Nabil Tekeste fled his homeland to continue his studies outside a warzone, but seven years on, he has set himself another goal inspired by Maltese “kindness to make the world a better place through music.
The Maltese appear to be racist because they wear their hearts on their sleeves
“Malta might be small, but it’s got the biggest heart in the world. In Malta the flicker of kindness I had in my heart has become a flame. Had I ended up in another country I would have probably died,” the young hip-hop artist says.
The 29-year-old left Eritrea without his father’s permission seven years ago and after landing in Malta following a gruelling journey from Libya, he was taken in by a family.
Since then, he has moved in with his girlfriend, studied computer programming and released a music album about love and unity.
“The Maltese are very strong when they unite... it’s in their blood. They’ve taught me that we can unite to destroy a machine, but all we’ll end up with is the wreckage.
“But if we unite to build a machine, we’ll build one that will be difficult to destroy.”
Mr Tekeste underlines the importance of showing children some love.
“Children are like a blank tape: If you show them love, they will learn to love, but if you show them hate, they will learn to hate.”
Mr Tekeste has dedicated some of his songs to the younger generations, and written others to be sung by Maltese children themselves.
For as long as he remembers, he has always loved music, and by the age of three he could move to Michael Jackson’s beat.
But he only started scribbling down lyrics when he was 15, after being kicked out of class.
Seven years later, as he tried to make his way to Europe, he nearly lost his life when the boat he had been on for three days and three nights capsized upon reaching Marsaxlokk.
His songs, written on paper and sealed in plastic, floated away.
Forgetting how tired and famished he was, he swam away from the soldiers and towards the open sea. He heard people screaming and telling him he was crazy if he thought he could swim back to Libya. But Mr Tekeste could never let go of his treasured songs and managed to recover them from the water.
Since then he has always wanted to give something back to the island. He writes songs with a positive message, and performs across Malta under his stage name of AB3.
“And I think I have managed to change a couple of hearts that had never met a black foreigner,” he winks.
Mr Tekeste insists it was Maltese people that “protected and inspired” him, defying the common belief that the island was becoming increasingly racist.
“The Maltese appear to be racist because they wear their hearts on their sleeves. For me, that’s safer than keeping your feelings inside.
“In Germany it feels as if they want to kill you if you open your mouth, and you have to sit some three seats away to feel safe.
“Whenever I am at an airport abroad, on my way back home, I start looking for Maltese people before I set foot on the plane. I go up to people asking them whether they’re Maltese.
“Initially they give me a suspicious look, but when I explain that I miss the Maltese warmth, they immediately start chatting,” he laughs.
“Mind you, I was once stopped from entering a club in Paceville and I could have easily gotten into a fight... I’m trained in martial arts but I knew I’d regret it the following day, so I just moved to another bar.
“I believe club owners have a right not to let people in, because some people, even though they are my brothers, are disrespectful.
“And I believe what my ancestors say: If you’re in another country, either do as they do and follow their rules, or go back home.
“But at least give me a chance to speak to you at the door, and don’t discriminate because of my appearance,” he says, adding that he has learnt to give xenophobia the cold shoulder.
“Only the other day, I was on a bus and an old British man, who apparently lives in Malta, told me to go back to my homeland of Africa.
“I was just going to tell him: ‘I just moved a few inches from my country – what about you?’ But I remained silent.”