DOCSLIB.ORG

Maltese-Arab Marriages a Measuring-Rod of Maltese Racism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Maltese-Arab Marriages a Measuring-Rod of Maltese Racism Maltese-Arab Marriages A Measuring-Rod of Maltese Racism Deborah Cassar A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at the University of Malta Sociology Department April 2005 1 Abstract Anti-Arab sentiments in Malta are tangible in the various aspects of social life. As the main aim of this study was to qualify rather than quantify the degree of racism against Arabs in Malta, deliberations focus on Maltese-Arab married couples, due to their multifaceted experiences in this regard. The research consisted in interviewing sessions intended to explore manifestations of racial prejudices and discrimination; namely at the workplace, public venues, and governmental departments; and by relatives, friends, neighbours, and the local media. The analysis of local newspapers was employed as an additional source of information in order to support or refute affirmations made during the interviews. This work betrays the fact that religion is definitely a crucial factor, which affects thoroughly Maltese-Arab relations in Malta. On the other hand the local media has proved seminal in producing and perpetuating anti-Arab sentiments. Through scrutiny of the latter considerations the researcher tried to (i) outline the real causes of Arabophobia and, accordingly, (ii) evaluate the possibility of pluralistic integration of Arab nationals in Maltese society. 2 Acknowledgements Primarily, I would like to express my gratitude to my tutor, Profs. Dr. Mario Vassallo, for his assistance throughout the preparation of this study. I would also like to thank Mr. Muhammed El Sadi (Imam of the Muslim Community in Malta) and Mrs. Carol Gatt for their crucial help in the process of contacting the informants. Special thanks go to my informants who were really cooperative, responsive, and welcoming. I am also very grateful to Mrs. Maria Psaila for typing my work. Sincere thanks also go to Dr. Giovan Mamo and Mrs. Carmen Mamo, Mr. Michael Buhagiar, Dr. Adrian Grima, Mrs. T. Baluci and her colleagues at INFORMA (Current Affairs Research Agency), and my adorable mother, who in one way or other have provided me with valuable help. My heartfelt gratitude to my loving husband, Mario, can hardly be stressed enough, not only for proofreading my dissertation but also for constantly supporting me throughout the whole course of my research. Finally, I thank God for his indispensable assistance. 3 Author’s declaration I certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this dissertation and confirm that this work is original and that none of the material contained in this research has been submitted for publication or as part work for a degree. Deborah Cassar Prof. Dr. Mario Vassallo 4 I dedicate this work to my treasured husband Mario, and my cherished parents and brother for their endless support. 5 List of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………2 Chapter 2: Literature Review ……………………………………………….…………..6 Historical Background………………………………………………………...7 Race as lineage………………………………………………………………..7 Race as type.…………………………………………………………………..8 De Gobineau and the Superior (type of) race …………………….…………10 Race as subspecies…………………………………………………………...11 The impact of social change(s) on race relations……………………………13 Sociological analysis of interracial relations………………………………...14 Interracial conflict and its consequences…………………………………….15 Theories of racism…………………………………………………………...19 Researching Maltese ethnic relations………………………………………..23 Chapter 3: Methodology………………………………………………………………...27 Why qualitative research?…………………………………………………...27 Newspaper Analysis…………………………………………………………28 Choosing the participants……………………………………………………29 Acknowledgement and minimization of limitations………………………...29 The interviews……………………………………………………………….31 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………34 Ethics………………………………………………………………………...35 Chapter 4: Data Analysis……………………………………………………………….39 First Encounters At the airport………………………………………………………………...39 At leisure venues…………………………………………………………….43 Access to property…………………………………………………………...45 In government departments and public places………………………………47 Establishing relationships 6 Relatives……………………………………………………………………..50 Friends……………………………………………………………………….56 At the workplace The employer………………………………………………………………...58 Colleagues…………………………………………………………………...61 The self-employed…………………………………………………………...63 Neighbours…………………………………………………………………..65 Children: Relationships with teachers and schoolmates…………………….68 Religion……………………………………………………………………...71 Media………………………………………………………………………...76 The overall situation…………………………………………………………82 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusions………………………………………………..88 Conjectures…………………………………………………………………..91 Bibliography………………………………………………………………...93 Appendix 1 Interview guide……………………………………………………………..100 Personal details form……………………………………………………….101 Appendix II Profiles of informants………………………………………………………102 Table: ‘Facesheet’ information…………………………………………….109 7 Chapter 1 8 INTRODUCTION Anti-Arab sentiments in Malta can be traced in popular literature, oral traditions, and pseudo-historical chronicles. When the Maltese say ‘qisu Għarbi’ (‘he looks like an Arab’), they can only mean a thick or ill-mannered person. When they speak of someone as ‘rasu marbuta’ (literally ‘turbaned head’) they are suggesting a tardy or retrograde person. To describe a swarthy or dark-skinned person they say ‘Għarbi bej’ (‘black as an Arab’). Maltese historical novels dating from the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century (e.g. the cross and crescent romances of Ġużè Musact Azzopardi) usually depict Arabs (and Turks) as merciless marauders and barbarous heathens. Many Maltese, up to this day, still do not make an ethnic distinction between Arabs and Turks. In their uncritical eyes they are just their common Muslim foes, who in the dark past used to plunder the island and carry off the locals into slavery. Thoroughly unhistorical descriptions of Arab rule in Malta (870–1091) teem with stories of oppression and constant humiliation. Recent academic studies by more scrupulous and objective scholars, has somewhat redressed this partisan view, but as everyone knows, myths, whatever their nature, die hard. Hence, it seems that Arabophobia and Islamophobia are still embedded in the Maltese collective imaginary. Malta hosts only two ethnic minorities – Indians and Arabs – and so, it cannot be considered as a multi-racial country. Nonetheless Maltese-Arab relations in Malta present quite a hot issue. On the other hand, Maltese-Indian relations are relatively good; this does not necessarily mean that Indians have been completely integrated in the Maltese society, but somehow they are accepted by Maltese people. The considerable number of successful Indian 9 families’ businesses (mostly concentrated in the capital city, Valletta) testify to this.1 However for some reason the same thing cannot be said of Maltese- Arab relations. A considerable number of articles and letters, written by the Maltese, witnessing negative perceptions and sometimes even showing hostility towards these people, appear often in local newspapers.2 Negative sentiments towards Arabs are also evident in the way Maltese people, generally, answer survey questions about this issue.3 Observations of such attitudes led the present researcher to formulate the hypothesis that Maltese people suffer from Arabo/Islamophobia, which leads them to act in a questionable manner towards this ethnic group. Thus this research will be focused mainly on three aspects: 1. causes of Arabophobia, 2. the consequences of this phobia, whether limited to prejudices or extended to actual discrimination, and 3. the possibility of a healthy ‘pluralistic’ Maltese society. The data, gathered from semi-structured interviews with Maltese-Arab married couples, will be scrutinized to substantiate and qualify the aforementioned aspects. Their experiences will be analyzed in order to investigate the Maltese people actual attitude towards Arabs. This in depth analysis will cover: 1. the treatment they receive in public places such as government departments, private agencies, banks, and leisure venues, 1 “Being a Sindhi in Malta means being a member of a much-respected, affluent business elite. It is worth repeating that L-Indjani are synonymous with business, and successful business at that.” Mark Anthony Falzon, An Encounter with the Maltese-Indian Community, unpublished thesis, B.A. (Hons.) Anthropology, University of Malta, 1996, 108. 2 See ‘Data Analysis’, Section 4, ‘Media’, 84-86. 3 “The race/nationality that was least welcome was the Arab one, with 40.6% of the respondents saying that they would react badly if an Arab became their neighbour…The highest percentage of those who said that their reaction would be a negative one [if their daughter or son married a foreigner] was for the Arab spouse 69.5% [sic.].” ‘Maltese fear the Arabs, Xarabank survey finds’, The Malta Independent on Sunday, 04/07/2004, 13. 10 2. their freedom of practicing their religion and adhering to their culture, and 3. their relationships with Maltese relatives, work colleagues and employers, Maltese friends, and neighbours. When possible, their children’s experiences at school, that is, their relationships with teachers and mates, will also be included in the analysis. From this analysis, the present researcher will also try to outline explanations (presented as reasons by the people concerned) for the way Maltese people behave towards
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Sicilian Revolution of 1848 As Seen from Malta
    The Sicilian Revolution of 1848 as seen from Malta Alessia FACINEROSO, Ph.D. e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Following the Sicilian revolution of 1848, many italian intellectuals and politicalfiguresfound refuge in Malta where they made use ofthe Freedom ofthe Press to divulge their message ofunification to the mainland. Britain harboured hopes ofseizing Sicily to counterbalance French expansion in the Mediterranean and tended to support the legitimate authority rather than separatist ideals. Maltese newspapers reflected these opposing ideas. By mid-1849 the revolution was dead. Keywords: 1848 Sicilian revolution, Italian exiles, Freedom of the Press, Maltese newspapers. The outbreak of Sicilian revolution of 12 January 1848 was precisely what everyone in Malta had been expecting: for months, the press had followed the rebellious stirrings, the spread of letters and subversive papers, and the continuous movements of the British fleet in Sicilian harbours. A huge number of revolutionaries had already found refuge in Malta, I escaping from the Bourbons and anxious to participate in their country's momentous events. During their stay in the island, they shared their life experiences with other refugees; the freedom of the press that Malta obtained in 1839 - after a long struggle against the British authorities - gave them the possibility to give free play to audacious thoughts and to deliver them in writing to their 'distant' country. So, at the beginning of 1848, the papers were happy to announce the outbreak of the revolution: Le nOlizie che ci provengono dalla Sicilia sono consolanti per ta causa italiana .... Era if 12 del corrente, ed il rumore del cannone doveva annunziare al troppo soflerente papalo siciliano it giorno della nascifa def suo Re.
    [Show full text]
  • MALTESE E-NEWSLETTER 378 June 2021 1
    MALTESE E-NEWSLETTER 378 June 2021 1 MALTESE E-NEWSLETTER 378 June 2021 Aboriginal survivors reach settlement with Church, Commonwealth cathnew.com Survivors of Aboriginal forced removal policies have signed a deal for compensation and apology 40 years after suffering sexual and physical abuse at the Garden Point Catholic Church mission on Melville Island, north of Darwin. Source: ABC News. “I’m happy, and I’m sad for the people who have gone already … we had a minute’s silence for them … but it’s been very tiring fighting for this for three years,” said Maxine Kunde, the leader Mgr Charles Gauci - Bishop of Darwin of a group of 42 survivors that took civil action against the church and Commonwealth in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. At age six, Ms Kunde, along with her brothers and sisters, was forcibly taken from her mother under the then-federal government’s policy of removing children of mixed descent from their parents. Garden Point survivors, many of whom travelled to Darwin from all over Australia, agreed yesterday to settle the case, and Maxine Kunde (ABC News/Tiffany Parker) received an informal apology from representatives of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, in a private session.Ms Kunde said members of the group were looking forward to getting a formal public apology which they had been told would be delivered in a few weeks’ time. Darwin Bishop Charles Gauci said on behalf of the diocese he apologised to those who were abused at Garden Point.
    [Show full text]
  • Influence of National Culture on Diabetes
    Influence of national culture on diabetes education in Malta: A case example Cynthia Formosa, Kevin Lucas, Anne Mandy, Carmel Keller Article points Diabetes is a condition of particular importance to the 1. This study aimed to Maltese population. Currently, 10% of the Maltese population explore whether or has diabetes, compared with 2–5% of the population in not diabetes education the majority of Malta’s neighbouring European nations improved knowledge, HbA1c and cholesterol (Rocchiccioli et al, 2005). The high prevalence of diabetes levels in Maltese people results in nearly one out of every four deaths of Maltese people with type 2 diabetes. occurring before the age of 65 years (Cachia, 2003). In this 2. There was no difference article we explore the possible contributions of the unique between the intervention and control groups in Maltese culture to the epidemiology, we hope that some lessons any of the metabolic can be taken when attempting educational interventions in parameters. people of differing backgrounds. 3. Sophisticated programmes that take account of the unique nature of Maltese culture are necessary to he reasons why Malta has such a high living conditions started to improve for ordinary bring about behavioural incidence and prevalence of diabetes Maltese people (Savona-Ventura, 2001). and metabolic changes in are complex. The Maltese population Extensive social disruption was brought this group. T Key words is the result of the inter-marrying between about by lengthy blockades that occurred peoples of the various cultures and nations during the Second World War, resulting in - Education that have occupied the island through the ages.
    [Show full text]
  • THE COINS of MUSLIM MALTA Helen W
    THE COINS OF MUSLIM MALTA Helen W. Brown In 1976 an attempt was made to study the coins from the period of the Muslim occupation of Malta and Gozo surviving in the public and in certain private collections on the islands. I am grateful to Dr Anthony Luttrell for instigating and facilitating this enterprise and for providing the study of the Mdina Hoard published in the article below. The friendly interest and co-operation of the museum curators is warmly acknowledged, and special thanks are due to the private collectors who provided help and information. The following collections were examined: National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta Gozo Museum Cathedral Museum, Mdina Museum of the Missionary Society of St. Paul, Rabat Mr. Joseph Attard Mr. Emanuel Azzopardi, Valletta Mr. Antoine Debono, Rabat Hon. Mr. Justice A.J. Montanaro Gauci, Valletta Chevalier John Sant Manduca, Mdina Mr. Roger Vella Bonavita, Attard Anonymous Collector, Vall etta. Several other collectors, among whose coins no pieces of immediate concern to the project were found, were generous with their time, and their help too is gratefully acknowledged. Outside Malta, enquiries were made at the Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell in London, and a gift of coins made to the British Museum in 1965 was also examined. Finally, three hoard groups of supreme interest and importance were considered: the great Mdina Hoard of gold coins, almost all melted down immediately, and surviving only in the description of Ciantar, the only substantial body of material whose Maltese provenance is authenticated beyond any doubt; a group of about 140 pieces, mostly of very base silver, the property of the National Museum; and another, similar, group, the property of a private collector.
    [Show full text]
  • Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2018 Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960 Marc Anthony Sanko Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Sanko, Marc Anthony, "Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960" (2018). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6565. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6565 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Britishers in Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants in Detroit and Toronto, 1919-1960 Marc Anthony Sanko Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Kenneth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D., Chair James Siekmeier, Ph.D. Joseph Hodge, Ph.D. Melissa Bingmann, Ph.D. Mary Durfee, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2018 Keywords: Immigration History, U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Maltese Literature Under the Knights of St. John (1530-1798)
    Revista UNlMAR 18(1):85-98, 1996. ( eR. As· (t.) MALTESE LITERATURE UNDER THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN (1530-1798) Oliver Friggier( ABSTRACT. The article provides a brief systematic account of the literary activity of Maltese and foreign writers in Malta under the Knights of St. John (1530-1798). It starts with establishing the nature and extent of the Italian literary tradition in the island and the ways in which local writers participated in the literary life of neighbouring Italy. The recognition of the presence of epic sentiment is given due consideration since the epic form is one of the major poetic genres discussed. The paper also seeks to identify the relationship between Maltese, the older native tongue, and Italian, the main and almost exclusive medium of literary expression during the period. Key words: Maltese literature, Maltese language, epic, Italian tadition. A LITERATURA MAL TESA SOB OS CAVALHEIROS DE SAO JOAO (1530-1798) RESUMO. Este artigo pretende ser um relato breve e sistematico da atividade literaria de escritores malteses e estrangeiros em Malta no perfodo da ocupa~ao pelos Cavalheiros de Sao Joao (1530-1798). A natureza e a extensao da tradi~ao literaria italiana na ilha e as maneiras pelas quais os escritores nativos participaram da vida literaria da Italia sao analisadas. 0 reconhecimento da prese1wa do epico e extensivamente estudado porque a forma epica e um dos maiores generos literarios discutidos. Procura-se tambem identificar o relacionamento entre o maltes, a antiga lingua nativa, e o italiano, o meio principal e quase exclusivo para a expressao literaria durante este perfodo.
    [Show full text]
  • Emigration: Ties Between the Past and the Present
    Fr Alfred Vella Malta Emigration: ties between the past and the present Migration in not today’s phenomenon but since the creation of human beings. The phenomenon of Emigration has been with us since the very first appearance of human beings on earth. On our Island, the pre historical site Għar Dalam is prove enough of all this. This historical site is a show case of remains much make us understand and instigate us to study this phenomenon. It is not only local but worldwide phenomenon. Emigration served its very purpose to make peoples mix and find ways and means to live with each other. In this way emigrants influenced and left their impact on locals and new settlements emerged. All this was not that easy, and emigration was always a high risk adventure. In the course of human experience, countless were the occasions where famine and natural calamities led to situations where people, sometimes in their masses, had to seek shelter and a new living elsewhere in their own land or in other countries. On other occasions, people have to flee because of tensions between culturally and ethnically diverse groups or between the rights of the individual and the power of the State, civil conflicts, wars, persecutions and expulsions. In this study we are going to analyse all this phenomena, its impact and historical value. We are going to apply all this to our local situation. Classic examples of such experiences are deeply rooted in the collective memory of every people and are also found in the Bible. For instance, Joseph’s brothers had to go down into Egypt, driven by a devastating famine.
    [Show full text]
  • New Diversities an Online Journal Published by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
    NEW DIVERSITIES An online journal published by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Volume 17, No. 1, 2015 Engaging with the Other: Religion, Identity, and Politics in the Mediterranean Guest Editors: Avi Astor (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) Mar Griera (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) Engaging with the Other: Religion, Identity, and Politics in the Mediterranean 1 by Avi Astor and Mar Griera (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) Historical Trajectories and Ambivalences of Turkish Minority Discourse 9 by Markus Dressler (Bayreuth University) Toleration of Religious Diversity in a Small Island State 27 by Mary Darmanin (University of Malta) Banal, Benign or Pernicious? Religion and National Identity from the Perspective of Religious Minorities in Greece 47 by Effie Fokas (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, ELIAMEP and Hellenic Observatory, LSE) Authorizing Religious Conversion in Administrative Courts: Law, Rights, and Secular Indeterminacy 63 by Mona Oraby (Northwestern University) Religious Diversity in Italy and the Impact on Education: The History of a Failure 77 by Maria Chiara Giorda (Università di Milano - Bicocca) Completing the Religious Transition? Catholics and Muslims Navigate Secularism in Democratic Spain 95 by Aitana Guia (European University Institute, Florence) Religion and Migration in Morocco: Governability and Diaspora 111 by Ana I. Planet Contreras (Workshop of International Mediterranean Studies (TEIM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and Miguel Hernando de
    [Show full text]
  • Maltese Colonial Identity: Latin Mediterranean Or British Empire?
    The British Colonial Experience 1800-1964 The Impact on Maltese Society Edited by Victor Mallia-Milanes 2?79G ~reva Publications Published under the auspices of The Free University: Institute of Cultural Anthropology! Sociology of Development Amsterdam 10 HENRY FRENDO Maltese Colonial Identity: Latin Mediterranean or British Empire? Influenced by history as much as by geography, identity changes, or develops, both as a cultural phenomenon and in relation to economic factors. Behaviouristic traits, of which one may not be conscious, assume a different reality in cross-cultural interaction and with the passing of time. The Maltese identity became, and is, more pronounced than that of other Mediterranean islanders from the Balearic to the Aegean. These latter spoke varieties of Spanish and Greek in much the same way as the inhabitants of the smaller islands of Pantalleria, Lampedusa, or Elba spoke Italian dialects and were absorbed by the neighbouring larger mainlands. The inhabitants of modern Malta, however, spoke a language derived from Arabic at the same time as they practised the Roman Catholic faith and were exposed, indeed subjected, to European iDfluences for six or seven centuries, without becoming integrated with their closest terra firma, Italy.l This was largely because of Malta's strategic location between southern Europe and North Mrica. An identifiable Maltese nationality was thus moulded by history, geography, and ethnic admixture - the Arabic of the Moors, corsairs, and slaves, together with accretions from several northern and southern European races - from Normans to Aragonese. Malta then passed under the Knights of St John, the French, and much more importantly, the British.
    [Show full text]
  • 11. the Arabs in Malta. 870-1150. S. Fiorini
    Melita Classica Vol. 3 2016 Journal of the Malta Classics Association Melita Classica Melita Classica Vol. 3 2016 Journal of the Malta Classics Association All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing by the publisher. Melita Classica Vol. 3, 2016 Text © Malta Classics Association Design and layout © Book Distributors Limited ISBN: 978-99957-847-4-4 Malta Classics Association, The Department of Classics and Archaeology, Archaeology Farmhouse, Car park 6, University of Malta, Msida [email protected] www.classicsmalta.org CONTENTS Editorial 9 Opening Adresses 11 Sanskrit: The Philosophy Michael Zammit 23 The Role of Slaves in Roman Land Surveying Levente Takács 33 Themistocles as a trickster in Herodotus Nijole Juchneviciene 45 Drawing Distinctions in theLaches: the Elenchus as search Jurgen Gatt 63 Aristotle on History Vita Paparinska 85 Changed Forms, Migrating Identities: Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the Posthuman Gloria Lauri-Lucente 101 The Appropriation of the Classical Pastoral Elegy in Milton’s Lycidas, and Beyond Peter Vassallo 117 Ferrying Nothingness: the Charon motif in Murnau’s Nosferatu and Dreyer’s Vampyr Saviour Catania 125 Byzantine Greek on Maltese soil: evidence from Tristia ex Melitogaudo Jerker Blomqvist 141 Ovid on Gozo? Metamorphoses as a source for the Tristia ex Melitogaudo Stephen J. Harrison 169 Οἱ Παῖδες Ἄγαρ Ἀθέου The Arabs in Malta: 870-1150 Stanley Fiorini and Martin R. Zammit 179 Ḍuriba bi-Mālṭa ‘Minted in Malta’: deciphering the Kufic legend on the Fāṭimid quarter dinar Martin R.
    [Show full text]
  • Immigrants in Malta
    MAlTA Immigrants in Malta The high number of migrants in Malta poses a real challenge, especially as xenophobia and human rights infringements are increasing. To address this, Malta needs to review its automatic detention policy for ‘irregular’ migrants. Joseph M. Sammut condition and fail to meet legally binding interna- Malta is a signatory to various UN and international Social Watch Malta – Kopin tional standards. conventions respecting the dignity of refugees and Detention centres are overcrowded, with the asylum seekers and has a national code of conduct overflow of immigrants living in tents. Detainees issued by the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs are managed by army and police officials, who are on the entitlements, responsibilities and obligations Irregular immigration responsible for security, accommodation, meeting of detainees. Various reports on the state of Maltese In the last few years, Malta has witnessed a consider- basic needs, providing access to medical care and detention centres categorise Malta as a backward able increase in irregular immigration. The irregular day-to-day administration. These soldiers are not third world country where human rights and human immigration phenomenon in Malta started in 2001 trained to look after people, and are clearly not the dignity and respect have not yet been discovered! with the arrival of 1,686 asylum seekers; in 2008, right people to be entrusted with this task. A report 2,775 boat people were registered as irregular drawn up by the French NGO Médecins du Monde Government response immigrants in Malta. Most of these immigrants are (MdM) in 2007 criticised the living conditions in The Maltese Government needs to achieve a balance from Sub-Saharan Africa, attempting to emigrate to Malta’s overcrowded closed detention centres as between security and humanitarian concerns, taking Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Dalli a Muslim Society Under Christian Rule
    Charles Dalli A Muslim Society under Christian Rule [A stampa in Melitensium amor: Festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann Azzopardi, a cura di Toni Cortis, Thomas Freller e Lino Bugeja, Malta 2002, pp. 37-56; anche in http://malta.academia.edu/CharlesDalli/Papers © dell’autore - Distribuito in formato digitale da “Reti Medievali”, www.biblioteca.retimedievali.it]. Source: Melitensium amor : festschrift in honour of Dun Gwann Azzopardi / edited by Toni Cortis, Thomas Freller and Lino Bugeja. – Malta, 2002. [pp.37-56] [p.37] A Muslim Society under Christian Rule C. Dalli Unlike long-term Muslim political resistance in the Iberian peninsula, the socio-political order established by Islam in the central Mediterranean was rapidly and systematically overcome by military conquest. The military and political take-over of Sicily, the logical consequence of Norman establishment in southern Italy, was accomplished in the three decades after 1060; by early 1091, the whole of the island recognized Roger I, count of Sicily, as its overlord.1 Muslim subjection and submission to Christian government in Sicily was a major fact in that island’s twelfth-century history. Behind the multicultural appearance of a populo dotata trilingui, there lay the new reality of Latin Christian rule.2 Circumscribed, as it was, by the need to appease the substantial Muslim subject population, as well as to patronize the activities of Greek Christianity on the island, the Norman court capitalized on this ethnic and linguistic variety, but did not depend on it. Its real achievement was to have built a massive political and economic base for central government, linking a substantial number of local communities into the royal administrative network.3 Conquerors and conquered formed a partnership which proved vital for the new political order which had been created, the former deeply conscious of their shortcomings in human resources, the latter awakened to the advantages, if not necessity, of Latin Christian rule.
    [Show full text]