On the borders: the arrival of irregular immigrants in Malta—some implications for education

Abstract

This paper concerns the issue of the continual arrival of irregular immigrants in Malta and the problems that ensue. The view generally held is that we need to respond to the needs of irregular immigrants by providing services. However, with reference to some of Jacques Derrida's ideas, I argue in this paper that the other/immigrant is not there for us to respond to by creating services to cater for her needs. Through the presence of the irregular immigrant, we are made to question who we are, and are faced with our own vulnerability. We become ‘other’ to ourselves. This paper uses Derrida's ideas of tensions, trembling, borders and limited and unlimited hospitality, to lay the way for some suggestions of how the education of children can be influenced. In a time when educational discourse rotates around performativity, this paper suggests that space should be made in education for astonishment, surprise and enigmatic experience.