It has been described as one of the most significant battles in human history. Had the invading forces been victorious it would have signified the end of Western Civilisation as we know it. It all happened at Salamis, 480 years before the birth of Christ.
At Salamis almost 2500 years ago Xerxes’ Persian forces were once again trying to gain an inroad into the land occupied by a number of city states. Thanks to some wily moves, a bit of luck and some help from the elements (the Gods?), the Greek states managed to ward off the Persian danger yet again. Which is why Salamis is seen as quite an important turning point in our history.
Which brings me to the ship that goes by the name Salamis floating outside the shores of this island of ours. It fatefully picked up a hundred migrants who were stranded at sea and then was apparently ordered by both Italian and Maltese authorities to return its fare to Libya. All forms of legalisms are out in force at the moment. Mallia and Muscat are clinging to the rules of rescue at sea – basically the intent being to feign ignorance of the fact that the people who were saved would have been potential asylum seekers.
Those dreaded NGO’s have caught on to this farce and have immediately issued a call for the migrants to be allowed to disembark. “Not on my island” quoth Mallia. “It’s a point of principle”. Really? Both Italian and Maltese authorities seem to forget that they have been busy warning their own nationals to keep a wide berth of Libya – not exactly a safe haven for whomever to be obliged to disembark to. The class of idiots that swallow the daily pill from the authorities that be have taken to swarming onto the facebook page of EU Commissioner Malmstrom – spewing out all sort of invective chief among which is “Don’t mess with Malta” or “Keep out of our country”.
Early this afternoon the opposition did little to help the cause by standing fair and square behind the Labour government’s position. It was probably not aided by the fact that there are many a similar skeleton in its cupboard – PN governments did have the habit of using poor souls at sea as bartering tools for international diplomacy.
Yes, both the PL and the PN have opted to paint our country the picture of intolerance and non-hospitality. The irony is lost on all those idiot tweeters and facebookers threatening that the Knights of Malta will fight back for their identity. Has anyone heard of the Hospitallers? Do we really need to be reminded over and over of our role as nurse and missionary of the Mediterranean? Do our politicians not see that there is no dignity to be found in blowing the nationalistic trumpet?
It seems not. It seems that the hundred plus souls on board the Salamis are bound to suffer the heat, the danger and the uncertainty. Because Mallia thinks it’s a point of principle. Because Busuttil wants to stay consistent with previous PN positions. Because Muscat still gets a hard on every time he believes he can emulate Mintoff – that most Arab of post-colonial leaders.
This time the name Salamis will not be synonymous with the saving of civilisation as we know it. It will be a great monument marking the continuing slide to our mediocre end.
8 replies on “Salamis”
[…] Salamis […]
History is nice, but in this case, a bit of math and logic would probably do some good to quell the mass hysteria.
Among the EU’s population of half-a-billion, over 700-thousand die annually from smoking-related illnesses. About 50-thousand die on the roads in vehicle crashes. (A simple Google-search will more than confirm those numbers.)
These are mostly adults — economic-citizens, if I may borrow from the anti-immigrant parlance.
Replacing just one year of these unnatural deaths, it would take a year-round daily plane-load of 300 for almost seven years … or, if by boat, as the irregulars are wont to use, a weekly arrival (of 300) for the next 48 years!
Now, 750,000 is about one-sixth of one percent (of the EU’s total population) — a statistically insignificant number which, if replaced by migrants, couldn’t possibly be a problem, a burden or a threat.
There is no way on earth of stopping migration and much less diminish the human spirit in its search for freedom.
There is only ONE solution: give the irregulars citizenship. They have already proven their worth: eluded home-tyranny, crossed the hostile Sahara, and survived the Mediterranean; and they did not arrive wearing an explosives belt. All they want is a chance to seek a better tomorrow.
Citizenship will restore their human dignity and opens the door to economic prosperity.
It might even save Malta, and the EU, an expensive exercise in futility.
Hi,
I think you are quoting historical events in a very convenient way towards your argument. First of all the battle of Salamis saved only Athens maritime commercial empire and not civilization. The Persians were highly civilized making Salamis a clash a civilizations rather battle between barbarians and civilized city states. Secondly, they may have called themselves ‘Hospitallers’ but they are more renowned historically for their fighting prowess. A point that demonstrates that popular instinct to correctly identify historical contexts is far more powerful than liberal pseudo-intellectual posturing flaunted on some blogs.
In the post-modern world thanks to liberals and individualists to whom you seem to belong (correct me if I’m wrong) and who have debased every value worth fighting for, there is no dignity to be achieved doing anything. Drab multicultural fantasies won’t last, the wind is starting to blow to the right all across Europe.
You did not publish my I comment. You try hard to be superior to other Maltese and yet you are cut from the same cloth as the rest of us. Before mocking Malta and the Maltese look inside yourself and use that as a measure of your judgement, you’ll see that after all you don’t stand out Little Zola.
It’s ok “Stefan, ehhh.. Don’t worry. I don’t need to “try hard”. I had not noticed that there were new comments to approve… as for your erudite appreciation of Persians do note that nobody referred to them as “barbarians” – except for you in your straw man argument. Salamis is seen as a turning point by most historians because it determined the development of one form of civilisation over another insofar as the western world is concerned. If you shed your “chip on shoulder / victim of circumstance” thinking for a minute you will notice that saying that the greek victory meant that Western civilisation as we know it was saved is not necessariy equal to calling the Persian alternative a barbarian one. You’d be surprised at the level of admiration I have for the history and growth of Darius and Xerxes’ Persia.
So, last year, according to Frontex (http://www.frontex.europa.eu/trends-and-routes/migratory-routes-map) a total of 21720 desperate souls crossed over to the EU from North Africa by boat!
That represents 0.004344% of the EU’s population.
It’s like a brief rain-shower falling onto the Mediterranean.
And to think that we spend so much time and effort trying to stop them … it’s beyond insanity!
The reaction to Commissioner Malmstrom’s attempt to persuade the Maltese Government to allow the immigrants on the Salamis to land – and quibble about the legalities later- was, to say the least, a lively one. The PM “disassociated himself” from the more insulting comments. That gesture in itself is worthy of some analysis: http://thaxwix.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-madness-recent-nationalevents-made.html
How about dissecting the following article:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140227/local/mallia-calls-for-eu-office-in-libya-to-consider-asylum-applications.508567
1) Libya is not a signatory of the 1951 Refugees Convention + 1967 Protocol. Being a signatory in itself is not enough, since there needs to be national legislation and a functioning body to assess asylum applicants’ claims.
2) The 1951 Refugees Convention is an international instrument signed by States in order to define who is a refugee, their rights and the legal obligations of States. Under the Convention and Protocol, there is a particular role for UNHCR and its activities in ‘third countries’.
3) The EU has no mandate or remit to assess asylum applicants’ claims. Neither in EU Member States nor in ‘third countries’! It is the responsibility of EU Member States to assess, grant or reject asylum claims! The 2011/95/EU Qualification Directive sets standards and levels of protection for EU Member States to follow.
To the Minister: So shouldn’t we ask on what legal grounds is such a proposal being made? Who advised you, or rather whom did you consult, on this matter?
To the Public: Think, is this a sound and realistic proposal part of an overarching strategy or just fodder for domestic political consumption?
To the Police & AFM: Will turning back boats to Libya deal with the phenomenon itself? Would such a strategy address the continued flows into Libya?