Suffer the children

As a child migrant in Australia, Joseph Azzopardi suffered physical, emotional and attempted sexual abuse at the hands of the Christian Brothers. He was not alone. More than 300 other Maltese children were exploited for cheap labour in that country in the 1950s and 1960s. All they are asking for now is a plaque to recognise their terrible ordeal... Mr Azzopardi recounts his experience to Rosanne Zammit.

When 12-year-old Joseph Azzopardi's mother heard about a scheme for Maltese children offering them the opportunity of an education in Australia, she signed up her oldest son for two years of schooling.

But a few hours after his arrival back in 1959, he, like many other child migrants - mainly from the UK and Ireland - were employed as child labour. During his six-year stay with the Christian Brothers at St Mary's Agricultural College in Tarden, he never even set eyes on a classroom.

Mr Azzopardi's first experience was at Castledane, where his group spent their first night before heading on to Tarden. Up for breakfast the following morning, he saw a member of the Christian Brothers lift a six-year-old boy off his feet by the ears. Apparently, the boy was so used to the treatment he did not even shed a tear.

This was the boy's punishment for jumping the queue at breakfast. Mr Azzopardi promised himself he would never do the same.

Soon after their arrival at Tarden, the boys became "working boys" with the Christian Brothers. They worked on a farm doing whatever was necessary, from piling up rocks to farm work. They started work at 5 a.m. and did not stop until 7 p.m.

Mr Azzopardi said he educated himself by reading anything he could get his hands on and eventually he obtained a diploma in counselling. He now works as a counsellor for clients who have suffered abuse.

The boys at the Christian Brothers' institutions suffered plenty of abuse - generally physical but sometimes also sexual, especially the children coming from other institutions, said Mr Azzopardi, who gave this interview while in Malta on holiday.

"They used to tie us to the stairs with the water tap just out of reach and leave us there for hours to ridicule us.

"But when they tried to abuse me sexually I broke a chair on one of the brothers. As a result I nearly got killed with the beating I got. I was 14 at the time."

The Brothers did not give him the letters from his mother and his were never mailed to her. He would write to his mother weekly complaining about the situation he was in.

In the mid-Sixties, the boys in Tarden received a visit from Alexander Cachia Zammit, then Malta's Minister for Health - and Mr Azzopardi took the opportunity to present Dr Cachia Zammit with a letter describing the goings on at Tarden.

Mr Cachia Zammit later called him into an office and since beatings were a daily occurrence, Mr Azzopardi was shaking as he walked in, sure that he was in for yet another thrashing.

But the minister had read his letter and he asked him if what he had written was true. When Mr Azzopardi confirmed, the minister, who knew his family, gave him the sad news that his brother had died three years earlier.

Soon after Dr Cachia Zammit's return to Malta, the child migration scheme was stopped.

Years later he met Dr Cachia Zammit in Malta, who recognised him and told him he had been a brave young man and that he would have brought him back to Malta.

According to the law at the time, when child migrants reached 18, the Brothers had to find them a job. But what actually happened was that they were put on a train or a bus without any money and with just enough clothes to get them through. They then had to make their own way in life.

Mr Azzopardi said one had to understand that the boys had just spent most of their lives locked up somewhere out in the bush with no means of communicating with the outside world. He was one of the lucky ones: an old boy from Tarden was working a farm and employed him for a while.

Mr Azzopardi returned to Malta in 1971 as a young man to see his family. His mother had had a stroke and was at St Vincent de Paul residence, then known as Mgieret.

Because of her condition, he never let her know what had really gone on in his life and considered it a blessing that she had never received his letters.

Instead, he let his mother believe that he had gone to school and university.

He continued to live the lie until he left for Australia about a year later, after having met his wife and got married. His mother died in 1974.

In adulthood, Mr Azzopardi returned to Tarden once with his wife. But as soon as he arrived he had to conceal himself because he did not want to let anyone see that he was crying. He then swore never to return.

Eventually, child migrants in Australia got together and took the Church to court in 1996 for failing in its duty to take care of them.

But the Church fought back, arguing it had nothing to do with the Christian Brothers. The Australian High Court agreed with the Church and the migrants lost their case.

The migrants who had been sexually abused received meagre monetary compensation amounting to around Lm200 each.

The same group of child migrants approached the Australian Senate in 1999 and following six months of submissions, some put in by Mr Azzopardi himself, the Senate found the Christian Brothers guilty of failing in their duty of care.

It ruled that everything the child migrants had said was true and that they had not blown their stories out of proportion.

Consequently, the Senate decided to give all former child migrants an airfare back to their place of origin so that they could acquaint themselves with their families and their country of birth.

The Senate also published a book on the experiences of the migrants, entitled Loss Of Innocence.

Following the Senate's decision, the British and Irish child migrants received quite a lot of help from their governments.

The Maltese, through the organisation Child Migrants of Malta set up in 1999, asked only for a plaque - and they have still not received anything except empty promises, Mr Azzopardi said.

"What we want is to bring out our experience so it will never be forgotten.

"We were supposedly sent to Australia with good intentions. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps they (the government and the Church) knew what was going on at the time. For why else would they want to hide what happened to us?

"I am a very proud Maltese but I am bitterly disappointed that my homeland does not recognise what I have been through," Mr Azzopardi said.

Well over a year ago, the government promised the 310 Maltese child migrants to Australia that a plaque would be put up as a reminder of their plight. The following wording had been proposed:

"This plaque commemorates the 310 child migrants who travelled to Australia in search of a better life between 1950 and 1965.

"We respect their achievements. We rejoice in their successes. We regret any unintended consequences of child migration."

But the government has stalled on a decision.

"All we get from Malta are false promises. I have even tried to approach the Foreign Affairs Minister personally during my visit here but he is too busy to see me.

"I love Malta and the country will always be my home. The Maltese flag makes me cry. I am not trying to fight Malta or the Maltese. I am only trying to get those responsible to acknowledge what really happened."

All that Maltese child migrants wanted, Mr Azzopardi stressed, was for records to be preserved and for their ordeal to be remembered.

He said the Church in Malta was also trying to hide from the fact that it was responsible for sending the former child migrants to Australia.

"The Church should accept facts and apologise for the hurt caused. Its representatives should also be present for the unveiling of the plaque with a public apology and some recognition."

He said his childhood experiences had completely shattered his faith.

"My wife is very religious and so was my mother and I used to look forward to Sunday Mass. But as a result of what happened, I do not believe in God anymore."

He stressed that unless something was done, the Child Migrants of Malta would be left with no option but to go to court - which would cost the government much more than a plaque.

In fact, since all communication with the Maltese authorities has stopped, the former child migrants were looking at what sort of legal action they could take.

They are even considering bringing the issue to the attention of the human rights forum during November's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

The Christian Brothers

The Christian Brothers, an international religious congregation of laymen within the Catholic Church, were founded in Ireland by Catholic layman Edmund Rice in 1802.

He had been a prosperous merchant whose wife had been killed in an accident, leaving him with a handicapped daughter. His compassion for the desperately poor people, especially the children in Ireland, led him to do what he could to alleviate their misery.

But charity on a part-time basis did not satisfy him. He saw his way forward as a man devoted entirely to providing education for children that would encourage rather than jeopardise their Catholic Faith.

The magnetism of his personality was such that like-minded men joined him in his aspirations. From 1802, aged 40, he lived as a religious Brother. By 1820, the Pope had approved a rule of life devised specifically for his group of Brothers.

The Christian Brothers first arrived in Australia in 1843 but their venture was unsuccessful and they returned to Ireland in 1847. A second community of Brothers returned to Australia in 1868.

The Christian Brothers now number 2,000 and are involved in 26 countries. Their headquarters are in Rome where the Congregational leadership team maintains the international connection of the Brothers with the Church in Rome.

Government's reaction

The following questions were sent to the Office of the Prime Minister on July 21. No reply has been forthcoming.

¤ It seems that the Cabinet has not yet taken its decision regarding putting up a plaque commemorating child migrants - or has it?

¤ If it has, what was the outcome?

¤ What is keeping this decision from being taken?

Curia's reaction

The following questions were sent to the Curia on July 26. No reply has been forthcoming.

¤ Is the Church willing to make the apology being requested by the former child migrants?

¤ Would it be present for the unveiling ceremony of a commemorative plaque?