Why should you walk in solidarity with migrants?

You must know, or must have known, a non-EU national making Malta home.

He could be the Bangladeshi carer you’ve just interviewed to take care of your ageing parents. Or the quiet Sudanese plasterer brought in by your turn-key. Or the new Serbian waitress at the café round the corner. Maybe the Macedonian kids your children play with at school. The Bosnian artist you’ve liked on Facebook. Your new Ghanian neighbours. The Pakistani nurse that took care of you at Mater Dei.

Yes, the inspiration for Sunday’s #solidaritywithmigrants walk is the on-going issue with Government about a very specific group of migrants. Yet the message we want you to convey on Sunday is not just about this specific group.

It’s about all the groups of migrants living here. It’s a very simple and straightforward message telling them, and the rest of the country, that we stand with them as they put together the building blocks of their lives in Malta.

Sunday’s #solidaritywithmigrants walk is not asking you to take on any long-term political commitments. We’re not asking anyone to ignore serious discussions on integration, security, culture, and human rights. Nor are we asking you to take on these discussions head on!

Walking with us, in #solidaritywithmigrants, acknowledges the need to have these discussions.

More importantly, it tells migrants that these are discussions to be had with them and not about them.

Join us.

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