Promoting integration for migrants ‘harder than for gay rights’ – Dalli

While Malta has seen a “meteoric rise” on ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Index mainly due to legislative progress, a similar rapid rise on the Migrant Integration Policy Index is “unlikely” because “migrant integration is significantly more complex” to address and needs “a sustained information campaign to raise awareness and knowledge about what integration means in practice”.

This frank admission is made in a paper co-authored by Civil Rights Minister Helena Dalli – whose portfolio includes both gay rights and the integration of migrant communities – and Silvan Agius, Director of the Human Rights and Integration Directorate, in a paper published in Sociology of the Maltese Islands, a new book launched this week.

In 2015 Malta scored 89% in the ILGA index – which measures progress on legislation and policy with regard to LGBTI rights – reaching the top spot in Europe after seeing its rating increase by 54 points over three years. But in 2015 Malta ranked 33rd out of the 38 countries assessed in terms of migrant integration.

Moreover while LGBTIQ equality can be addressed primarily through legislative changes, migration requires “changes to the policies being implemented by different parts of government” which required more “interdepartmental coordination.”

Dalli and Agius are also cautious of more “governmental efforts” on integration as these will not necessarily result in more positive attitudes, citing the “harsh words and protests” on online comments board and the social media which met reports on the minister’s initiatives promoting integration.

One major stumbling block for integration is cultural: while many Maltese citizens have LGBTIQ relatives or friends whom they can relate to, “a significant portion of the population continues to have no direct contact with migrants” and less so within immediate circles – something confirmed by a MediaToday survey commissioned by the ministry in 2015 during the launch of the Mind D Gap information campaign.  

Another obstacle is the “volatile and unpredictable” migration flows, which have seen the arrival of many undocumented migrants reaching Malta over a short period. While the slowing down of these emergencies, thanks to the action of Italian authorities, has given Malta some respite, “flows and routes can shift rapidly and any strategy has to plan ahead for this”.

The article does not refer to the political impact of the aborted pushback in July 2013 – an action later disowned by the Prime Minister as a “mistake” – but which may have hardened anti immigrant sentiments among segments of the population, but lists  a number of measures aimed at promoting integration taken by the same government.  

These include action against precarious employment to give Maltese workers a level playing field at work, an area where they were facing “stiff competition” from migrants who are generally willing to accept lower pay.  According to Dalli and Agius this measure helped to assuage the fear of migrants “who take jobs of the Maltese.” 

A policy framework for migrant integration was also launched and the Directorate for Human Rights and Integration was set up together with a Forum for Integration Affairs which includes representatives of migrant communities in Malta.

While these steps clearly show the government’s direction on migrant integration, “it remains difficult to speculate how far and how fast the government can move in the field.”  But “success in the economy and other sectors will hinge on how integrated society is and the size of the contribution of both nationals and migrants in the country.”

The book, Sociology of the Maltese Islands, edited by sociologists Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown, gives a scholarly overview of different facets of Maltese society, ranging from ageing and childhood to social class and environmental activism and the media. 

In the prologue to the book sociologist Godfrey Baldacchino refers to the  “move away from rigid definitions of family, civil unions and identities” which reflects “a shift from a more dogmatic interpretation of the world – powered by Church and Political Party – towards a more pluralist one”.  At the same time “avid consumerism, traffic lock jam and a property boom have given rise to a noticeable backlash of environmental activism” which reminds us “on the finite nature of our land base and the dubious sustainability of current lifestyle patterns.”