See attached update of article already posted, but now much improved - comprising only 10 short paragraphs. The Democratic Transition Social strife in Arab and Islamic countries is a regular feature in the news and the silent ‘biblical’ movement of population from Africa to Europe continues. However the social turbulence in the Arab and Middle Eastern Islamic countries cannot be equated to that prevailing in the sub-Saharan countries - and in particular to that prevailing in the Horn of Africa - since the political conditions in the two regions are dissimilar. In this article I try to address the Horn of Africa problem. In both regions there are aspects of transition to a different way of life but whereas the democratic transition to civil society has majoritarian support in certain Arab and Islamic countries, the same cannot be said of the sub-Saharan countries in the Horn of Africa. In these countries traditional values still prevail. The political conditions in Somalia and Eritrea have become intolerable and have assumed the proportions of a human tragedy for tens of thousands of people who travel from their homes to North Africa each year, so that they may board ships and cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach a European port during the summer months - where they request asylum as irregular immigrants. These migrants are minoritarian in their countries of origin and are moving out, since they may be subjected to persecution by the majority who have rejected the European model of civil society. The rejection of the civil society model by the majority in Somalia and Eritrea is due to the influence of ideology - which creates a particular mind set. European countries dominated these countries for decades in the past and so the people in these countries do not realise that they are still being affected by the anti-colonial ideology. This furthermore prevents them from accepting the fact that a new model of living has been created in Europe since the war - that of civil society. Europe has changed, but in the minds of the majority in these countries, Europe is still the Europe of colonial times rather than the Europe of today. Not accepting change, the appeal to traditional values then prevails. Restoring communication on this issue of civil society and minority rights with a population thus ideologically blinkered – is difficult if not impossible. So the only way forward for the European countries is to take stock of the situation and see how the displaced population may be hosted in Europe. Thus it is intolerable that certain EU countries continue to shirk their responsibilities of burden-sharing by refusing to admit these migrants to their countries - with the result that only a few member states mainly Italy, Greece and Malta assume responsibility for this problem. Taking in the refugees is only a short term solution and in the long term other measures have to be contemplated. Countries in the Horn of Africa have to change and adapt their societies to modern day conditions, and so a Development Plan for the region commensurate with the problems involved must be devised - in the manner the Americans launched the Marshall Plan for the European countries after the war. Similarly these countries need to be encouraged to establish democratic parties to assume leadership and respect minority rights. The EU must insist that the political leadership in these countries have democratic credentials to ensure that the resources made available to them do not finish lining up the pockets of the elite, but are utilised for the development of the people. These funds are tax payers money after all and should be allocated strictly for development purposes. To realise such a project political action is required in the European countries themselves to defeat the policy of indifference at home which has prevailed in recent years. It is not on to simply dismiss the problem as “People looking for a better future” - it is a human tragedy rooted in the contradictions prevalent in the African countries and has to be addressed. We have to win the battle of minds in our countries against racism and xenophobia first, before we can address such problems in foreign countries. These social problems in the developing countries are after all the result of the break-up of the colonial empires and the granting of independence to scores of countries – big and small - in the decades immediately following the last war. In our case the pre-independence travail has given way to progressive change leading to Malta joining the European Union on May 1st 2004. But our country is small with homogenous population unlike the vastness and political conditions in the Horn of Africa. However having made the transition from colony to member state of the European Union, Malta may contribute for a similar transition to civil society in the Horn of Africa countries by being granted the role of Commissioner for Overseas Development in the next appointment of Commissioners . The Maltese Commissioner would then be entrusted with the formulation of a 7 year Plan for the Horn of Africa Region. This would be an appropriate recognition that Malta may contribute in International Relations utilising her rich historical heritage resulting from her strategic position. Such an appointment would also mitigate the price paid by Malta for membership of the E U - considered onerous by a section of the Maltese population, who state that in the problem of illegal immigration, Malta was left alone and no Burden Sharing Scheme has been devised as an adequate response. Such a scheme can be worked out and would be the responsibility of the Commissioner for Internal Affairs who preferably would not be Maltese, so that it would be a Union rather than a Maltese venture. I am sure that it is not beyond the EU Commission to formulate a plan where the persons landing on our shores seeking asylum may be accomodated in Malta in adequate facilities for a period of time – let us say 12 months, by which time they should be re-located to another EU member state. Malta has already served such a purpose in the 1970’s, when the Ugandan Asians were expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin , although on a smaller scale than what is called for today. Such action by the EU would have a positive response from Malta, by integrating with her population a number of refugees commensurate with her size and population, to give her contribution to the resolution of the problem in the Horn of Africa while safeguarding the characteristics of our community.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 13:21:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015