Malta?

Where is Malta?

Good question! Malta is a tiny, stunningly beautiful Mediterranean island 60 miles from Sicily and 180 miles from Tunisia. Maltese and English are the co-official languages. Maltese is the only Semitic language written with the Roman alphabet. It has many Italian, Sicilian, and English loanwords, but the grammar more closely resembles Arabic. It is one of the most Catholic countries in the world--according to the Bible, St Paul was shipwrecked there. Malta has been ruled by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Sicilians, Knights of St John (now Knights of Malta), French, and British. It became a Republic in 1974 and joined the European Union in 2004.

After a sharp change in migration patterns in the Mediterranean in 2002, hundreds of asylum seekers began arriving by boat, primarily from North Africa, and overwhelmed the Maltese immigration system. All immigrants who enter or stay in Malta illegally are detained, which usually lasts months instead of weeks. Individuals can wait up to ten months for their first interview with the Refugee Commissioner. Jesuit Refugee Service Malta fills a desperate need to provide information and represent asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons who arrive in Malta. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to assist this amazing organization.

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