How time flies and migrants flow

Time flies. It has been a pretty long while since I dropped a line. A three-month silence when there was so much to say?

As the story of our region gathered an accelerated momentum, I realised it is easier and possibly wiser to write with some hindsight. My New Year started in Egypt. As we were holidaying, humble people living on less than $2 a day, questioned their corrupt state: “We are blessed with a rich country! Where is all the money going?”

Friends from Cairo’s elite Heliopolis suburb discussed Arab reform and succession to 83 year-old Mubarak; they did not appear to be very optimistic. As a naive tourist, I felt that Egyptian frustration was contained. We basked in the warm December sun, absorbed the rich history, and merrily watched thousands of chirpy wintering birds inhabiting the green environs of the Nile River.

Then, I had no clue that democratic aspirations would soon be taking Egyptians in the direction of Tahrir Square and that Mubarak would be out in just over a month.

The Maltese were taken by surprise with the uprisings of Tunisia and the domino effect that swept the rest of the Maghreb. Some were particularly alarmed that it reached Libya.

It transpired that high-risk Maltese investments were made without gathering the necessary information intelligence that assessed the implications of regime change. Some took calculated risks blindly and operated in close association with the Gaddafi clan. We are now watching sad investors and exporters licking their wounds; they are cash-stripped and worried to an extent that some feel we should provide them with a safety net.

Our government is ‘cautious but optimistic’. It is hoping that if new incumbents take over, they will accept to honour agreements with Maltese stakeholders. Nonetheless the situation in Libya is far from clear and business interests are still struggling to catch their breath.

In my lifetime I do not think I ever experienced another period when people in the street were this concerned with international events. Libya tops the national agenda. Migration from Libya always triggered a red alert and as NATO fighter and bomber jets cut across our sky, we are stuck to global media networks following developments. For many weeks we waited in trepidation for immigrant arrivals.

People’s worse fears materialized as hundreds of refugees arrived on the boats that started to flow in our direction.

The power of words

It has long been asserted that the media may not have the power to tell us what to think but they have ample power to tell us what to think about. The words journalists use to describe the immigrant arrivals are important. The role and ethical responsibility of journalists is significant.

Some journalists do endeavour to disseminate information and to scrutinize national and international responses to the problems faced by these refugees. On the other hand, other journalists are writing misleading stories that spread public hysteria and reinforce stereotypes.

As I prepared for my Wednesday morning newspaper analysis on Campus FM, I came across ample evidence of journalists mishandling their roles. On that particular day, there is a stark contrast between the positions of the English-language and Maltese-language newspapers.

It was MaltaToday which clearly cited UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming saying that the immigrants were mainly Eritreans, Somalis and Ethiopians who already have refugee status. The only other newspaper that acknowledged their valid documentation was The Times.

So we know these people did not make things up. They were first persecuted in their homeland and escaped to find shelter in Libya, where Gaddafi initially welcomed them with open arms, as expounded in a previous blog. Ever since the start of the uprisings, Libyans are mistaking Sub-Saharans for Gaddafi-hired mercenaries.

The English language press also pointed out that refugees paid hefty sums ($1,000 per person) to human traffickers. There are around 8,000 acknowledged refugees in Libya and only few of these can afford to pay these amounts. Clearly the International Community, that eagerly declared a No Fly Zone for ‘humanitarian reasons’, now needs to intervene to support them.

Malta boasted of its international role in the flawless evacuation operation of thousands of citizens who were lucky enough to come from nations that bothered to take their workers out of a conflict situation. It now transpires that Malta still needs to perform its real "heroic" act.

In spite of this background, the Maltese-language newspapers (In-Nazzjon and particularly L-Orizzont) referred to immigrants as "immigranti illegali" (illegals) and even "klandestini" (clandestine). They totally criminalized these poor individuals by underscoring that they were interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Unit at the Police Headquarters; that Maltese workers are working overtime to complete the boundaries that enclose the detention centers which will imprison them and that Italy (not Malta) was the intended destination of these people.

Possibly these journalists were addressing the sentiments of their readers because people often do not distinguish refugees escaping war zones from economic migrants. Research clearly established that in staunchly Catholic Malta (which is fiercely engaging in struggles to safeguard ‘traditional values’) public opinion does not give much value to the life and international rights of ‘others’ no matter what their troubles are.

The media have a public obligation. Instead of adding unnecessary panics through discourses that verge on racism, they should explain context and facilitate understanding.

We should insist that the political class presents a coherent national position that fulfils our obligations as we also seek international cooperation. The debate should not slide into mass hysteria.

We need to appear a convincing state that employs its diplomatic skills to persuade other states and the publics in our region that we are doing the right thing. Small nations need not necessarily have a weak voice. Media practitioners need to be aware that they may unwittingly stir animosity towards refugees and this will compromise Malta. Such discourses undermine our international image; they will render us smaller and weaker.