To the Maltese ‘All Lives Matter’ movement

To all those citizens outraged at Malta offering shelter and a tiny shred of hope to asylum seekers coming from war-torn countries – I don’t understand what your problem is.

Why claim ‘all lives matter’ when what you really mean is ‘all lives I deem worthy matter’? And who are you to think you have any kind of right to decide whose lives should and should not matter? Not to mention the fact that nobody claimed anyone’s life does not matter. It’s just that some people’s lives are presently at risk. And yours is not. So obviously the focus should be on the lives that are currently at risk.

You claim that “Malta should come before everything” – what threat are these asylum seekers posing to our country?

You claim we should be defending our country – against what exactly? Against people in need? These immigrants are not here to declare war on us, to try steal our country from us. They are here because their own country declared war on them. And they need help. They deserve to live in a place where walking out in the street does not mean you run the risk of getting shot at.

I do not understand where all this hate is coming from.

In my opinion, all this talk of how we should be ‘defending ourselves’ from these people is very much a Hitler mentality.

You think you’re being patriotic by hating on people that need help and by trying to deny them a chance at a better life. But what you’re really doing is bringing shame to the country you claim to love so much.

To everyone out there who thinks migrants should be sent back to their own country,

I am begging you, please, to stop and try to understand why they are here. Try to be a little bit more open-minded and listen and learn.

And while you’re at it, I would also open up a history book and re-read the parts where our ancestors who made Malta what it is today, were lauded and praised for being a kind and WELCOMING people.

(This article was originally posted on civilsocietymt.com)

Written by: Michela Farrugia