New group hopes to reverse ‘degrading’ migrants’ treatment

The young Nigerian woman and the glamorous older English lady would appear to have little in common at first glance but their smiles.

I’ve been left feeling useless and redundant

Yet behind the jokes, Caroline Crutchley and Addey Boyo-Obanuwama are angry at what they say is the “degrading”treatment of third country nationals when they apply for residence permits or try to find work through the Employment Training Centre (ETC).

As a result, they have founded the Integration Network Malta (INMalta) to provide advice to third country nationals (people from outside the EU) and help them to integrate into Maltese society.

Ms Boyo-Obanuwama moved to Malta legally three years ago after her Nigerian husband Michael was offered a position with Vodafone Malta.

She left behind a well-paid job as a financial manager and a comfortable life, but she has been unable to find work since arriving on the island.

According to Ms Boyo-Obanuwama, there have been companies willing to employ her but they were put off by long delays in the ETC processing their requests for an employment licence.

“All third country nationals face the same problem if they don’t already have a job when they arrive, whether they are from Nigeria or Canada,” Ms Boyo-Obanuwama said.

Used to living an active life back home, she claimed she even approached companies to work for free, but they rejected her.

“People presume I am an illegal immigrant. I’ve been left feeling useless and redundant,” she explained.

Ms Boyo-Obanuwama and Ms Crutchley hope that not only will INMalta provide useful advice and networking opportunities for TCNs, but it will also demonstrate to Maltese people that TCNs can be useful contributors to society.

They plan to organise social events, community outreach initiatives, voluntary work and social and cultural integration classes. A regular newsletter and blog are also planned.

“We don’t want Maltese to see us at vultures, we want them to see us as a force for good,” Ms Boyo-Obanuwama said.

“There are lots of highly intelligent, highly educated people from outside the EU who arrived here legally and are living on the margins of Maltese society. We hope to change that,” Ms Crutchley added.

INMalta’s first event will be ‘Fashion Fusion’, an evening of fashion, food and music at Independence Gardens, Sliema on August 4.

Visit the INMalta Facebook page or e-mail inmalta@ymail.com for more details.