Such people are seeking asylum in Malta, claiming persecution in their own country, and they arrive in Malta without passports or other means of identification. Malta lies just a few hundred kilometres off the Libyan coast, the alleged departure point of vessels carrying migrants from Africa. Many migrants are from war-torn and extremely poor countries with a poor tolerance of human rights, such as Somalia. As Malta signed the Geneva convention, along with other European countries, then the rights of asylum seekers have to be respected. Libya did not sign the treaty, so boats cannot be sent back to Libya.

During the period 2004 – 2008, from spring to autumn, boats containing 27 or 28 migrants were arriving in Malta every few days. Some boats were rescued by AFM patrol boats in Maltese or International waters. Malta has a population of just over 400,000 and the highest population density in Europe, and in 2006 alone, 1800 such irregular migrants arrived on the island. Due to this influx, racist sentiments have been building with many angry comments posted on websites, such as that of the Times of Malta.

Under current EU rules, the country where the migrants arrive has a duty to take care of them and prevent them moving elsewhere in the EU, which, for Malta, is slightly ironic as it’s suggested that these people don’t want to be in Malta at all – they want to settle in mainland Europe. In Malta, irregular migrants are housed in tents in closed detention centres, harsh conditions that have been condemned internationally.

The number of illegal immigrants arriving in Malta has declined steeply over the past two years.

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The tale has been told on several websites, and is also popular on t-shirts and tea towels sold in the tourist resorts of Malta such as Bugibba, Qawra, St. Julian’s, Sliema and Mellieha. If you go into any souvenir shop in these bustling seaside towns, you can usually find the story of The Italian Man Who Went To Malta.

The Italian man who went to Malta lyrics are along the lines of this:

One a day I’m going to Malta to big a hotel. In the morning I go down to eata breakfast.
I tell a waitress: “I wanna two piece of toast.”
She bring me only one piece.
I tell her: “I wanna two piece.”
She says: “Go to the toilet.”
I say: “You no understand? I wanna two piece in my plate.”
She says: “You better no p*** in a plate, you son of a b****!”
I don’t even know the lady and she call me sonova b****!

The second part of the story confuses the word fork with a similar-sounding swear-word, and is much along the same lines as the first paragraph of the fable.

The third and final part goes like this:

So, I go back to my room in d hotel and there is no sheets on the bed. So I call the manager.
I tell him: “I wanna sheet.”
He tell me: “Go to the toilet.”
I say: “You don’t understand? I wanna sheet on a bed.”
He says: “You better not s*** on my bed you son of a b****”
I go to the check out and the man at the desk said: “Peace on you!”
I said: “P*** on you too, you sonova b****!!!!!”
I’m gonna back to Italia, Arrivederci

No-one knows the true origin of this funny tale, but it has been popular with visitors and Maltese alike for years. Here’s the official video, enjoy!

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This will be Pope Benedict’s first visit to the Republic; Pope John Paul II visited Malta on two separate occasions, in 1990 and again in 2001. On the afternoon of Saturday 17th April, Pope Benedict will depart Fiumicino Airport in Rome bound for Malta, and the flight is scheduled to arrive at around 5pm. From there, The Pope will travel to The Presidential Palace in Valletta for a courtesy visit with the President of Malta, Mr George Abela. Once this reception has been concluded, His Holiness shall travel north-west to the historic town of Rabat to visit St. Paul’s Grotto.

On Sunday 18th April 2010, Pope Benedict will be celebrating Mass at The Granaries in Floriana, where seating capacity will be around 5,000 for this highlight of The Pope’s visit. The Mass shall start at around 10am, with The Pope starting the ceremonial procession from the Church of St. Publius. The procession will make its way through the congregation and after Mass, The Pope shall recite The Regina Coeli, a prayer that’s usually undertaken at St. Peter’s Square.

From the Granaries, The Pope will return, once again to Rabat, for lunch at the Apostolic Nunciature with the Bishops of Malta. Afterwards, Pope Benedict will depart for the Port of Kalkara, from where he will sail across The Grand Harbour to Valletta for a meeting with several youth groups, performers and bands who are taking part in a concert at 2.15pm.

For more information about The Papal Visit, contact The Diocesan Curia:

Archbishop’s Curia
St Calcedonius Square
Floriana FRN 1535
Malta.

Telephone: (+356) 21 245350

Email: papalvisit@maltadiocese.org

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Many discussions are ongoing online, mainly on the timesofmalta.com but even there, not all comments are being published and today we read a fresh new article which is clearly aimed at removing the focus from the original one. For this reason I encourage you to keep discussing here on this ever popular local blog.

Enemalta was blamed by many, but they confirmed that appropriate investigation has been carried out at all of the corporation’s installations, in several towns and villages and no leakages have been detected. They also reassured the public that the foul smell of gas reported across Malta is not hazardous, but they could not identify its source.

Loads of comments have been pouring in, all trying to come up with explanations about the bad smell hitting our island. Given the widespread detection of these gases, I personally think it could be any of the following two options:

1. Last year in 2008, a similar foul smell was detected in parts of England and Wales and they could not identify its sources exactly either, click here to read more.
2. Scientists confirm that foul-smelling sulfur gas accompanied by earth tremors could be an indication that a volcano is waking up. It’s also a known fact that there’s a dormant volcano below sea level between Malta and Sicily. Adding to that, the Seismic Monitoring and Research Unit at the University of Malta recorded earthquake activities south-west of Malta too, click here to see live analysis.

The questions we’re all asking now:

1. Are local authorities doing all the necessary investigations to identify the cause of this foul smell?
2. Is there a reason to be concerned or is it just a natural occasionally recurring phenomenon?

Feel free to comment below and share your ideas! If you’re interested in reading about the naming of disasters, read more here.

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