{"id":993,"date":"2026-10-11T20:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T00:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f26\/?p=993"},"modified":"2026-10-11T20:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T00:53:25","slug":"its-a-small-island-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f26\/its-a-small-island-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a \u201csmall island thing\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The small Mediterranean island country of Malta has seen an astonishing shift in ethnic groups over the past 20 years, evoking strong opinions on race and immigration. \u201cWe are a racist country, there is no shifting around that,\u201d said Andrew Azzopardi, professor of Migration Studies at The University of Malta.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2005, merely <\/span>1%<\/span><\/a> of the country\u2019s population were immigrants from non-EU countries. Now, <\/span>a quarter<\/span><\/a> of the country\u2019s population are non-EU nationals. \u201cTwo weeks ago, I was sitting in a cafe, and an Indian family came into the shop. A Maltese man refused to move his chair so they wouldn\u2019t be able to sit,\u201d said Azzopardi. \u201cSome Maltese people say that Indians smell like spices and are dirty.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To understand this shift and social attitudes towards immigrants in Malta, journalist Matthew Vella, who has previously reported on immigration in Malta, gave insight about the country\u2019s past. He explained how its demographic changed from being a \u201cmainly white, conservative, Catholic society that had been relatively shielded from external events,\u201d to a country that now is home to so many immigrants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Asylum seekers from Africa\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Through an email response, Vella explained that immigration into Malta in large numbers began in 2004, when asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa began arriving in Malta via boat. This group was first held in detention centers before working as unskilled laborers. \u201cImmigration via boat was visible on the news, and people would panic when they saw videos of boats arriving,\u201d said Azzopardi.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As explained by Vella, this panic quickly led to racism, which was fueled by the media landscape in Malta. \u201cThe situation was made worse by the government\u2019s constant narrative that painted the arrival of a maximum of 2,000 asylum seekers a year as a \u2018crisis,\u2019\u201d said Vella, explaining how this \u201cfalse narrative\u201d quickly spread through the country. To add even more fuel to the fire, \u201c<\/span>far-right movements also started in Malta due to the influx of asylum seekers<\/span><\/a>,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, Godfrey Baldacchino, professor of sociology at the University of Malta emphasizes through an email response that although far right groups exist in Malta, they have not gained any significant <\/span>traction in elections<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Legislatively, Malta has recently adopted more restrictive policies on refugees through the EU Pact on Migration asylum, but has not taken action towards setting up protections for <\/span>refugee human rights<\/span><\/a>. In response to this, Baldacchino said, \u201cPerhaps the Maltese Government is taking this political stance in order to ‘protect’ itself from the absence of any burden-sharing and solidarity at European level. Should 1,000 illegal migrants arrive at our shores today, what happens?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Economic migrants from Asia<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From 2010-2015, there was a period of economic growth in Malta, due to the country\u2019s efforts to \u201cboost investment, pursue structural reforms and ensure responsible fiscal policies,” according to <\/span>Malta Enterprise<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vella explained that this growth attracted migrants from both inside and outside of the EU. There was \u201ca new working class of Asian workers \u2013 bus drivers from Pakistan, nannies and care workers from the Philippines, and very soon many more Asian workers taking up service and carer jobs (healthcare, catering, logistics, manufacturing, etc).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Azzopardi explained that compared to the refugees who spend many months in <\/span>detention<\/span><\/a> centers upon arrival, this group of migrants are much more visible to the general public in daily life. \u201cIt is a strange relationship as our comforts are highly dependent on these people, but we look down on them, and they are overworked and underpaid,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Maltese treat such workers as walking dollars rather than members of society,\u201d said Vella, who explained that many of these immigrants during this period \u201cstarted taking up much-needed jobs that the Maltese were not taking on.\u201d Although more integrated into the daily lives of Maltese people, \u201cthere was little to no reaction [to this wave of immigrants], but a passive acceptance of economic \u2018rationality,\u2019\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Baldacchino also acknowledges this so-called \u2018economic rationality\u2019 of immigrants, but states that \u201cno strong anti-immigration sentiment exists in Malta, probably because practically all immigrants are working and subsidizing our pensions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What influences the treatment of immigrants in Malta?<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the other hand, Azzopardi says that the treatment of immigrants is getting worse over time and gives several examples of \u2018anti-immigration sentiment\u2019. \u201cThere is a messy detention policy, the government chucks people out like ICE,\u201d he said. \u201cImmigrants are renting out mattresses, living in stables, and being killed in drive-by shootings. Not enough people are speaking out and using their voices.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2019, two off duty soldiers killed an immigrant from the Ivory Coast. \u201cCisse was shot on the night of 6th April 2019 while walking back to the \u0126al Far Open Centre after watching a football match in Bir\u017cebbu\u0121a,\u201d reported <\/span>Lovin Malta<\/span><\/a>. The trial for this case is scheduled for October 19th 2026, seven years after the shooting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When explaining why immigrants and racial minorities are \u2018othered\u2019 in Malta, Vella said, \u201cpeople question the impact of a growing population on our healthcare system (which is tax-funded and universally free at point of service), on our traffic (increased use of private cars), and on our public transport system (today mainly used by low-income foreign workers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, Baldacchino views this strain that the immigrant population is adding onto infrastructure through a different lens. \u201cNo hard feelings really, but the donkey is loaded with a heavy baggage, and the straw keeps piling up – will the donkey\u2019s back break?\u201d he asked. \u201cWater supply interruptions, power outages, traffic jams, overloaded public transport\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To explain racism and anti-immigration attitudes in Malta, Azzopardi points towards what he calls \u201ca strange nostalgia.\u201d. He says that many Maltese people have an attachment to their strong Catholic identity, although many people are turning away from the religion. \u201cPeople are worried that immigrants will take away their religion, but many of these immigrants are very devoted Catholics from the Phillipines,\u201d he said, while pointing out that many Maltese people now only get married in churches because they are \u2018fancy.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Azzopardi also uses the term \u2018strange nostalgia,\u2019 to describe Malta\u2019s attachment to language, which stems from Malta\u2019s time as a British colony. Since immigrants do not come into the country speaking Maltese, \u201cpeople feel like their identity is being chewed away,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. I can\u2019t understand the obsession that identity is tied to language and religion. Identity is tied to togetherness and unity. If I am talking with you and speak in English, why should I be bothered that you don\u2019t speak Maltese?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the topic of language and identity, Vella states that immigrants generally have a lack of buy-in to learning Maltese. \u201cMy view is that the number one obstacle to integration here is, apart from the rentier mindset that treats foreign workers who lack agency as walking dollars, is a lack of buy-in to Maltese society via its language,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lastly, both Vella and Azzopardi point out Malta\u2019s island geography in relation to this resistance to change. \u201cMalta is an island state seemingly far away from anything else and has been colonized by other countries throughout history, which causes this feeling of insecurity,\u201d Azzopardi said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cToday I feel inclined to concede that the racism that is prevailing amongst Maltese has a particular psychological pattern \u2013 a small society, locked into a small rock, vigilant about external pressures that can affect the serenity of a relatively peaceful, crime-free society, pressures,\u201d said Vella.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The small Mediterranean island country of Malta has seen an astonishing shift in ethnic groups over the past 20 years, evoking strong opinions on race and immigration. \u201cWe are a racist country, there is no shifting around that,\u201d said Andrew Azzopardi, professor of Migration Studies at The University of Malta.   In 2005, merely 1%<\/p>\n

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