Maltese in the melting pot

Have you heard the one about the Muslim, the Jew, the Orthodox priest and the group of Maltese Catholics? They all prayed together in the Kordin Mosque, as part of an EU-funded seminar. Christian Peregin spoke to three Maltese youths who have travelled around Europe and beyond, taking part in workshops on multiculturalism and diversity.

Estonians are accustomed to taking their shoes off before entering someone's house. But the Italians think it's rude. So when an Italian friend invited Lisa Martin, 23, and her Estonian friends over for dinner, she also took off her shoes, to make the Estonians feel comfortable. But, then, when in Rome shouldn't one do as the Romans do?

She is still not sure about whether she did the right thing and this was just one of similar little eye-opening experiences she encountered during a six-month trip to Sardinia, where she had to live with eight people from different countries. Together with other youths from France, Estonia, Italy and Portugal, she had to teach primary school children about diversity through role playing and other games the children could relate to.

But while they were teaching about multiculturalism, they were learning about it, by actually experiencing it, 22-year-old Therese Borg Micallef, another young woman who shared the experience with Ms Martin, pointed out.

Mostly, they learnt about the stereotyped images they had of other cultures. "We thought we would get along best with the Portuguese girl but she ended up being really difficult to live with. Instead, we became really close with the French and Estonians, even though we had thought they would be really different from us," Ms Martin said.

One thing in which they did stand out were table manners. At one point they realised that some of their room-mates were accustomed to keeping silent when having lunch or dinner. "Eventually we learnt to speak a bit less and they learnt to speak a bit more. It's all about compromise at the end of the day," Ms Borg Micallef said.

Duncan Muscat, 33, who has been on tens of similar trips, taking him as far as the Caribbean, said he got addicted to the experience because they thought him so much about life.

"We come from different backgrounds, different religions and different continents. But when you look beyond what is skin-deep, you realise that you cannot look at the world as six continents but as six billion individuals. Everyone is so unique and, although our cultures influence our habits and lifestyles, everyone has something different to offer."

He stressed that it was in everyone's interest to learn how to live with people of different cultures.

"We have to look at the future. In the future, more of us will be travelling to study, work or start a family abroad and we will be the outsiders. So we all need to learn how to break barriers even if we're scared of doing so," he said.

Ms Martin said this was easier said than done.

"I don't blame people who are scared of multiculturalism or of being overrun by foreigners. I've learnt to appreciate the beauty of diversity and I have a craving to meet as many different people as possible, from all over the world. But I believe it's important to hold on to your identity and values because that's what makes us unique."

But does multiculturalism really mean having to compromise your own identity?

"I still don't have an answer to that question. What I know is that meeting people from different cultures teaches you to appreciate your own and it helps you grow as a person too. Even if you do not agree about things, dialogue is always a good starting point. It's always better than being afraid of 'the other' and resigning yourself to the fact that integration is difficult."

The youths agree that the best starting point is dialogue and trying to find common ground.

"There is always common ground. Everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes you just have to put yourselves in their shoes. It's difficult. If you talk about something like illegal immigration, I cannot fathom being one of them. If I look at it from their perspective I say I would probably do the same. If I look at it from our perspective I think: What are we meant to do with them? The key is to not be too blinded by one perspective, I think," Ms Martin said.

And they have had experiences where this has been put in practice. Such as when an Israeli and a Palestinian attended the same workshop and got along with each other or when a multi-religious group of youngsters were invited by Imam Mohammed El Sadi to pray together at his mosque.

The youths said that in all their experiences the Maltese were always at the centre of attention and the first to organise fun group activities.

"We always thrive in these multicultural group environments, so sometimes I wonder what we're afraid of. We have a unique character that makes us shine," Ms Borg Micallef said.

"The world teaches you that you're lucky if you're born in a Western country. It doesn't teach you that diversity is the biggest resource humanity has," Mr Muscat concluded.

The projects are made possible thanks to the EU's Youth in Action Programme and are organised by TDM (Terra di Mezzo), an international organisation that provides opportunities for youths to be more active on a community level through seminars, training courses and fund-raising events.

For more information about how to participate in these EU-funded experiences abroad visit www.tdm2000malta.org or go to the TDM annual general meeting today at Radisson SAS.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com