The UNHCR Malta office has published a survey on perceptions in Malta regarding refugees and migrants.

The report presents a picture of how refugees are viewed and received by the population in Malta. It describes to what extent interaction is happening at the local level and it seeks to assess the general public's awareness about key obstacles to integration.

Just over 50% of the respondents indicated that they think there are too many migrants and refugees arriving in their locality. But less than half of the people questioned were in fact aware of any such individuals living in their own communities.

Around 20% said that their major concern relating to migration is Malta's limited size. But according to the survey almost half those asked did not in fact consider that there were too many refugees and migrants arriving in their communities.

Concerns about 'too many migrants' do not necessarily translate into worries about threats to local community life, the survey found. In fact a majority of 54% said they did not consider migration to be a threat to their way of life in the local community. There were, however, significant regional differences on this point.

The survey also found that young respondents generally expressed less concern.
Survey respondents who live in localities close to Hal Far did expressed a higher degree of concern about negative impact on the local way of life due to the presence of refugees and migrants. In areas dominated by the larger temporary accommodation and detention centres more than 70% were concerned about the effect on local communities. By comparison the perception of threat dropped very significantly among respondents living in the northern and central areas of Malta as well as in Gozo.

More than 43% of the respondents said they had never had any form of interaction with any refugees or migrants.

More than half of those surveyed reported to have spoken with a refugee or migrant at least once during the past year, one in four said the same for the last week before the survey. Most of the interaction with refugees and migrants was reported to take place in relation to work, in the street and in shops.

The words 'refugee' and 'migrant' were frequently in use by various media. More than 51% of respondents were able to distinguish between the two terms. However, the majority suggested that 'refugees' and 'migrants' originate mainly from the same areas (Africa, Libya and Somalia).

A majority of 58% agreed with the statement that "people coming to Malta should change their ways to be more like other Maltese citizens." The main elements that could define successful integration, and ultimately naturalization through citizenship, were identified by the majority as: "clean criminal record", "duration of stay" and "work".

Almost half of the respondents said that migrants and refugees could contribute to Maltese society by "working legally" and "paying taxes".

According to those surveyed, people of sub-Saharan African background were considered as the least likely to settle successfully in Malta, with around 46% citing "different culture" as the main obstacle in this regard.

Many respondents expressed the view that the Maltese were reserved about mixing with people of different cultures. In fact almost two thirds of respondents felt that "only a few" or 'hardly anyone' in Malta accept such differences.
But more than one third of the Maltese agreed that a mixture of different lifestyles and cultures, such as those brought about by refugees and migrants, made Malta a more attractive place to live.

Many of those interviewed also showed understanding as regards the hardship some refugees and migrants were facing with: approximately 80% of respondents believing that refugees and migrants were not treated fairly when looking for jobs. A large majority also acknowledged that they face discrimination in searching for accommodation. 

'We have asked the public's opinion on this issue not only to learn about their views, but also to help us to improve the situation both for refugees and for local communities. More needs to be done to facilitate a positive integration process in Malta', said UNHCR Malta representative Jon Hoisaeter.

Full reports at: www.unhcr.org.mt