Karl Stennienibarra
The Government has announced plans to import 2,000 Turkish babies into Malta, in an attempt to counter the country’s low birthrate.
The 2,000 babies will be flown in next week by TICI, a Turkish baby importation agency, and will initially be housed in several pre-fabricated cots located inside a disused quarry.
After they have all been processed, they will be sent to random homes across the country.
“Turkish babies are renowned for being very hardworking,” said TICI spokeswoman Zeynep Yilmaz.
Ms Yilmaz also dismissed claims that the babies were being exploited.
“They will be given double the amount of breast milk they would receive in Turkey.”
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat also defended the plans, saying it was the best way to reverse the effects of Malta’s birthrate, the lowest in the EU.
“As I always like to say, there’s nothing that can’t be solved by an influx of Turks,” he said.
“It’s either that, or have John Bundy go round and inseminate every woman in the country.” he added.
However, some people who spoke to Bis-Serjetà were not as keen on the ‘imported’ babies.
“I don’t like them. They wake up early and cry in an unrecognisable language,” one woman said.
“What if they grow up and decide to invade Gozo again? You can’t just forget things that happened only half a millennium ago,” said one man from Nadur.
