Description
As African migrants we constantly face discrimination, hate speech & xenophobic behavior- this is mainly because of our skin color and country of origin. In addition, the African migrants face hardships because most migrants do not speak Maltese or English and the communication barrier prevents any form of interaction or communication with the local community. At present, there are no constant direct sources of information that keeps the migrants informed of what is happening in their home country. The overall objective of this project is to promote an interactive service to the African community that will allow for more integration & provide more respite to the African community currently seeking asylum in Malta through the production of radio programmes. The project team involved in this project are all young adults below the age of 27. This project will help us to develop our skills and knowledge in several areas such as administration, management, finances and broadcasting. Other than this, the radio schedules planned for this project will provide a valuable source of information and entertainment to the hundreds of migrants in Malta including young migrants.
Summary of project results
Migration is one of the most delicate subjects debated in Malta. African migrants often face discrimination, hate speech and xenophobic behaviour mainly because of their skin colour and country of origin. Also, the communication barrier prevents any form of interaction or communication with the local community, which not only leads to further isolation and hostility but causes problems when migrants try to adapt to local norms or administrative and bureaucratic processes. Although most migrants fled their home country (because of war and conflicts) but still feel a sense of belonging to it and at present there are no constant direct sources of information that keeps them informed of what is happening in their country which makes it even more difficult for migrants to live normal lives within a new setting and a new culture. The overall objective of this project is to promote an interactive service to the African community that will allow for more integration and provide more respite to the African migrants currently seeking refuge in Malta. To achieve this a website was created as well as a facebook page, a YouTube channel and a internet radio. The project is already 18 months past the project period but not all of the outcomes that were stated in the project proposal have been reached: a radio station was not set up, because the beneficiary could not persuade any existing radio studio to lend them the facilities or get funding to build a new one, although they did produce 5 episodes but there is no evidence that the airing of the radio broadcast occurred by means of verification through a broadcasting authority or from the broadcasting radio station online host or that the broadcasts reached a target audience, no other form of broadcasting was carried out do to encountered recording limitations. They lost their office but continued to work from where they could (St. Andrew's Church, Valletta, International Centre) with the core team of 4 active volunteers, two interns and the occasional help from other volunteers. Although, the attempt to win funding to continue the project has failed but a strong base was established – migrants often come with their problems and even the Government comes for information. Also, their website got 6922 views, their Facebook page received 2924 likes and a video was produced (target – 10 videos) and uploaded on Facebook and YouTube.
Summary of bilateral results