Gio Batta, the black Maltese slave

Abstract

This story takes place in Birgu, the ancient capital of the island of Malta. Daniel a sixteen-year-old boy of mixed race, is being chased by the police, and finds refuge at his grandmodler's house; she welcomes him, surprised to see him. Daniel must have certainly got into big trouble...

The old lady tries to explain to the police that the boy is her grandson, but he threatens her with a gun. A policeman shoots in his direction wounding him. In an effort to calm Daniel his grandmother tells him the story of their family which has African origins and is an interweaving of migrations. Daniel listen impatiently, and... In this comic the Congolese artist Willy Zekid gives an artistic interpretation which is independent of the author of the written try. The strips tell us about the difficulties of people of non-European origin trying to integrate in an ever-more multicultural Europe, where one can find both a welcoming attitude and reactions of fear and diffidence towards foreigners. The 2005 Report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUM) reveal that integration is difficult and will probably take a long lime to achieve. The Rom community is the most discriminated against but people of African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Latin American origin are also victims of non-equal treatment. With regard to the situation in Malta - Daniel is the Maltese grandson of an Afro-American soldier - it's not very positive for immigrants. Our main character experiences this in person, and his reaction is to not allow himself to hope for integration or justice. In 2004 Malta became part of the EU

and by the end of 2006 it will implement the Schengen Agreement. The island is in the middle of the Mediterrenean sea and many immigrants from Africa land on its shores. So while the EU puts pressure on the States to respect international standards, intolerance is growing in local communities. Another theme suggested by the comic is the historic dimension of immigration in the Mediterranean area.

We experience immigration as a contemporary urgent when in fact there have always been migratory movements, starting with the Indo-Europeans, between the third and the second millennium B.C. The slow historical phases of the past have become faster in the twentieth century. Two of the reasons are: the need of people from the South to emigrate in search of work and the myth of the prosperity of the West, transmitted by an unstoppable circulation of images and information. However we must not forget that migration is one of the essential aspects of being human.