English and Maltese both utilise the colour green, not only as an adjective, but also as an idiom, though they are used in different contexts. In English for example, you will often encounter a reference to someone being 'green with envy' apart from its other use as signifying environmental concern.
In Maltese, sometimes people are referred to as being green (kemm hu aħdar!), or having a 'green heart' (għandha qalbha ħadra!). This is done in the context of an observation of a person behaving with unacceptable cruelty.
Now we're no longer talking about those who are deemed refugees that had arrived by sea, and taken to be processed on Nauru and PNG's Manus Island, not being allowed to settle here. This had been a tough decision takeny by the Labor government in 2013, which had stepped back from the political, and risky, decision in 2008 to remove restrictions in place at the time in processing asylum applications offshore, without there being alternatives in place for how these are to be processed.
That 2008 decision had simply been premature, but resulted in encouraging tens of thousands of refugees to seek asylum here, and many hundreds, more than a thousand in fact, losing their lives in the high seas.
I had accepted the 2013 decision as necessary (see The Voice No. 80) as a deterrent. As we know, the current Liberal-National coalition, has long boasted that there are no longer refugees arriving by sea and those hundreds of deaths at sea in this part of the world have stopped (the same cannot be said, unfortunately, for the seas around Malta).
However now the government is saying that not only refugees arriving by sea will not be allowed to settle here in Australia, but are proposing that they be prohibited from coming here for any reason.
They won't be allowed to come on holiday.
The can't come for a short while to visit family members.
Not even on business, or to live with their Australian spouses.
Not even if they would have left Nauru and Manus Island to settle in another haven country, and had been there a decade or two.
NEVER.
That's actually untrue, as they are proposing one exception, where the minister would be able to use his discretion and compassion, which he possesses in spades, when a particular case touches his heart. Good luck with that.
To those showing such an attitude, Maltese people would feel that applying (figuratively) the green colour would be appropriate.
What is the need to be more vicious with someone so in need, far away from his country, forced to disrupt his life and that of his family, fleeing persecution? The government has been boasting of having been able to stop the boats with refugees coming to Australia, so why is there the need to be more pitiless?
It is no wonder that Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, which years ago ran her scares on Asian immigration and now on Muslim immigration, has congratulated the government. Political commentators are saying that the Liberal-National coalition is trying to attract those that in the last election had voted for One Nation.
That could well be the case. Nevertheless I favour another theory.
Prime Minister Turnbull some weeks ago announced that the number of refugees to be accepted each year will go up from 13,750 to 18,750. Doubtlessly this is a positive step (in my opinion). This clarifies a declaration that had been made by his predecessor Tony Abbott of an increase to that amount, but hadn't been clear whether this was a one-off or a yearly increase.
My theory is that Turnbull still has internal opposition to this incease, and so is trying to appease them by tying it to a harsh measure likely to appeal to those voters of his party who sympathise with the policies of One Nation.
In any case, my comment is this. It seems there are people in government, who are paid to invent sadistic measures to be applied on those that are vulnerable, far away from our shores and eyes. And our representatives show up on our television screens, and brazenly tout the wisdom and goodness of their leadership.
What cruelty.
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Le, m'iniex nitkellem fuq il-foresti tropikali, sub-tropikali jew Alpini tal-Awstralja. Lanqas fuq il-paesaġġ Malti wara l-ewwel xita.
Issa m'għadniex nitkellmu fuq li persuni li jitqiesu refuġjati li jkunu ġew bil-baħar, u li jittieħdu biex jiġu pproċessati f'Nauru u Manus Island tal-PNG, ma jitħallewx jiġi biex joqogħdu hawnhekk. Dan kien pass iebes li kien ħa gvern Laburista fl-2013, li kien reġa lura mid-deċiżjoni politika, u r-riskju, li fl-2008 jneħħi r-restrizzjonijiet li kienu fis-seħħ ftit snin qabel fl-ipproċessar tal-applikazzjonijiet għall-ażil, mingħajr ma kien hemm alternattiva ta' kif se jiġu pproċessati.
Dik id-deċiżjoni tal-2008 kienet sempliċement prematura, imma wasslet biex tħajjar għexieren ta' eluf ta' refuġjati biex ifittxu l-ażil hawnhekk, u lil ħafna mijiet ta' nies, iktar minn elf, biex jispiċċaw jgħerqu fiż-żaqq ratba imma ras iebsa tal-baħar.
Id-deċiżjoni tal-2013 jien ukoll aċċettajt li kienet neċessarja (ara The Voice Nru. 80) bħala deterrent. Bħal ma nafu, l-gvern ta' koalizzjoni preżenti, dak Liberali-Nazzjonali, ilu jiftaħar li m'għadhomx jiġu rifuġjati bil-baħar u waqfu dawk il-mijiet ta' mwiet f'dawn in-naħiet tad-dinja (mhux l-istess jista' jingħad, diżgrazzjatament, għall-inħawi ta' Malta).
Imm'ssa l-gvern qed jgħid li mhux biss ir-rifuġjati li jkunu ġew bil-baħar ma jitħallewx jiġu joqogħdu hawnhekk, imma qed jipproponu li ma jkunux jistgħu jiġu l-Awstralja għall-ebda raġuni.
Ma jistgħux jiġu btala.
Ma jistgħux jiġu għal żmien qasir biex jiltaqgħu mal-familjari tagħhom.
Lanqas jistgħu jiġu fuq negozju, jew biex joqogħdu ma' żwieġhom Awstraljan.
Lanqas jekk ilhom li telqu minn Nauru u Manus Island għal xi pajjiż ieħor li laqagħhom, u ilhom hemm għaxar snin, għoxrin sena.
QATT.
Qed nigdeb, għax qed jipproponu eċċezzjoni waħda, fejn il-ministru jista' juża d-diskrezzjoni tiegħu u juża l-ħniena tiegħu, li minna għandu biex ibigħ, meta xi każ irattablu qalbu. J'Alla tmissek ix-xorti.
Aħna l-Maltin għandna aġġettiv li joqgħod għal min juri atteġġjament bħal dan. Aħdar.
X'inhu l-bżonn li nkomplu nżidu l-ħruxija ma' min jinsab tant fil-bżonn, 'il bogħod minn pajjiżu, sfurzat iħarbat lil ħajtu u dik ta' familtu, u li qed jaħrab il-persekuzzjoni? Il-gvern ilu jiftaħar kemm irnexxilu jwaqqaf id-dgħajjes bir-rifuġjati ġejjin l-Awstralja, allura għalfejn hemm bżonn inkomplu nżidu d-doża ta' kefrija?
Mhux ta' b'xejn li l-partit One Nation ta' Pauline Hanson, dak li snin ilu kien ibeżża' bl-immigranti Ażjatiċi u issa bl-immigranti Musulmani, ħareġ jgħid prosit lill-gvern. Kummentaturi politiċi qed jgħidu li l-Koalizzjoni Liberali-Nazzjonali qed tipprova terġa' tiġbed lejha partitarji li fl-aħħar elezzjoni vvutaw għal One Nation.
Dan jista' jkun. Jien madankollu niffavorixxi teorija oħra.
Il-Prim Ministru Turnbull ftit ġimgħat ilu ħabbar li se jżid l-ammont ta' rifuġjati li jieħu fis-sena minn 13,750 għal 18,750. Bla dubju dan huwa pass pożittiv (fl-opinjoni tiegħi). Dan iċċara dikjarazzjoni li kienet saret mill-predeċessur tiegħu Tony Abbott ta' żieda għal dak l-ammont, imma li ma kienx ċar jekk din kinetx żieda ta' darba jew ta' kull sena.
It-teorija tiegħi hi li Turnbull xorta għandu oppożizzjoni interna għal din iż-żieda u ried ikompli jbenġilha b'miżura ħarxa li tappella għal dawk il-votanti tal-partit tiegħu li fil-fatt jissimpatizzaw mal-politika ta' One Nation.
Hi x'inhi, il-kumment tiegħi hu dan. Jidher li hemm nies fil-gvern, li huma mħallsa biex jivvintaw miżuri sadisti li jiġu applikati lil min huwa vulnerabbli, kemm jista' jkun 'il bogħod minn xtutna u minn għajnejna. U r-rappreżentanti tagħna jiġu quddiem it-televiżjoni, u b'wiċċhom minn quddiem ikantaw fuq l-għaqal u t-tjubija tat-tmexxija tagħhom.
Xi ħdura.
1https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/30/asylum-seekers-face-lifetime-ban-on-entering-australia-if-they-arrive-by-boat, retrieved 1/11/2016
2http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-21/un-refugee-summit-australia-intake-upped-to-19,000-per-year/7863712, retrieved 1/11/2016
3http://www.essentialvision.com.au/ban-on-muslim-immigration, retrieved 1/11/2016
1https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/30/asylum-seekers-face-lifetime-ban-on-entering-australia-if-they-arrive-by-boat, retrieved 1/11/2016
2http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-21/un-refugee-summit-australia-intake-upped-to-19,000-per-year/7863712, retrieved 1/11/2016
3http://www.essentialvision.com.au/ban-on-muslim-immigration, retrieved 1/11/2016
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