What about the Maltese diaspora?

Greater Malta, or the Maltese diaspora, is not a term often used. It is somewhat of a contentious term. Although the term diaspora has been with us since time immemorial, the phenomenon has not yet been given the time of day in political debate.

The concept of Greater Malta was very much on the agenda at the Convention for Maltese Abroad held in Valletta in January/February 2000. But like most of the issues raised at this convention, the subject was never taken seriously by neither the government nor the opposition.

The convention was very clear in its deliberations:

That the government and the people of Malta embrace the concept of a Greater Malta to include Maltese residing overseas.

That the government of Malta should develop legislation, policies and programmes to affirm the Greater Malta concept and all the subsequent legislation should be compliant with this concept.

The recent success of athletes chosen to represent Malta from among the Maltese community living in Australia during the 18th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne highlighted the urgency of expanding this concept to other areas beyond sport.

How appropriate would it be if persons of Maltese descent dispersed around the world are given equal opportunities to fill vacancies in Malta that usually go to foreigners.

When we speak of the diaspora we refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.

The term fits the Maltese Islands like a glove. So many hundreds of thousands have left our small islands to seek new horizons across the sea, mostly in Australia. History is replete with diaspora-like events. This term is used to refer to the historic movements of the dispersed ethnic population of Israel.

In modern Greek, the word diaspora refers to the large population of Greek descent living in the United States, Australia and other countries. There is in fact a Department of Diaspora Affairs in the Greek Government. The Italian Government has a Ministry for Italians Living Abroad.

We are no doubt familiar with the Irish diaspora, embracing over 80 million people as a result of mass migration from Ireland due to past famines and political oppression and how the Irish influence and power spread like wildfire across the globe. The term first came widely into use in Ireland in 1990s when the President of the time, Mary Robinson, began using it to describe all those of Irish descent.

Ms Robinson is quoted as saying that she is aware of the creative energies of those born in her island now settled in the United States and in so many other countries.

She insists that "cherishing the diaspora is to be more than a sentimental regard for those who leave our shores; we should not only listen to their voice and their viewpoint. We have a responsibility to respond warmly to their expressed desire for appropriate fora for dialogue and interaction with us by examining in an open and generous way the possible linkages. We should accept that such a challenge is an education in diversity which can only benefit our society".

Australia has a very high percentage of the population (over a million out of 20 million) living overseas. In a recent speech, Prime Minister John Howard said that Australia needs to teach the young and the talented to be adaptable, not be parochial. He mentioned the human capital aspect of globalisation and the need to embrace the notion of mobility of talent around the world.

The same applies to Malta as our country can be both a contributor and a beneficiary of the globalisation process. We are very much aware of the enormous contribution Malta has made to Australia by providing that continent with a ready-trained army of healthy, educated and skilled workers.

In turn, migrants provided the safety valve for the economic revival of the Maltese Islands but, most importantly, the same work force that migrated between 1954 and 1997 repatriated millions of liri to Malta, a significant form of foreign aid, when Malta really needed financial help.

The future is a world without boundaries. Nationalistic pride will be needed to preserve the identity and history of Malta. The concept of a Greater Malta will give us back the sons and daughters of Maltese citizens scattered around the world as a result of wave after wave of migration.