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Anti-Racism Czar, Hate Speech Crackdown And A Vote For All Residents: Here Are Repubblika’s Proposals To Combat Racism In Malta

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Justice NGO Repubblika has published its own proposals in response to a call for recommendations for a national anti-racism and anti-xenophobia strategy. 

In a policy document, the group proposed 17 reforms involving citizenship, education, appointing an anti-racism commissioner and a systemic crackdown on hate speech.

It suggested that all residents in Malta are given the opportunity to vote and thus participate in our democracy.

Meanwhile, anyone who has lived on the islands for a number of years should have the path to citizenship opened for them. Careers in government, the police force, the army, civil service and judiciary should also be available to all.

While details vary according to circumstance it takes approximately five years to become naturalised as a Maltese citizen.

Malta must respect laws at sea, it continued, referring to international law on asylum seekers, which they say the island has ignored after hundreds of migrants were left flotillas earlier this year.

On media representation, they said that space should be guaranteed for minorities to have a voice.

In response to rising hate speech, it called for an anti-racism watchdog as well as a general crackdown on the crime. Moreover, political parties that are found to promote racism should be banned.

When it came to treatment of migrants, they said that Malta needs to prioritise social housing more and ensure ghetto-creation is avoided.

Malta needs to move beyond thinking in terms of assimilation of foreigners, it continued. An integration policy shouldn’t focus on assimilation but living in harmony through non-eurocentric education and other initiatives.

“Therefore integration policies should not consider “being Maltese” as a thing frozen in time, immutable and defined by a group of people such as people who were born here,” the document reads.

“It is natural for culture to evolve and change and migrants should not be expected to strip themselves of their cultural or individual distinctiveness in order not to suffer discrimination while they live here.”

The paper also points out the state’s inconsistencies as it calls for suggestions while implementing racist policies.

“The idea that Malta is “full up” for some but not for others is not a spectrum made up of two shades. The government’s discourse ranks races in a complex hierarchy where “the Maltese” rank on top and those permitted to live here are tolerated as an underclass of servants,” it wrote.

You can read the document in full here.

What do you make of their proposals?

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Sam is a journalist, artist and writer based in Malta. Send her pictures of hands or need-to-know stories on politics or art on [email protected].

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