'We don't want to be a burden'

Immigrants leave their countries in search for a meaning in their life, a Somali man yesterday said, in an attempt to eradicate the misconceptions leading to racism and discrimination.

"It is not easy to be separated from the people you love and from the country you were living in. So what we ask from the Maltese is for more understanding of our situation. We do not want to be a burden on anyone. What we want is to have a normal life and to begin considering the Maltese as our brothers," Adam Abdi said during an event organised by Moviment Graffitti as part of the European Action Week Against Racism.

Standing in Freedom Square, Valletta, Mr Abdi was one of a handful of immigrants who turned up to deliver their message during the activity. Sudanese Hafiz Mohammed Ibrahim added that many Maltese treated immigrants like him well, but others were afraid of them.

"This leads to some discrimination and racism that we have to face everyday, such as when we catch the bus, when we search for an apartment to rent, or when we search for work. What I would like to say to the people who discriminate against us is that there is nothing to be afraid of."

He added that many immigrants who ended up in Malta never aimed for the island in the first place - they found themselves here following incidents at sea.

"One of the major problems for us here is that it is difficult to move to other countries. We are human beings but this situation makes us feel as if we are unwanted objects," he said.

Eritrean Siem Gabir, who has been in Malta for three years, explained that he had to leave his wife and son behind in search of a "meaning of life" that, he stressed, was not merely a "better life".

Mr Gabir says he was forced to leave his country after he was imprisoned for speaking out against forced labour. He fled to Sudan from where he crossed the Sahara desert to Libya where he suffered discrimination because of his religion and colour. So he decided to set off for Europe and ended up in Malta where he was detained.

Mr Gabir explained that in Malta he did experience racism but he understood that the Maltese community had little experience with immigration.

While acknowledging that racism is increasingly becoming a problem in Malta, Graffitti representative Andre Callus said it was important to find the cause.

"We are convinced that a political discourse which makes immigration seem like a national emergency, or a national threat, together with a detention system which criminalises migrants in the eyes of the Maltese, contributes to an atmosphere of tension and therefore a fertile breeding ground for racism," he said.

He added that Graffitti was concerned about the ongoing building of a "fortress Europe" that completely barred access to immigrants and led them to venture along dangerous routes.