Integration of migrants and discourse of 'smallness'

Abstract

I carried out the main bulk of my ethnographic research in summer 2007 in the Marsa Open Centre (MOC) where approximately 700 young male migrants ranging from the age of 18-45 reside. Most of them fall in the age group of mid 20s to late 30s. They are mainly from Africa with the exception of a Somali woman who runs a Somali restaurant with her husband. Another three Eritrean women are employed in an Eritrean restaurant. The administration office consisted of six full time administration staff and two members of the staff were working on a part-time basis. During my fieldwork experience, office staff consisted of people from different countries and backgrounds. Terry Gosden from Britian living in Malta since 11 years, lead the team. Isabelle the social worker was from France, Warsame the cultural mediator from Somalia and Vince Caruana the maintenance manager was from Malta. I thought that my fieldwork ended in September 2007 in Marsa Open Centre where I attended meetings with Terry Gosden, the Operation Manager of SIB (Suret il-Bniedem) and the General Manager of MOC with migrants, NGO forum at OIWAS headquarters in Floriana. I accompanied him to Lyster Barracks to take some escapees back to the detention centre. Although I spent most of my time in MOC, it could not be confined to it as I soon realised the nature of the work with migrants, extended far beyond any single set of administration, building or organisation. From October 2007 to 8th February 2008 I conducted a few more interviews with Terry, Oliver Gatt the General manager of Catholic charity (SIB) Suret il-Bniedem (In Man's Image), the secretariat of the national platform of NGDOs (Non-Government Development Organisations) and Alex Tortell, the Adviser to the minister of Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity(MFSS) on migration management; he is also the head of OIW AS. Visits and talks to various people brought new insights to the scene and wider understanding of how the migration management is working in Malta.