NGOs form anti-racism watchdog

Speaking during the launch yesterday, Migrants Solidarity Movement spokesperson Ann Bugeja said the ongoing campaign will highlight the illegality of racism and discrimination and be aimed primarily at educating the Maltese public about the realities of migration.

However, Bugeja said the coalition recognises that to fight racism fears inherent to migration, “often the result of common misconceptions,” require tackling. She said that this fear “is offering a fertile breeding ground for the growth of racism in our country.”

Pointing out that the immigrant detention camps were originally a “message by the local government to the EU that Malta would not face the issue alone”, she affirmed that the government hasn’t changed track despite the assistance it has been receiving.

Pointing out that government has many buildings it can use, Bugeja affirmed that “using people as political bargaining chips is inhumane.”

She maintained that the aim of the campaign “is not to accuse the Maltese of being racist.” She affirmed that, on the contrary, most of the Maltese public is not racist, and reject racism, “while others act in certain ways more because of fear rather than hatred.”

For this reason, StandUpGetUp! spokesperson Sarah Mallia said, the campaign will be organising various events and activities that “create spaces for discussion and interaction between different people.” Organised by NGOs, the activities include a street parade in Valletta against racism, and also a concert against racism.

Mallia added that university lecturers would also be working towards integrating issues related to diversity into the curriculum of various other courses, alongside organising a number of lectures on the subject.

Ali Konate, a spokesperson for the Migrant’s Networks for Equality, said the campaign would not simply address racism levelled against Africans, but any minority group similarly discriminated against.

Pointing to instances where immigrants were involved in incidents on the work place, on buses, and in entertainment locales, he affirmed that “there have been various cases when immigrants reported racist attacks to the police and these were ignored, often with the report not being taken at all.”

“We request that police take these racist attacks more seriously and act on them to help tackle racism. With this campaign, we are asserting that these incidents have to stop,” he said.

Also speaking during the launch, Salah, a Sudanese immigrant living in Malta for the past six years, emphasised that not all people of colour are immigrants or come from Africa. “Malta cannot remain 100 years behind the rest of the world in maintaining a mentality of racism,” he affirmed. “This issue of black and white is outdated.”

The General Workers’ Union expressed wholehearted support for the campaign, affirming that racism and similar sentiments are very divisive and prove extremely destructive to any community.

“Equality and equal treatment is an EU right – a principle firmly established in European Union trade unionism,” GWU representative Terry Gosden said, saying the union was looking forward to the campaign getting underway and obtaining results.

The organisations taking part in the campaign are: Migrant’s Networks for Equality, Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta), Migrants Solidarity Movement, Moviment Graffiti, General Workers’ Union, CEER, Amplify, GetUpStandUp!, Organisation for Friendship in Diversity, Kopin, Movement Azzjoni Xellug, Salesian Pastoral Service, Kooperattiva Gust, PeaceLab, Centre of Faith and Justice, Greenhouse, Third World Group, Alternattiva Demokratika, and Alternattiva Demokratika Youth.