by an unwanted “cultural other”.

What I am genuinely surprised by, however, is the willingness of the home affairs minister to come out in public against the racists.

With the likes of Marin Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Viktor Orbán in Hungary calling immigrants of non-European origin a clear and present danger to the integrity of European cultural mores, Camilleri’s comments are a breath of fresh air and a powerful signal that Europe is not entirely moving toward the xenophobic far-right.

Encouraging as the comments are, it would have been great to see the minister, and those who agree with him, go even a step further.

Rather than simply embracing non-European traditions as a reality of a resident foreign community, I would love to see Maltese public figures like Camilleri lead the Maltese public in embracing these traditions as part of a new, increasingly cosmopolitan Maltese identity.

Why merely tolerate the Filipinos for “their” celebration when we can encourage non-Filipino residents of Malta, Maltese and otherwise, to partake in them and make them a more integral part of the country’s kaleidoscope of traditions?

Thus, in my opinion, there is room for improvement in Camilleri’s comments.

Rather than speaking of Filipinos as a “them” to the Maltese “us”, he could have noted that the Malta of 2024 sees centuries-old village feasts and celebrations originating elsewhere are equally valid as part of a globalising set of social norms.

Rather than stereotyping Filipinos as just an economically useful presence (as carers, accountants and waiters), he could have remarked on their visible and positive contribution to making Malta less insular in cultural outlook.

Rather than just accepting the Santo Niño celebration because it is also Christian, he could have said that a non-Christian tradition would have gotten the same reaction from him.

My first impression of Malta after arriving a few weeks ago was the sheer ethnic diversity of people walking its streets, riding its buses and shopping in its stores.

I know that this diversity, more visible than in many parts of America, Britain or Australia, is not made possible just by legislation but also by a widespread acceptance that it is necessary for the functioning of a vibrant, globally connected economy.

Is it not time that we take that “acceptance” up a notch to “full embrace” by not only resolutely stamping out racism but also erasing that increasing artificial boundary of what is Maltese and what is not?

XIAOCHEN SU – St Paul’s Bay