I have previously mentioned that I was educated by Jesuits and one of the most important things they taught me was to think, analyse and speak my mind whenever I felt the need to do so. I learned to be courageous because articulating those thoughts could be deemed as controversial by many as they would not always agree with the established structures of power, or with the general opinion. I learned to cultivate an inquisitive mind and not to take things for granted. I have been thinking lately; I feel that those teachers would be honoured if I decided to speak my mind even if it is only for myself or just to put my thoughts in order.
I have also mentioned once that many of those Jesuits were killed because they spoke their mind. They dared to contradict what they thought was wrong. They died because of their ideas.
Ideas are powerful. And I treasure them. I inhale them, I devour them, I cherish them and keep them to have different perspectives in my mind. Sometimes I share mine. Not always, though. And with this topic I have been feeling like I wanted to say something and I didn’t know exactly how or why. Sometimes I think: why be bothered? And then I say to myself, that’s not exactly what I learned and my conscience knows it; mind you, it is not because I was programmed to do or say certain things, but there is something inside me which says: you should put your thoughts in order and let those who want to read, read. So I decided to give it a try. I have already read many ideas about it so I guess that I am forming mine. And I decided to share a bit. I guess those who accompanied me through my educational process would be proud. At least that’s what I want to believe.
Last Wednesday I read in the paper that the illegal immigration “season” has started. "Mild weather brings illegal immigrants" was the title of another article published on Thursday. A boat with 28 illegal immigrants landed in Malta and I also read the reaction of those who commented about the issue: mostly the same worn -out ideas.
You see, I have gotten tired of having the impression that if you have a different view to that of many that the island is being invaded by an army of illegal immigrants you are a traitor, you are not Maltese, you should be sent to Africa with them and you don’t know what you are talking about.
Come on, you just think differently! You see things from another perspective! And you are entitled to do so, I said to myself. I got tired of listening to people telling me: I am not a racist but…I got tired of asking if they knew how many there are living in detention or open centres and getting a blank stare in return. And I got tired of being very mild and brief in my answers. I felt like I was not speaking my mind. And I got tired of that, of being lazy.
I must admit that it is scary to see how many people are trying to flee bad working conditions, war and famine, poverty. It is sad because it is when I see news like those, that I can’t find any reasons why not to tell myself that it’s true: the world has gone to the dogs.
In this globalization era of ours, a huge and important contradiction arises: companies find it easier to go to poor countries to set up their businesses there, to exploit people paying them a pittance, in an environment where law enforcement is weak thus not finding too many problems to disrespect the environment or break international working agreements towards their employees. In many cases they are offered incentives such as tax exemptions. When they leave to a cheaper country they only leave unemployment behind. And yet people are supposed to be happy because “at least they create jobs”.
The employees are, on the other hand, supposed to put up with low wages, street violence, war, hunger, poverty while simultaneously being bombarded with advertising and images that show that another world is possible, that it exists! But it is far from where they are. Obviously people want to improve their life circumstances, they want a better life, who doesn’t? And they leave everything behind in their pursuit of happiness. They emigrate. And this is not an easy decision to take: to leave everything behind, family, friends and leave to take a perilous journey where you could lose your life with the aim to reach an unknown world where a different language is spoken, where most probably you will be discriminated against, no friends, no family, a society where you can’t expect to expect.
People emigrate and it could help them and their families to achieve higher standards of living thanks to the remittances that they send to their countries thus benefiting their economies.
But I also believe that people need to fight democratic and legitimate fights to change their countries’ status quo in their countries which prompts them to find something better for them and their kids. That something better can also be found where they were born but some things need to change. Societies create their leaders and choose their governments, at least in democracies. People are the ones to choose their leaders, their governments and their political system. It has always amazed me how repressive leaders in power get away with what they want because they control an army, weapons. How people tolerate abuse of power when the power lies in reality with the people! But sometimes it is difficult to see clearly. Look at my country for instance, election campaign after election campaign it is the same. People decide what they think is good for them but really it is just a few who go to vote who decide, the rest is indifferent, and indifference is painful. And I have to abide by the decisions of those few others and try to make the best of it and keep on reading or watching Al Jazeera or BBC when they talk about my country or Guatemala, once in a blue moon, and listen about corruption scandals (at least those that are published), poverty, violence…the violence.
Of course, change is so much easier said than done. And who will make the first step? Who will help? In the meantime, reality is what it is and what we are living now.
And regarding now, I agree with more than a couple of people that opening borders for temporary workers from different countries could benefit both parties. Look at Mater Dei and the people who built it, for instance.
Like some of them, I also believe that Europe is becoming older, that fewer women want or can have kids, given our hectic lifestyle. Everybody wants to live in a nice house, to travel, to buy nice things for themselves, and that costs a lot of money which can usually only be afforded with two members of a couple working full-time. Having a kid is a sacrifice in the sense that one of them would have to give up their job. The consequence is that the tax payers are less, the elderly are more, who will pay for their pensions? Us, but we are not enough and therefore we need to pay more tax…And who will pay for our pensions?...
The job market would regularize itself, wouldn’t it? If we need more nannies so that women can go back to work, more people to take care of the elderly because not too many want to do it and people are willing to do those jobs, why not?
To see things from a different perspective helps to solve problems. Certainly people from different countries could be a boost to societies if their efforts are channelled in the right direction.
The Oscar-winning movie, Crash, shows us how a multicultural society can also have clashes, but that’s how societies have changed their faces, now they have new characteristics. Many of their citizens’ skin colours is different, their religions, their costumes, but is that bad? Values change and not only because of foreigners, societies develop and freedom extends its senses, and opens its arms to women working and having the same rights as men when that was unthinkable a couple of centuries ago, gay marriages are legal in many places, freedom allows you or me to be able to share thoughts and ideas, to practice the religion that you wish or none. Crash showed me again that the solution is dialogue, understanding and tolerance. To stop seeing differences as gaps but as something that is there for the enrichment of societies.
If we are honest, we will see that we see gaps wherever we are. I have been told that people from the South and people from the North are supposedly different. For me they are all Maltese, they are people who live in a beautiful country, who are willing to work and who wish to live a good life. I smile to the people who live in Bormla when I go there to visit the spectacular fortifications, I smile to the people who live in Sliema when I am walking to work or back home. Perhaps some people want to tell me in reality that these people are poor and those are rich. These live in government flats and these don’t. So what? I have met very rich people here who don’t have an ounce of good manners or education. So what? We are different because we all want to mark our individuality and we have so many characteristics! Civil status, religion, employed or unemployed, skin colour, people who have kids and those who don’t, nationality…
Discrimination is not the right road to take in any case. The current state of affairs is already proving itself to be dangerous: locking people in detention centres (not to mention the inhumane conditions according to the Amnesty International report), exploitation of those who are hired in construction sites or washing dishes but who are paid a pittance, this is not benefiting society. It creates an underclass of people who are discriminated against. It is happening now, and it is not helping: for instance tax is avoided, tax that could help societies to grow. Who is to blame? It takes two to tango.
Those who can’t feel that they belong may grow resentful towards their new societies, they might get together to form gangs (the gangs in the USA, for instance) because they feel that they belong to those groups and need to be protected from the rest of society, they are hungry, they are dirty, they feel that it is not fair. And it is scary because instead of integration they experience segregation. But they are still there. Even if one decides to turn away.
I believe that it was last year when Xarabank featured a couple that had adopted two kids, one from Malta and one from another country; if my Maltese doesn’t fail me, they said that some parents didn’t allow their kids to play with the girl who was born in another country because of her skin colour. I could just dare to imagine how painful that must be for the parents and for the kid, especially for the kid, who is most probably a Maltese citizen already but still discriminated against because of her skin colour. Like that I could also mention the gay community or separated individuals who would prefer to have divorce. Where is their choice? Their freedom?
Illegal immigration is illegal because we say it is. We say this is a country and that’s another one, we say this island belongs to France or those ones to the UK even if they are in the Caribbean or close to Argentina. We say so and we agree with that. I guess that at the end of the day it is true when they say that we shape our own destiny. I just wish we were wiser when doing so.
I have also mentioned once that many of those Jesuits were killed because they spoke their mind. They dared to contradict what they thought was wrong. They died because of their ideas.
Ideas are powerful. And I treasure them. I inhale them, I devour them, I cherish them and keep them to have different perspectives in my mind. Sometimes I share mine. Not always, though. And with this topic I have been feeling like I wanted to say something and I didn’t know exactly how or why. Sometimes I think: why be bothered? And then I say to myself, that’s not exactly what I learned and my conscience knows it; mind you, it is not because I was programmed to do or say certain things, but there is something inside me which says: you should put your thoughts in order and let those who want to read, read. So I decided to give it a try. I have already read many ideas about it so I guess that I am forming mine. And I decided to share a bit. I guess those who accompanied me through my educational process would be proud. At least that’s what I want to believe.
Last Wednesday I read in the paper that the illegal immigration “season” has started. "Mild weather brings illegal immigrants" was the title of another article published on Thursday. A boat with 28 illegal immigrants landed in Malta and I also read the reaction of those who commented about the issue: mostly the same worn -out ideas.
You see, I have gotten tired of having the impression that if you have a different view to that of many that the island is being invaded by an army of illegal immigrants you are a traitor, you are not Maltese, you should be sent to Africa with them and you don’t know what you are talking about.
Come on, you just think differently! You see things from another perspective! And you are entitled to do so, I said to myself. I got tired of listening to people telling me: I am not a racist but…I got tired of asking if they knew how many there are living in detention or open centres and getting a blank stare in return. And I got tired of being very mild and brief in my answers. I felt like I was not speaking my mind. And I got tired of that, of being lazy.
I must admit that it is scary to see how many people are trying to flee bad working conditions, war and famine, poverty. It is sad because it is when I see news like those, that I can’t find any reasons why not to tell myself that it’s true: the world has gone to the dogs.
In this globalization era of ours, a huge and important contradiction arises: companies find it easier to go to poor countries to set up their businesses there, to exploit people paying them a pittance, in an environment where law enforcement is weak thus not finding too many problems to disrespect the environment or break international working agreements towards their employees. In many cases they are offered incentives such as tax exemptions. When they leave to a cheaper country they only leave unemployment behind. And yet people are supposed to be happy because “at least they create jobs”.
The employees are, on the other hand, supposed to put up with low wages, street violence, war, hunger, poverty while simultaneously being bombarded with advertising and images that show that another world is possible, that it exists! But it is far from where they are. Obviously people want to improve their life circumstances, they want a better life, who doesn’t? And they leave everything behind in their pursuit of happiness. They emigrate. And this is not an easy decision to take: to leave everything behind, family, friends and leave to take a perilous journey where you could lose your life with the aim to reach an unknown world where a different language is spoken, where most probably you will be discriminated against, no friends, no family, a society where you can’t expect to expect.
People emigrate and it could help them and their families to achieve higher standards of living thanks to the remittances that they send to their countries thus benefiting their economies.
But I also believe that people need to fight democratic and legitimate fights to change their countries’ status quo in their countries which prompts them to find something better for them and their kids. That something better can also be found where they were born but some things need to change. Societies create their leaders and choose their governments, at least in democracies. People are the ones to choose their leaders, their governments and their political system. It has always amazed me how repressive leaders in power get away with what they want because they control an army, weapons. How people tolerate abuse of power when the power lies in reality with the people! But sometimes it is difficult to see clearly. Look at my country for instance, election campaign after election campaign it is the same. People decide what they think is good for them but really it is just a few who go to vote who decide, the rest is indifferent, and indifference is painful. And I have to abide by the decisions of those few others and try to make the best of it and keep on reading or watching Al Jazeera or BBC when they talk about my country or Guatemala, once in a blue moon, and listen about corruption scandals (at least those that are published), poverty, violence…the violence.
Of course, change is so much easier said than done. And who will make the first step? Who will help? In the meantime, reality is what it is and what we are living now.
And regarding now, I agree with more than a couple of people that opening borders for temporary workers from different countries could benefit both parties. Look at Mater Dei and the people who built it, for instance.
Like some of them, I also believe that Europe is becoming older, that fewer women want or can have kids, given our hectic lifestyle. Everybody wants to live in a nice house, to travel, to buy nice things for themselves, and that costs a lot of money which can usually only be afforded with two members of a couple working full-time. Having a kid is a sacrifice in the sense that one of them would have to give up their job. The consequence is that the tax payers are less, the elderly are more, who will pay for their pensions? Us, but we are not enough and therefore we need to pay more tax…And who will pay for our pensions?...
The job market would regularize itself, wouldn’t it? If we need more nannies so that women can go back to work, more people to take care of the elderly because not too many want to do it and people are willing to do those jobs, why not?
To see things from a different perspective helps to solve problems. Certainly people from different countries could be a boost to societies if their efforts are channelled in the right direction.
The Oscar-winning movie, Crash, shows us how a multicultural society can also have clashes, but that’s how societies have changed their faces, now they have new characteristics. Many of their citizens’ skin colours is different, their religions, their costumes, but is that bad? Values change and not only because of foreigners, societies develop and freedom extends its senses, and opens its arms to women working and having the same rights as men when that was unthinkable a couple of centuries ago, gay marriages are legal in many places, freedom allows you or me to be able to share thoughts and ideas, to practice the religion that you wish or none. Crash showed me again that the solution is dialogue, understanding and tolerance. To stop seeing differences as gaps but as something that is there for the enrichment of societies.
If we are honest, we will see that we see gaps wherever we are. I have been told that people from the South and people from the North are supposedly different. For me they are all Maltese, they are people who live in a beautiful country, who are willing to work and who wish to live a good life. I smile to the people who live in Bormla when I go there to visit the spectacular fortifications, I smile to the people who live in Sliema when I am walking to work or back home. Perhaps some people want to tell me in reality that these people are poor and those are rich. These live in government flats and these don’t. So what? I have met very rich people here who don’t have an ounce of good manners or education. So what? We are different because we all want to mark our individuality and we have so many characteristics! Civil status, religion, employed or unemployed, skin colour, people who have kids and those who don’t, nationality…
Discrimination is not the right road to take in any case. The current state of affairs is already proving itself to be dangerous: locking people in detention centres (not to mention the inhumane conditions according to the Amnesty International report), exploitation of those who are hired in construction sites or washing dishes but who are paid a pittance, this is not benefiting society. It creates an underclass of people who are discriminated against. It is happening now, and it is not helping: for instance tax is avoided, tax that could help societies to grow. Who is to blame? It takes two to tango.
Those who can’t feel that they belong may grow resentful towards their new societies, they might get together to form gangs (the gangs in the USA, for instance) because they feel that they belong to those groups and need to be protected from the rest of society, they are hungry, they are dirty, they feel that it is not fair. And it is scary because instead of integration they experience segregation. But they are still there. Even if one decides to turn away.
I believe that it was last year when Xarabank featured a couple that had adopted two kids, one from Malta and one from another country; if my Maltese doesn’t fail me, they said that some parents didn’t allow their kids to play with the girl who was born in another country because of her skin colour. I could just dare to imagine how painful that must be for the parents and for the kid, especially for the kid, who is most probably a Maltese citizen already but still discriminated against because of her skin colour. Like that I could also mention the gay community or separated individuals who would prefer to have divorce. Where is their choice? Their freedom?
Illegal immigration is illegal because we say it is. We say this is a country and that’s another one, we say this island belongs to France or those ones to the UK even if they are in the Caribbean or close to Argentina. We say so and we agree with that. I guess that at the end of the day it is true when they say that we shape our own destiny. I just wish we were wiser when doing so.
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17 comments:
Sometimes, I feel that it is not that countries discouraged people from coming into their borders. They are just selective in who they let in. IF you are poor and do not have much to contribute to their economies, then sorry, you don't belong. But if you are highly educated and skilled, then moving to their country is most welcomed. So, I guess that's how the world works and will always work, whether we like it or not.
I wish more people showed your level of understanding of the real issues - spread the word and keep the faith...
That's a really good piece. And youreally give a piece of your mind! I agree. We need more people like you who dare to speak up, to help raise awareness of the social issues happening in this world.
Last week, so many illegal immigrants from Myanmar who were trying to enter Thailand for better jobs died because they suffocated in a container that's packed with more than 100 people. Almost half of them died.It was very sad. The rest who survived were arrested for trying to enter illegally. I always feel so sorry for these people,mostly womenfolk who wanted a better life for their family.
Wow
Very interesting post and difficult to find a balance. we all have our own ideas and feelings but this is not about being sorry for anyone or feeling bad. The question is what can we do. The best solution is to solve the problem at source, that is re build the government if that is the problem but then again it is easier said than done.
it is a real pity that so much land and resources are not spread equally and that people have to suffer and die. The question is who has the right to interfere with the state of affairs of another country.
@Hi Tot's mom, I also believe this is how the world is working at the moment but I also think that I could change. Even highly educated and skilled people are not that welcome. It is certainly not easy to get in as there are many requirements to meet. The economies of rich countries could also benefit of not-so skilled or highly educated people. Societies also need them to fill in those vacancies that fewer people want.
@Hi anonymous, thanks a lot and welcome ;)
@Hi Blur Ting, Glad you liked the post :) Like you, I also believe that it is important to raise awareness of the current social issues that affect our world.
It is tragic news the one of the 100 people in the container. It is unfortunate that there are so many tragic stories like this happening so frequently when they shouldn't happen in the first place at all.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@Hi Reuben, Thank you too for sharing your ideas and opinions. I agree that it is a pity that this world is so wide and full of resources for everyone and just a handful of humanity are actually enjoying their benefits. I also believe that the most important thing is to ask ourselves what can be done about these serious global issues.
Have a nice week guys and thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read and share your opinions with me and those who want to read too. Cheers,
Another excellent piece, La delirante - you could be a politician.
Beautifully written post, and it is as relevant to my country as to any. Immigration issues are very complex and have no easy answer, but the answers must come with compassion. The prejudices that still exist are so awful I don't even know how to deal with people who are so awful to children ....we have them in my country as well. I agree that if we want to solve immigration issues we must deal with living issues in the countries from which these folks pour.
best regards,
O.
Excellent piece of writing!!! :) Very interesting and thought-provoking!
It is truly disturbing to see how many people still cling to a number of man-made inventions such as nationality to justify the hostile behaviour exhibited towards several other human beings. It seems to be so fiendishly difficult to make people understand that we are all members of the same species; that we should all strive to live together peacefully.
My congratulations Wendy,
Somebody voted for this blog post. This vote is valid for the blog of th month (April 2008) and also the blog the year (2008).
This is surely a post that must be read many times since there are so many issues to ponder! Using her typical style of blending personal history with current affairs, La Delirante is able to capture the reader's attention and to keep him/her thirsting for more!
www.sandrovella.org
a good tag for u. have a nice day
@Hi Julie :) Thanks ;) I will think about the politican bit for the future :)
@Hi Onedia :) Thanks a lot for your nice words. I totally agree with you. We need solutions for the problems and these must be compassionate ones. I also believe that this issue is relevant to all countries. Even countries that are not so rich are receiving a considerable amount of immigrants from poorer countries.
@Hi Red :) I couldn't agree more. I also find it pathetic when people "cling to a number of man-made inventions such as nationality to justify the hostile behaviour exhibited towards several other human beings". You couldn't say it better.
@Hi Sandro, Thanks a lot! And thanks to the person who voted for my post ;)
@Hi Hazel, I am not that much into tags to be honest. I will have a look at it however.
My congratulations Wendy,
Somebody voted for your blog.
"This blog is always good, with very well-written and thought-provoking articles"
www.sandrovella.org
You can see the results here.
Hi Sandro, Thanks a lot :) And thanks a lot to the person who voted for my post :) Am honoured.
Very thoughtful post! Immigration and the consequent chauvinism it begets in a person's mind, happens even within a country. In my country, cultures across the country are very different and every now and then there is a flare up against people who have come from somewhere else in the country--although we are all citizens of the same country! Really a post worth chewing over.
Hi Hillgrandmom! Thanks :) I totally agree! Even in my country, we like to see how different people from the west and east are though the country is just so small and the differences can be barely noticed. I mean, it is not like we speak a different language, or different religion but there you go. A pity really. Not that differences are bad but when they are highlighthed as in a comparative way I think problems can be created.
Have a nice week!
My congratulations Wendy,
somebody voted for the blog post "The Struggle for Integration".
This vote is valid for the blog post of the month (April 2008) and the blog of the year (2008).
The reaction of the reader:
"Post which makes you think. Have been following this blog on and off lately, and Wendy always comes up with something inspiring for you to explore further your thoughts on the issue at hand. Great work Wendy! As regards this post, she tackles the issue from the reaosn why these leave home. Keep it up!"
MALTA BLOG AWARDS 2008
http://www.sandrovella.org
Thanks a lot! :) Great feedback :) The vote has lifted up my spirits this Sunday morning :)
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