A ministry for us?

By Jason Moore BETTER late than never. The Balearic government has announced plans to create a Balearic ministry for foreigners. An estimated 15 percent of the local population is now non-Spanish, but what exactly is this new ministry going to do? The foreign community has some major problems such as the long queues at the police station for documents and also the legal void as to whether non-Spanish European residents need a residence permit or not. However, the Balearic government has no control over these issues, they are handled by Madrid. The Balearic government has few powers over the immigration policies which are set by the government in Madrid. My advice to this new department would be to have multi-lingual staff and it should not be solely aimed at immigrant workers from Africa and South America. The non-Spanish European residents could also do with a helping hand. Unfortunately, we have had to survive for almost 50 years without a ministry for foreigners and we've all had problems over the years. By announcing plans to set-up this department the Balearic government is clearly admitting that its immigration policy has been a major failure. But there is a danger than unless we fight our corner we will be overlooked once again. We are all foreigners and in most cases we are immigrant workers. If there is a ministry for foreigners then non-Spanish Europeans should be included. I would say the first job of the local minister would be to meet the local clubs and associations, especially those that are involved in helping the elderly. Courses on integration may be a good idea but initially this new department should tackle the more serious problems.