These were the words, with which President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca closed the conference ‘Lost in Migration’, organized by Missing Children Europe, together with the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society, yesterday at Verdala Palace.
The President thanked President of Missing Children Europe Maud de Boer Buquicchio and Director General of the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society Dr Ruth Farrugia for trying hard to present the recommendations gathered during the conference, at the informal meeting of the European Justice and Home Affairs Ministers.
President Coleiro Preca encouraged those present to ensure that these same recommendations are not left to gather dust, adding that they all must, “in whatever capacity, endeavour to disseminate them to all relevant stakeholders across Europe”.
We cannot let the cry of populists, thriving on the fears and concerns of our peoples, have the final word
The President insisted that we must continue to be catalysts, so that our system’s reforms will be met with an equally powerful cultural revolution. Whilst doing so, it is to be ensured that these reforms and policies will have direct effects on our communities, and the mentalities and attitudes of our people.
“We must do all that we can to ensure that the core values of solidarity, of peace and of well-being, which are at the heart of our organisations and institutions, are well understood within our societies,” the President said.
Aptly calling this conference “a process of dialogue”, President Coleiro Preca said that this process has shown how steadfast all those present are in their commitment to end the contravention of Human Rights, which occurs as a result of failing systems – systems which have proven themselves unable to meet the standards of care which our nations are duty bound to provide.
“We cannot celebrate agreements and compacts which offer short-sighted solutions. I believe that this process of dialogue is giving us the strength to boldly say that half-baked solutions and lip-service are unacceptable”, the President stated.
The President said that she felt that the two-day dialogue “sends a powerful message against the status quo, which has continued to create a missing generation of children”. These children have heard the promise of our democratic societies but do not receive the protection, and effective access to Human Rights, which is after all, their due.
President Coleiro Preca continued that we cannot allow the empty rhetoric of extremists, with their false patriotism and dangerous populism, to cloud the judgement of the governments of our nations.
We must be united in synergy, to send one message; to promote one mission; to safeguard one human family
President Coleiro Preca encouraged everyone to be united in synergy to send one message and to promote one mission. For this to happen, the petty divisions of partisan politics, national borders and the boundaries imposed by “our different roles” must be transcended.
“We must continue to prioritise the voices of children and we must ensure the importance of placing the well-being of all children at the centre of a socially inclusive Europe”, she said.
The President encouraged those present to continue working “to make our politicians realise that Europe’s role as a founder and a promoter of democracy and Human Rights should not be put to history”, and to make authorities realise that Europe has a duty to be a credible force for the full implementation of universal human rights and freedoms, within our nations, to be a strong impetus to drive the international community into effective action.
Such experiences are still occurring, in real time, and affecting children from all across the world.
Referring to a screening of the documentary ‘The Invisible City: Kakuma’, which was shown yesterday at the closing of the first day of the conference, the President said that the documentary’s story of child migrants and their desire for a better life through education and empowerment, reminded her of a powerful personal experience.
“Last year, on an official visit to Australia, I was honoured to meet with Maltese-Australians who arrived in that country during the 1950s and 60s. They were sent to Australia in order to improve their education, and arrived as unaccompanied Maltese child migrants. I heard their experiences of suffering, of fear, and of loneliness. Many of them faced exploitation, rape, and neglect. Many of these survivors still carry the scars of those terrible experiences. We are very much aware that such experiences are still occurring, in real time, and affecting children from all across the world”, the President said.
President Coleiro Preca said that watching the documentary made her realise that what happened sixty years ago to Maltese child migrants, is still happening today to other innocent children. “What happened to European children then is happening now,” she said.
Please permit me to speak directly to the people of Malta, as this a moment of great and powerful importance in the life of our nation
Speaking directly to the people of Malta, President Coleiro Preca said that we, as a Maltese nation, have survived great oppression and struggles, throughout our history, adding that “we have become strong enough to play a role of significance, reaching out to other countries and cultures from our home here in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea”.
The President appealed to Maltese people to be “a people of love”, just as the Maltese people are a people of welcome, “as we welcomed the shipwrecked apostle Paul”, and just as they are people of care, “as we demonstrate in the great outpouring of generosity at L-Istrina each year”.
“Let us show our children that every child deserves the peace, the well-being, and the hope which we wish to see in our families, our communities and our nation”, the President said, quoting Nelson Mandela who said that there is no clearer reflection of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats the children in its care.
President Coleiro Preca said that Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union gives us the opportunity to show our worth, to show our children that solidarity and love can transform our nation, our region and the world.
The Centre of the EU Presidency may be in Valletta, but thanks to your incredible passion, the heart of Europe is here with us at Verdala
Lastly, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca thanked the attendees of the conference for their strong participation, and wished for the created momentum to continue gaining strength. She said that she hopes that “we will create a meaningful change in policy, in strategy, and in perspective, both within our National and European Union, and also across the world.”