Over the summer I was working away in Malta for a newspaper called Malta Now. For anyone who hasn’t been to Malta before it’s basically an expats heaven with an economy dominated by British and Italian tourists, you can’t walk ten yards down the road in Bugibba without going past a Saint George’s cross or a premier league football shirt hung up on a wall. Ever since our close relationship blossomed over WW2, over 5,000 brits have decided to make Malta their permanent home, assimilating seamlessly with the local population, they open local businesses, buy properties, start families and create Madness tribute acts.
English and Welsh ex pats hold their flags up outside of their new pub “The Office” It serves traditional English food and a selection of free flow ales.
An ex pat reading the latest issue of Malta Now on the sea front. Sporting the classic union jack hat.
An English lad marching his way down to the beach to soak up some rays.
Rugby shirts stuck to the wall of an Ex pat pub.
Ex pats sat around drinking and watching English sports.
English tourists having a beer and a BBQ by the sea. Presumably they brought the flag to claim it as English territory.
Birmingham duo perform their comedy Madness tribute act to ex pats and tourists in an Irish bar.
Ex pat enjoying the sun on his day off.
Catching some rays.
Tourists partying at Cafe Del Mar.
Young tourist enjoying some ice cream on her Ipad.
Nice place i used to chill.
Modified selling-mobile
With the swarms of British tourists making their way over the med each year, the young lads inevitably bring with them the humble British stag do. They make their way to Saint Julians, the Islands party capital, invading local beaches, infiltrating local bars and storming local clubs with their blow up dolls, cheesy chat up lines and classic banter.
“Me and the lads have come over here from Essex for Maccas stag do. I love it here! It’s like sunny England!” – James, Essex
Meanwhile on the other end of the island, the atmosphere is a little different. Avoiding the hectic alleyways of of Saint Julians, stampedes of British pensioners flock to the cassino’s and Elvis tribute bars of Bugibba, drying the island of import larger and London Gin.
“We’ve come here from Yorkshire visiting family. I like the Casino, it’s not too loud in here and if you get a thousand points on your card you get a free meal, I like the fish and chips, their loverly” – Susan, Yorkshire.
Drunken ex pats party in a local outdoor bar.
Nob Stewart comedy act, they call him this because he stuffs a sock down his trousers.
Looks like someones pulled
Some great dance moves going down.
Elvis tribute bar very popular with British Pensioners.
Blow up doll being dragged around a stag do.
After a while I managed to find some real culture. As an Island nation, smaller than the city of Sheffield, Malta’s history stems from being a port nation for travelling sailors. It has a diverse cultural background, with heritage stemming from the middle east, north Africa and western Europe, a melting pot with a national language that has strong hints of Arabic, Italian and english.
The dominant religion is Catholicism, every month there is a different “feast” taking part in a local townships somewhere on the Island. While I was over there I covered “The Feast Of Our Lady Of Sorrows”, in my local area, Saint Paul’s Bays. The festival spans for around a month, coming to a head in the last week where locals hold huge processions and street party’s every evening, celebrating with fireworks, food and alcohol. Not an ex pat or tourist in sight, it was a nice break from the usual hustle and bustle of the main strip and a great chance to experience Maltese culture and feel like I was actually abroad.
The procession making way to the village church during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
The procession making way to the village church during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Locals throwing confetti from their balcony at the procession during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
A local reading Catholic scripture at the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Locals and volunteers celebrating outside the village church by cheering and jumping in the air at the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Locals throwing confetti from their balcony at the procession during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
A brass band performing well known music to the local duringt the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Locals and volunteers hold up sparklers to the village church during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Locals and volunteers celebrating outside the village church by cheering and jumping in the air at the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
The procession making way to the village church during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
The Village Church is lit up hundreds of lightbulbs and catholic sculptures, made by local volunteers, are on display during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Fireworks display during the finale of the feast of our lady of Sorrows, an annual 2 week catholic celebration that takes place outside the churches of different parishes and localities in Malta. The celebration is traditionally a celebration of the patron saint, but today the event is more of a community celebration where locals socialise, celebrate and drink alcohol.
Other local traditions are apparent throughout the island, I used to love sitting by the local Bocci club on an evening, a game evolved from the Italian game of Bocce, which plays very similar to an english game of bowls. Folklore dancers can be seen performing in public squares and restaurants targeted at tourists, they will dress up in 19th century clothing called a Għonnella, which has been described as a “western garment, worn in an eastern fashion”. It is characterised by a black gown and a big hood, looking a bit of a cross between Victorian era clothes and traditional North African desert wear. Even aspects of South American culture can be found in Malta with the annual carnival. Huge decorated floats are paraded through the town centre while participants dress up, celebrate and drink Cachaca.
Locals sing the national anthem on a carnival float
Floating by.
Give me a hug.
Playing at the local Bocci club
Locals watch a match
Tense times down at the Bocci club
Traditional dancers perform
Traditional dancers perform
Traditional dancers perform
But as much as things seem like paradise on this little island nation, not everything is as it seems. During my time in Malta, Europe was currently being gripped by the worst Refugee crisis since WW2.
My first experience of this was covering a protest in the countries capital, Valletta, held by Malta Migrant Association. They were protesting for an official integration program and the ability to become a citizen with equal rights to EU nationals.
Refugees wave their resident documents in protest for an official integration policy, at the moment there is no integration policy in Malta, and it is impossible for refugees and their children to progress to full citizens. Valletta, Malta.
From speaking to people at the protest i learn that as the EU’s Southern most nation, Malta has long been a country on the front line of the migration debate. At it’s peak in 2008, 2775 refugees, largely from sub saharan Africa, arrived in Malta by boat. The Journeys they made were often dangerous, many migrants travelled through war torn nations to reach Libya, which since the Arab spring, has been left unstable with poor and corrupt boarder controls.
This year alone over 1,200 people have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean. Travelling in old fishing boats and other small vessels packed to bursting point “the boats are just not fit for purpose, the conditions on them are terrible, there is no proper navigation and very little food and water.” Said Ahmed a Somalian Refugee who I spoke to at the protest who has been living in Malta nearly 15 years.
By speaking to more people at the protest i found out that most boat arrivals stumble upon Malta by mistake, often in hope of reaching Italy “We saw the lights in the distance and thought it was Italy so we tried to get over there, I had never heard of Malta before”. What would usually follow is up to 18 months being held in detention centres followed by release and transference to an open centre, which, in plain english, is essentially being locked in prison for 18 months then transferred to an open refugee camp. From their on, they are given very little support to integrate with western society, having to seek out charities in order to learn the language and other vital skills.
To my shock i found out that the majority of refugees now living in Malta have actually been here long term, traveling to Malta in the wake of atrocities like the Darfur Genocide sometimes as long as 15 years ago. From reading mainstream news in Europe I was under the impression that Malta was experiencing increasing amounts of arrivals every day. But by digging around I discovered the real situation is much different. The number of new arrivals and the overall refugee population is actually decreasing in Malta with less than 30% of overall arrivals since 2000 remaining on the Island. There were only 91 boat arrivals as of July 2015, a stark contrast to the 2775 at it’s peak in 2008. This is not because the number of refugees has reduced, this year UNHCR announced that the number of people attempting to illegally cross the mediterranean had reached 100 000, but because now there is a policy to disembark the majority of boat arrivals in Italy.
Refugees marching in valletta.
Refugees state what they want.
Refugees protests march past a luxory diamond store during a protest for an official intergration policy, at the moment there is no intergration policy in Malta, and it is impossible for refugees and their children to progress to full citizens. Valletta, Malta.
A model spitfire plane above protesting refugees. This photo was taken around the time the EU announced plans to bomb small finishing boats in Libya to prevent refugees crossing the med.
Tourists look confused at the protest passing by.
At the protest I met a good friend called Mahjoub, he is a sudanese refugee who has been living in Malta for nearly 15 years, he offered to take me under his wing and show me the hassle a refugee has to go through in order to obtain a work document in Malta.
The bureaucracy involved in gaining a work document is a long winded process, it involves visiting the refugee commission (travel document), the job centre (proof of tax payments), the police station (Proof of clear criminal record) and the Hal Far refugee Camp (proof of housing documents) on several occasions all of which are scattered across the South end of the Island.
“When I arrived here I got a job as soon as I could and after around 18 months in detention and a few years in an open centre I was then able to rent my own place. I have been working legally here for around 10 years, but i’m not entitled to same public services, such as health care. I’m getting older now, i’m worried about what is going to happen when I can’t work or get a pension, how will I survive?” – Mahjoub
These concerns are echoed by most refugees I speak to who have been in Malta on a long term basis. Many are frustrated about the hoops they have to jump through in order to obtain a work permit. “The whole process costs a lot of money and takes many months of filling out forms and going to different buildings, it only serves to punish those who are working legally and contributing to society” says one man that I spoke to outside the job centre in Valletta.
Taxation is a key issue for refugees, who are required to pay the same levels of tax as any other worker, yet receive non of the benefits such as Healthcare due to their refugee status. I find out that exploitation is rife among migrants and their employers, where some unscrupulous employers have been telling their staff that they are legally employed and paying tax, in some cases even fabricating wage slips, when in fact they are employed illegally. The employer will then proceed to pocket their tax contributions, sometimes leaving the worker with as little as 2 euros per hour. This practice has knock on effects to the refugees who then find it difficult to obtain another work permit without proof of tax payment.
One concern I have repeatedly come across is from the parents of Children born in Malta. If any child is born to refugee parents, they automatically inherit the same status as their parents, in some cases meaning they could be born with a deportation order against them. They also inherit all the bureaucracy that their parents have to do in order to live in this country. “My Daughter was born here in Malta, she doesn’t even know my home countries language, she speaks Maltese and knows no other nation, yet she has the same status as myself, i’m really concerned for her future, at the moment she will be very limited in life” Said Dani, from the Malta Migrant Association
“There is a real danger with this new generation, who are born in this country and are allowed to live here, yet because of who their parents are, they do not have the same rights as their school friends. They will grow up more aware of their situation and resenting the government and system because of it and it could create deep routed racial problems that do not exist on the same level today”- Ahmed
Refugees are as equally a vital part of the Maltese economy as the British tourists and ex pats, many work in the construction industry building roads with EU investments that ferry the tourists from location to location, others often tend to work in the unseen side of the tourism industry, working as hotel cleaners, maintenance people and porters. As Malta is a small nation with a ageing population, yet facing considerable economical and infrastructural growth, their cheap labour is exploited for this tax haven to grow at it’s sustained rate. Recently the General Workers Union called for an official integration policy, particularly for younger people, in order to buffer the pension sustainability issues that will arise as Malta’s population ages and there will not be enough young people to support the payments.
The court yard of the Marsa Open Centre
A Sysrian refugee weight lifting in the comunal gym. Marsa Open Centre, Malta.
A Sysrian refugee weight lifting in the comunal gym. Marsa Open Centre, Malta.
A sub-saharan refugee cooking food in the communal kitchen. Marsa Open Centre, Malta.
A Syrian refugee in his drom. Marsa Open Centre, Malta.
A refugee who has struggled to find work socialises outside the Marsa Open Centre, Malta.
A general view of Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
A Lybian refugee in her cabin. Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
A Somalian refugee and his child. Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
A Nigerian family of 6 living in one small cabin. Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
A Nigerian family of 6 living in one small cabin. Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
Evidence of refugees sleeping rough outside the Hal Far Refugee Camp, Malta.
As I became deeper involved with the refugees, I headed further south, where the tourists and ex pats rarely visit, to the neighbourhoods and camps where the refugees live. The parallels between the British Ex pats and refugees struck me more and more; “I came here to start a better life” – was said on separate occasions by both a British Expat and a Somalian refugee. Both are people who left their homeland to start a better life, for an aspirational future and to provide for their families. Yet the living conditions, treatment and perceptions of these two groups couldn’t be more different.
As of today there is still no official integration policy for refugees in Malta. Meaning it is an impossibility for them to progress to being a full Maltese/ EU citizen, with equal rights, protection and benefits as the natives and ex pats. Despite years and sometimes decades of working and paying tax, they are left in limbo, where they and their children are granted a basic level of temporary protection, yet have to live their lives on this Island as second class citizens, in poor accommodation, restricted by harsh laws, exploited for their labour with the threat of deportation forever looming above them. They are actively excluded from society, yet allowed to live here long term, making it hard for them ever to progress in life, to be professionals, home owners or business owners.
One common justification for this is a belief that refugees don’t want to integrate. “They come over here and don’t want to adapt to our culture, they want to impose their own on us” said one local man I spoke to on the issue. Hearing thismade me think about the British ex pats. Whole communities that have set up to establish, the British way of life in the sun. Yet the expats are not oppressed and treated as second class citizens. Many Refugees are crying out to integrate. The only real help offered for integration is through charity organisations, offering support often on a volunteer basis. Yet they are still learning the language, providing for themselves and are contributing to the economy despite the odds being stacked against them. Why is one group labeled as the ex pats and the other as migrants?
While both groups essentially seek the same things in life, they live on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. No one cares that the Ex pats don’t integrate as everything they do is profitable and marketable to brits coming over on holiday. In a similar sense, the refugees not integrating is equally as profitable albeit in a different way. If they can never gain full citizenship it means they can’t work there way up in society. Being unable to gain the education, freedom and lifestyle of the expats, guarantees a constant supply of cheap labour to grow the country further, whilst fueling xenophobic sentiment on the Island.
On an island founded by immigration, reliant on foreign investment and with a permanent population that is 97% ethnic maltese, it’s hard to justify why the treatment of these two groups is so vastly different. Throughout my entire time living in Malta, it was always the ex pats that stood out to me as the ones not integrating with the national culture, they were blatant in their lack of interest in doing so! I never once saw a Somalian refugee sat on the beach with his flag dug into the ground, a bar covered with Syrian football shirts or a big group of west Ghanan lads pissing in the street while asking their mate if theres a fufu stall near by… but when it was Maccas stag do, the cries for a “Gregs bakery” could be heard a mile away.
Where there’s muck.. there’s brass 
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