The Ivorians say it about the Mali’s, the Dutch about the Poles. The Indonesians about the Chinese, the Germans about the French. And the Maltese about the Somali. All in a one big chorus: THEY TOOK OUR JOBS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KThDnFOj0Hk
Unfortunately few seem to realize that jobs are not charity. People don’t take jobs, they work them.
Putting that aside, has one noticed that in Malta when we talk about the Africans, the chorus has changed it’s words. Now the trend is: THEY TAKE OUR SOCIAL BENEFITS.
Obviously they are wrong. The first thing most African immigrants do after leaving detention is start looking for a job. And find it, because contrary to popular racist belief, most are hard working honest people who want to make a decent living.
Where most of tax money is going, isn’t in social benefits (which most Africans take for a very short period of time and in very small amounts). The bulk of the money is wasted (yes, wasted) in the long periods African migrants spend in “administrative” detention. Ironically, the “we’re paying tax money” brigade is usually on the forefront backing the government to keep migrants detained. Some even want to increase that period!
Yes migrants work our jobs. It’s been happening since the end of time. You just didn’t notice because it because they were white, stupid. It happens everywhere. Work is the primary reason why people migrate.
And guess what. Do these people know that there are some 1.5 million Maltese live in othe countries? And like the Africans in Malta, a few of them do happen to take social benefits for a while. But what the majority of these 1.5 million Maltese is doing is: TAKING THEIR JOBS.
Robert Callus 
20 August, 2011 at 12:32 pm
It’s not even ‘taking our jobs’ Robert, it’s ‘doing our jobs’. Doing the jobs we don’t want, at less pay and while being racially abused.
20 August, 2011 at 1:11 pm
I think that’s quite a generalized statement Mark. I know migrants who are abused and exploited. However I also know a larger number of migrants who are treated well at the place of work and employed at the same conditions of the Maltese.
Of course, the government is doing nothing to curb abuses which is another serious issue no one is talking about. Once I heard an employer shout in front of a large number of passer-by’s screaming “umbaghad ara min ha jaqbez ghalik ma ***** ” (won’t mention the politician’s name cause I don’t have time and money for a libel suit)
29 August, 2011 at 8:24 pm
look the maltese saying that immigrants take their work
african immigrants are working in construction work or clearning work , never see immgrants work in the office, and also we pay tax and NI like all workers and get less money.
14 December, 2011 at 12:42 am
What baffles me most is why on earth could Malta be placed in Europe. Everything about them and their Island is totally diffrent from a nation that should be named with Europe. An average Maltese is ignorant about a lot of things and very lay back. They need a lot of orientation.
14 December, 2011 at 12:57 am
Yeah, we are all stupid racist bigots :))
Every country has racist and ignorant people, be it Belgium, Sudan or Australia.
31 January, 2012 at 12:44 am
Every Maltese should read this!! 🙂 It’s an amazingly simple truth but it seems most Maltese prefer to stay ignorant.. Especially the last sentence could be an eye opener to them.
Yes racism is everywhere but as a temporary foreign worker (and blonde girl) in Malta I am shocked of the open racist culture here.
Indeed NO ONE has been annoyed with, or even seemed to have noticed the fact that I came to take a job, but practically EVERYONE has been complaining to me about the “blacks and arabs taking jobs”.
Most striking in this to me is that these people did not know me yet; only for being white they assume that I share their racist thoughts!!
Apparently being racist is so widespread and normal for them that they never even need to consider other thoughts.
Malta needs more dialogue! 🙂
Thank you for writing this.
31 January, 2012 at 1:31 am
Thanks for your comment.
You will notice some strange things here though. A lot of Maltese speak racist openly, yet when it comes to one to one basis they don’t seem to behave like that (except for a few of course).
I know an army officer who works with immigrants. The way he talks with me, you would think he’s the ultimate racist. Yet, if you see his relationship with them, the respect he shows them and receives from them makes you wonder it’s the same person.
Your observations are fully correct – that no one notices a blonde girl is taking their job (the horror!)
Cheers