New group of 73 migrants rescued - 183 in a day

@ S. Fenech

It would be nice if all do-gooders like your goodself practice what you preach and offer these poor souls food, warmth and shelter in your own house. Please put your money where your mouth is.

These people are here ILLEGALY. They have no right to be here. We've got enough problems of our own and really cannot shoulder any more responsibility.

If we were an independent Sovereign Stae we could stop this emmigration to our shores,even to go as far as Australia did,though I personally do not agree with gun law.

The fact is that we are not now independent for reasons which should be obvious, therefore we must abide with European law.

@Joseph R. Aquilina

Quote:

''Our President is also highly respected by the Libyan authorities''.

Just to remind you, that the slogan of ''Dawk tal-habbaziz'' are still whistling in Gaddafi's ears.

@ S Fenech

Please save some of your sanctimonious religiosity for your fellow Maltese!

Have you even thought for two minutes of the consequences of what is happening to our country? Have you tried to project the arrival figures for illegals for a couple of decades? Have you no feelings of charity for your fellow Maltese -- and for their children?

As for keeping politics out of it, what could be more political than the invasion of our country by thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants? Shame on our cowardly politicians -- in both main parties -- who for their own selfish reasons are shirking their duty to their nation.

To all of you who posted comments:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

1 Feed the Hungry
2 Give drink to the thirsty
3 Clothe the naked
4 Shelter the homeless
5 Comfort the imprisoned
6 Visit the sick
7 Bury the dead

(Matthew 5:3-12)

...and please, no politics in this affair

This is getting out of hand… (Or maybe already is). I think that Malta needs to take some drastic measures to address this problematic situation. This is the price of globalisation and by accepting these illegal immigrants in Malta we are justifying their country anarchic political system.

Wait until they start running for a government post. Even if they elect 1 every election, that will be enough to have a deciding vote.
Ridiculous situation in Malta! Where is the old fighting spirit? Or are we so engrossed being in the EU that we cannot see the forest for the trees.
Time to act before it is too late. And the 'too late' is not that far away.
Does anyone know how many of these so called 'immigrants' are reaching other shores in boats other than Malta? I will bet, precious few.

This is getting out of hand . Please all politicians no more sweet talk about obligations etc. It is time for real action . I agree with R.Oats about the cockiness in these people ,the are even telling uss maltese that with the boats they come with we will be leaving in them . Dear all members of parlament when you go to church on sunday pray for our beloved Malta and we great maltese citizens . Yes V Pulis we are being taken for a ride with sweet talk. They should all be sent to amnesty international and be looked after by them . We are letting an organisation like Amnesty international break up this great nation.

An invasion of 237 illegal migrants within 48 hours. This flood of humanity must be stopped at point of departure. Only the goodwill of the Libyan Government can achieve that. However, it seems that The EU has apparently not as yet agreed to help the Libyans to control their southern borders, as requested. I am beginning to believe that if Malta goes it alone with Libya we may be more succesful than the EU since I am sure Libya will not expect from Malta what it expects from the EU. I do not envy the struggle of conscience that the Prime MInister must be facing in dealing with this situation. How does one honour Christian principles, and yet defend our territorial integrity? I wish to express my solidarity with the PM in this predicament but wish to encourage him to launch direct bi-lateral talks with Tripoli. There are persons of integrity in both the PN and the MLP who are of some considerable influence in LIbya. Let us join forces and solve this as one united country. Our President is also highly respected by the Libyan authorities, so perhaps the government should also ask for his direct intervention.

It seems the message hasn't got through to most of these correspondents.It is not true that there is a pact between the PN and Labour not to comment on mass migrations from the African content. It is simply that we must accept these migrants once they are in home waters and there is nothing we can legally do.. We are the EU's southern border.Lets face it none of them want to come here particularly,their desired destination is the land mass of Europe. Malta is simply a stepping stone and an accident that happened as far as these unfortunate people are concerned.

@ G Grech That sounds like a plausible explanation. Why don't we do the same? Oh I forgot...We're Christians. But then so are the Italians!

Don't expect the EU to help us solve this very big problem. Spain, France and Italy are all passing laws to solve their problem with regards to illegal immigration,without waiting for the EU to do it for them. We should do the same and deal with this problem in our way,BEFORE THE SITUATION GETS OUT OF CONTROL ! In a very short time,Malta will be very similar to London. Already on our streets,one can notice that the presence of immigrants is growing every day. If multi-cultural societies were not a success in other countries, one cannot expect our country to be a special case. We are DEMANDING that those whom we elected to run our country to do their utmost to improve the situation; till now very little is being done. If they cannot handle this situation they should resign. We elected a government to safeguard Malta's interests first and foremost, and not to please Brussels!

FRONTEX is a sham fullstop!! No beating round the bush. Let's just all be honest here,.. does anyone of us really care how many illegal immigrants enter Spain or Italy? Other EU nations are as bothered about our situation as much as we are about theirs, it's Malta's burden and we have been left alone to deal with it at our very own expence, putting our armed forces, law enforcers, health services and social services under strain.

If this was Australia none of this would be happening, our leaders are in need of some Aussie advice. We need a leader like Howard for a couple of years to sort this mess out.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Well done Aussie mates, i like your style.

Keep on counting Dr Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici as if you were counting the sheep. . . and sleep over it. Give instructions to treat the illegal immigrants well and be assured of a peaceful holiday during the summer months.

The concern being expressed by the nation does not seem to bother you.

Can you please explain to the people what this Government is doing to stop the ever growing increase of illegal immigrants? So now we have an increase in illegal persons and a brain drain as well. So much for the priding ourselves with some of the best brains in the EU. I wonder how long it is going to take to see the balance tilt the other way.

Sigh!

The State has abandoned us, the nation. Do not be accomplice to give them power next time. Government, the opposition, they are one and the same. There is nothing more important than this issue.

A government that has slightly won an election, is doing what he likes with the country and its land, as if it owns it. He can tax as much as he likes, but there is no playing with this issue and the future of our children. Give them messages.

The Irish did.

Sorry to wake you up chaps, but when Malta became a sovereign independent State in 1964, it took on all the responsibilities of...yes. a sovereign and independent State. Since then we have been parading ourselves all around the world as an independent sovereign State, saying that we are on par with the USA, Italy, Germany, Britain, and so on. We boast that in spite of our small size we are equal to these countries, right? Well then, now we are slowly discovering that being sovereign also has disadvantages. In Lampedusa twice as many immigrants arrive. This is an island half the size of Gozo. Yet they do not remain there. They are ferried to Italy, to which Lampedusa belongs. We are, however sovereign and independent, and the international community looks upon us as such, and expects us to shoulder our responsibilities like other sovereign states.
And we have still long long way to go before we reach the proportion of migrants in Malta which other countries, with which we like to compare ourselves (like Britain, Italy, Germany), have long accepted.

What a sterling job the Frontex is doing to get the number of illegal migrants down year after year !!!! If this is the best EU could do for us...!!!!!

It is time the Maltese Government stop bending over for the European Union and take charge of a situation that is starting to spiral out of control.
Malta is to small and its residence to under paid compaired to the rest of Europe to hotel new citizen's.
Maybe it was time for a change in government, one that can stand up and do the job.

I see that the usual lackeys have gone practically silent now.Which means that they are reflecting about the reality of the situation. Just forget for a moment the EU with Frontex (which makes sure that we take them all in and leave nobody adrift) and Libya with a hidden agenda ( they supply them with boats probably for free) and give a good thought to this scenario, Malta with its tiny population minus the elderly and minus women and children how many of these illegals will it take to totally destabilize this country 12000- 15000??? Think about it.

@John Scerri

If you think that Libya is not stronger than 3/4s of all the EU countries at once, you really must be kidding me.

Where's Frontex Carm ?

Rescue them, so you can go to church on Sunday with your head held up, so high.

Pathetic. Thats what our country deserve, unfortunately.

Dear Mr Scerri - have you any idea how large the boundary between Libya and the Sub-Sahara is? If you were the Libyan authorities wouldn't you want the 2 or so million sub-saharans who got into your country illegally leave for other shores? Maybe it is time for the EU to help the Libyans guard their boundaries?

I agree with Mr Azzopardi - the situation is a time bomb ready to explode! This is not a problem for the EU but for Malta. It is Malta or rather the citizens who are paying for these people It is a surprise that the little boats on which these poor people travel are spotted and yet nobody has ever reported to see the 'big' ships which surely must be unloading them. Look around and you can tell the ones who have been in Malta for a while - the cockiness is so evident! I don't want to see my country turning into another London, Naples , Rome or any other city, because that's what Malta is - one big city. Look and learn from what's happening elsewhere in the world. We sympathise with thesre people and feel sorry for them but enough is enough -

@ Joseph Calleja

Forget the EU. It isn't interested in our problems and neither are the individual EU member states. If anything is to be done, the Maltese government has to do it.

The problem is that the two major parties seem to have agreed to ignore the problem. Illegal immigration is the most serious problem faced by our nation, whose long term survival is at stake. Yet this is the one and only issue on which the PN and the MLP have reached a consensus -- to do nothing!

As long as we, the voters, are faced by a united front of the two big parties, we are helpless. People have to lobby their MPs and their party -- loudly and repeatedly.

If one of the parties breaks the logjam and turns the immigration crisis into a political issue, it will enjoy such a surge in popularity that the other party will have to react. Perhaps then we could see some movement.

I know that it's a long shot, but I can see no other practical way forward. Voting for the ANs and the Norman Lowells of this world isn't going to achieve anything. They are too marginalised.

@ V. PULIS

I think you have missed a TV programme last weekend aired on Raitre where an italian fisherman explained why these immigrants are brought to Malta. He explained that when they (the fisherman) spot a boat with ILLEGAL immigrants, they all prefer informing the Maltese Authorities rather than the Italians. You know why? Because the Italian Authorities will request them to stay on the spot till they arrive while our Authorities just ask for the coordinates. Therefore they can continue with their fishing and not loose precious time waiting for the Italian Navy to arrive.

Quite convenient and cannot blame them either.

We are too good.....that is the problem!!!

The prime culprit in this charade is surely Mughammar Gaddhafi because he will not raise a finger to set up patrols and find who is organizing all these departures from his soil.
Maybe he's got a cut in what they're charging these poor people!
Both the E.U. and Malta itself should put their feet down and DEMAND Libya smarten up.

@Alfred Azzopardi
How right you are! You do not live here and can see the nightmare unfolding.
The problem is that there are people WHO LIVE here and are still advocating a Multicultural society (even the sound of that word makes my blood curd) whatever benefits that would bring! They are also showing the world how stupid we can get and what spineless creatures run this country!
HEY GONZI - ARE YOU COMFORTABLY NUMB to the plight of the VAST majority of those who voted for you. SHAME ON YOU!

Given the current state of affairs, why do we even have a border?

As I mentioned before " THEY KEEP COMING AND COMING " and I also said that " YOU CANNOT PUT FIVE GALLONS OF WATER IN A ONE GALLON CAN ". I think the one gallon can is starting to overflow and they keep pouring the next four gallons into the same can. When are these illegals going to stop coming? I don't think soon cause someone is making a lot of money transporting these poor people towards the island of Malta. When is the government going to make a stand and stop this madness, the EU can talk big but Malta needs action now before it gets over run by illegals and don't think it won't. Malta does not have the money or the capabily of supporting this exodus of illegal emigrants. How many more will arrive till the end of this year? This is not a Malta problem entirely, it is an EU problem. So where is the EU?

Go on, keep counting. Pathetic Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici's contingency plan is about to explode in his face this summer! Lets keep our fingers crossed that the 1500 - 2000 mark will not be exceeded! Ara veru Ministri gdur ghal-poplu GAHAN ghandna!
Where's next for an Open Centre?

Help the immigrants! .....Help Malta too!!!!!

From an average of 27 a day, now we are up to 183 a day. OK let's do the math here.
Being a bit realistic, at this rate, a safe assumption would be a 100 a day let's say for 8 months of the year, eliminating the winter months and bad weather. Add that up, that brings us to 24000.
Scary isn't it. In 5 years, 120000. I don't even live in Malta, yet I am very very concerned about the future of my homeland.

If this is not a nightmare situation then I don’t know what is. Most of us are accepting it as if it will eventually go away. Please be reminded that we have now passed the 10,000 illegal immigrant number. We are sleep walking into a national disaster.

There is surely a racket going on out there! this has become such a tragic farce now with italian fishermen catching more migrants than fish. and what kind of an arrangement is this where every boat that is spotted irrispective of location is brought to Malta? why are they not taken to Italy if they are spotted by Italian vessels? Is it my imagination or are we being taken for a ride? and meanwhile gaddafi is laughing his head off seeing his plan of islamising Europe come to fruition

poor people, lame government