By , Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing
As Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, I note with regret the comments published on the Facebook wall of the CEO for the Foundation for Social Welfare ¸£ÀûÔÚÏßÃâ·Ñ (FSWS) with regards to the destruction of boats, particularly his pithy attempts to justify his position which would still entail the annihilation of private property with the added dimension of the possibility of lost lives.
I would like to reiterate that Mr Grixti in his capacity as a leader in the social sector, is to maintain a decorous attitude on migration and all other social issues for that matter. It is completely unbecoming that as the head of the social welfare services in Malta he expresses what can be perceived as anti-migratory statements in such a crude and impervious way.
I urge Mr Grixti to remember that expressing the alleged contemptuous remarks without falling into the overt racism is equally problematic and his remarks can easily incite and instigate violence in people whose expression of such sentiments does not stop at morally dubious claims but might escalate into violence.
Finally, I urge Mr Grixti to dig deep into his stash of humanity and exercise the nuance and kindness befitting to anyone much least someone in his position to understand that as Warsan Shire, a British writer, poet, editor and teacher, in her poem entitled ‘Home’ aptly puts it "No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land".
This country is in need of moral leadership that seeks the common good and not a dialectic of detestation especially from our community leaders.
Disclaimer: Opinions and thoughts expressed within this article do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Malta.
