Malta and the Maltese first - (Part II) with them. So why are you against integration when you’ve just said it can be achieved? Because integration has not worked. You just said it did. It has not worked anywhere. What about the second generation Serb
You’ve spoken about your economic policy, but your stance on integration is the cornerstone of the party’s political message, even calling for a referendum against integration - integration with whom? We are against forced integration. We are a Christian country so when the boats started coming, we helped, like with the Albanians who came before. The only difference is that the Albanians left.
That is why we are calling for the treaty of George Borg Olivier to be re-enacted, since it was drafted with the endemic problems of being a small island taking into account issues like size and population. This was carried on by Perit Mintoff. If he thought something was rubbish he would have disposed of it. This treaty lasted until four months before we joined the EU and we had to accept that it was removed.
Because it needed to be replaced by the new EU treaty... The previous treaty protected the island the way it had to be protected.
When the population chose to join the EU, due to the number of treaties we had to sign, the number of boats steadily increased but the people did not notice straight away. We wanted to help them, but with the condition that they go back. And they did not go back, and a lot of them are economic migrants.
After Europe began accepting them it became a disaster with massive social problems, and now they’re scared that something will happen.
These people are economic migrants and because they want a better life, they go to another country, which is forced to accept them. By the way, these people who come know the rules and regulations more than our top lawyers, they are instructed what to do, they know the game exactly, and Europe has realised they are taking everyone for a ride.
That’s a bit of an overstatement when you consider that migrants come to Malta because of its geographical position and its proximity to North Africa. 60% are asylum seekers, and 30% get relocated. No, it is not an overstatement. A lot of them are economic migrants. You said the boats stopped.
I said that the boat arrivals have reduced drastically in the last couple of years. I said two years ago that we shut the door but they were coming through the window, and no one believed us. When the refugee commission issued the latest data that 4,000 came in the last two years claimed asylum, it shows they are coming in by air.
But these are refugees.
No they are not. But the figures you quoted are the UNHCR’s official figures They are not refugees, and another aspect you failed to mention is the number of people coming to Malta by catamaran, especially since the Italy deal. They are locked in. Before then they were able to run rampant around Europe.
France closed its borders, Switzerland, and Austria closed too. Since then, Italy’s problems have intensified.
They are coming from Italy and they are African, because Malta is the only place to the south. They are coming for work and they are staying.
Most people are sent back and are given suspended sentences. But that only happened since Schengen was closed. But when it’s reopened, they will not get caught.
There are Malians who work here, go back to Italy and register there. They are then put in little boxes for rent. The media is missing the idea of our movement, we were demonised as racists. The real people who should be demonized are the people who are exploiting them. There is a problem of exploitation. Has your newspaper exposed any of these stories?
Yes, in the clothing industry specifically. That was three years ago, that had been going on for 25 years, and that was one-off. There is mass exploitation in a lot of sectors. This is not a realistic situation we should be in. No one is benefitting except those who exploit them.
You talk about demonising the party, but how do expect the media to react when you exhibit overt racist behaviour, as was seen when the party handed out pork sandwiches at a protest? Oh, fancy eating pork in your own country. That’s disgusting.
You knew and understood the connotations that held. Do you know that these people were putting their arse to the back of the Catholic Church?
They were praying in the direction of Mecca.
Yes, I know.
So what you’re saying was that it was just a coincidence? Just as much as it was a coincidence that we were eating pork.
That case was not a coincidence.
How is it racist then? I am in Malta.
So why did you hand out pork sandwiches? Because that was what was on the menu that day.
The party had stated that it was being done after claims said that children were not able to eat pork at school. The Parish priest said that. But Fr Michael Attard said that you “were making a big deal out of nothing.” The head of the school denied these claims, the ministry denied these claims, and parents denied these claims. People talk to us privately because they’re dead scared of being stigmatised. I had a pork sandwich in my country, when in their country I cannot even make the sign of the cross, I cannot have a Bible or they will arrest me. You are defending this cult, because I would not even call it a religion. Have you ever been to Muslim country?
I have. Don’t you think that you are making a general statement considering there are so many Muslims in the world, with varying cultures such as Morocco, UAE and Indonesia? Do you know what happened in Indonesia with the Christian mayor? Are you equating their democracy to ours? U allura, u ejja!
Then if you’re saying our democracy is better, shouldn’t we show a better way? No, they have to accept our way. And that is the mistake the media is making. How are they not accepting our way?
They are different. The Indian community has been here for a long time and we have integrated