My New Life in Malta

There is a steadily growing trend of xenophobic feeling in Malta that has me worried. It is still relatively minor, with people passing little comments here and there. But that is how it all starts and I see it growing. And like all prejudices, one begins to hear the same clichés over and over again about immigrants, particularly directed at  refugees from African countries:

"They are taking our jobs!"

"They are dangerous!"

"They all congregate together around Marsa [town near the refugee open centre] and you do not want to be there at night!"

Just this morning, a Maltese acquaintance decided to make small talk with me by saying "Malta is filling up with black people!"  I think she was a bit surprised that instead of agreeing, I challenged her:

ME: "So?"

Mrs. X: "Well, I am scared of them."

ME: "Why? We are all the same inside."

Mrs. X: "Not the same, their skin is black!"

ME: "So? We are all the same inside."

Mrs. X: "I saw that your neighbour is black with a Maltese wife, but their daughter is not black, she is more like her mother."

ME: "Yes, and the next-door neighbours are Arab, and upstairs there is a woman from Bosnia. It is a very international street. You know, in my country it is like that. We have people who are black, white, Indian, Chinese, and all the mixes."

Mrs. X: "But your skin, it is light, you are like us."

ME: "Well, yes. But we are all the same. We are all children of God." [I say smugly, knowing that the Maltese like to see themselves as good Catholics]

Mrs. X: "Well, yes, that is true. But I don't know, we Maltese, we are different."

ME: "If you go to London or Paris, you will see people of many colours and countries. That is the way the world is."

She gave me an unconvinced look. Overall I felt she was a bit taken aback that I did not just agree and further fuel her sentiments.

What worries me is that this was not an isolated incident. I am hearing these types of comments more and more. I hear people complain about too many black people on buses, too many black people on the streets. Over and over again I have heard people complain that they  are angered to see black people with mobile phones or out in the pubs and discos in Paċeville. How ridiculous! As if it is wrong for someone to buy a mobile phone just because he is black and came here as a refugee! There is also the mistaken assumption that all black people are refugees, or that they are all poor and uneducated.

The problem, of course, is ignorance and lack of exposure to people who are different. Like my acquaintance mentioned above, who is a sweet lady and did not mean any harm. She just has lived in a small village in Malta all her life and does not know any better.

As with most world problems, I do not really have a perfect solution. But perhaps the media should stop demonising refugees as some cancer on society. More compassion should be shown. The news stories should focus on individual people and the horrible circumstances that lead a person to put his or her own life at risk and set to sea on an unreliable raft. THAT is a point that needs to be stressed and nobody seems to think about. I cannot stress it enough.

And it is very much a racial problem. When it comes to black people, the argument is quickly brought up that Malta is small and there is not enough space. However, since Malta joined the European Union it has to adhere to freedom of movement, and people do not seem to be too troubled by the fact that there are over 300 million EU citizens that are free to come and settle here in Malta any time they want. Is it because they are (mostly) white?

Up until last week it was hot and sunny. Summer seemed to be hanging on, but it was now bearable to be outside in the sun. And then, overnight, autumn set in. I reluctantly put away my shorts and put on trousers. Then a couple of days ago the WIND picked up. Apparently this happens every year around this time (and I distinctly remember it from last October). I am glad to hear that climate change has not yet completely changed the Maltese weather patterns.

Our flat is at the top of a valley leading down to the sea, so our windows seem to bear the brunt of the wind. I opened up the balcony door for fresh air and things began to fall over, which actually scared me a bit. M says it was not so bad at his office but over here it was quite a storm. Because the rain has started too, after a summer with barely a drop. Still, last year we had no real cold winter and it is still fine to walk outside with maybe a light long-sleeved top so I am not complaining.

Speaking of being outside, a few days ago I walked across the windy Sliema streets (and I am proud to report that I no longer get lost) to meet up with La Delirante and her husband David. LD is a Salvadoran who moved to Malta two years ago with her Maltese then-boyfriend-now-husband and keeps a blog about her experiences living in her new country. Sound familiar? And I thought I was so original, ha ha. We found out about each other through Sabine's blog, so it was a friendship made in the Maltese blogosphere.

I had a lovely and very long chat with them at a lovely Sliema café as we discussed our lives, how we wound up here, the status of the world, political views, our solutions on how to solve the problems of Malta and the world... a fun time! We then got together again a couple of days later to continue our long conversations and M was able to join us. It was great to trade ideas and feelings and find out that LD has gone through a lot of what I have gone through: the difficulties in finding a job, the problems with the work permit (before she got married), how it is hard to make real friendships with many Maltese because they usually have a social circle that they have known all of their lives. It was also good to speak some Spanish, which I get little chance to do on this island, and show off my Maltese speaking skills as well.

Living in a new place, it is good to find people who have gone through the same experiences and with whom you can relate. While neither LD nor I are the type to sit and speak badly about Malta (which seems to be many expats' favourite activity), there are genuine grievances and difficulties that are good to let out. Maybe one of these days we should go to Gozo and look up Sabine!

The blog has been a bit silent over the last couple of weeks. I was kept busy showing around my friend J, who came to visit all the way from Beijing! (So all of you out there who live any closer than China, you cannot pull the excuse that Malta is too far away )

It was so nice to have a visitor. We wound up seeing things that I had not seen in a while, and even discovering new places around the island that I did not yet know.

On a tour of Mdina, for example, we went into the newly renovated Palazzo Falzon. It recently opened to the public, and allows the visitor a glimpse into one of Mdina's palazzi while doubling up as a museum showcasing the last owner's collection of antiques and priceless artifacts. The view from the rooftop café rivals that of Fontanella, but without the famous desserts. There was also the "standard" tour of Valletta's many attractions, parks, museums and streets, and of course the prehistoric temples and ancient catacombs around the island.

To top things off, we took the catamaran over to Sicily and enjoyed a few days of Italian-ness. Always a good time for this Italophile. Thank you J for your very generous invitation!

After a few days, I asked J about her impressions of Malta and how they matched up to her expectations. She said she did not really know what to expect, other than expecting it not to be Italy. In the end she could only describe Malta as unique and difficult to describe. That is just about what I always say. People ask me if it is like Italy, or Greece, or like a piece of Britain in the Mediterranean... but it is none of those things.

Now for a euro update. I might just be the single most excited person in the country about this topic, but now others can share in my excitement because very large euro-countdown clocks have been put up around the island. I have seen three so far, including one sprawled across Bieb il-Belt/City Gate in Valletta. The days, hours, minutes and seconds tick away, one second at a time, reminding everyone that in less than three months the new currency will be here. M admits a certain sadness at the lira passing away into history, which I can understand. However, the Maltese euro coin design is so popular that tourists are talking about taking them home with them as souvenirs as soon as they become available on 1 January. I wonder if that will be a boost to the Maltese economy, if people plan to take away coins without spending them!

And, I might be unusually excited and informed about this topic, but I was shocked to learn that a friend of mine who just finished university had NO IDEA when the euro was being adopted, what the exchange rate was, or how the whole transition process will work. While I do not expect everyone to know all the details, it was really an eye-opener. I wonder how many people in Malta are confused about the euro and its upcoming adoption.