The Maltese are closing the door on foreigners who want to integrate and this may lead to conflict between different ethnic groups on the island, a study has shown.

Moreover, it seems that whatever works abroad to ease integration cannot be applied to the local context, senior lecturer Gordon Sammut told this newspaper.

The study looked into acculturation attitudes and expectations among six socio-ethnic groups in Malta, namely the Maltese themselves, Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans, South Asian, East Asian and Arab communities.

While the Maltese acknowledged that integration was the best way to settle down in a host country, the Maltese were the least to favour it out of all ethnic groups.

This meant that, while foreigners were trying to integrate, the Maltese were not allowing them to and preferred to see migrants – of any nationality – taking on Maltese characteristics instead, Dr Sammut said.

Whatever helped improve relationships between different  cultures in other countries did the opposite in Malta

Meanwhile, it seemed that integration solutions successful in other countries would not have the same results here. The research tested three hypotheses
that have been supported in at least 16 other countries and Malta was the only country not to uphold them.

“We found that whatever helped improve relationships between different cultures in other countries did the opposite in Malta,” he noted.

While, universally, those who feel secure in their country and have a high social and personal self-esteem are inclined to make space for others, in Malta it works the other way round. At the same time, migrants who hang out with the Maltese are also less in favour of integration.

Anti-migrant protesters in Valletta. A reluctance to embrace foreign cultures could have serious repercussions, a study has shown.

Usually, the more two groups make contact – whether during the late 20th-century conflict in Northern Ireland or within Palestinian and Israelite circles –
the less the prejudice and the better the relationships.

But migrants in Malta, especially Arabs, are instead trying to assimilate, rather than integrate, behaving, speaking and socialising like the Maltese. The researchers also expressed concern that the Arab group is not faring well when it comes to social well-being.

They believe this will provide fertile ground for a spiral of conflict between the Arab community and the rest of the population. Hostility by the Maltese and other groups could lead to resentment from the Arabs community, reaffirming the initial sense of apathy. For Dr Sammut, it seems as if we are heading straight for conflict and, while we need to nip this in the bud, we cannot take the solution off the shelf of other countries.

Dr Sammut will be speaking about the study at a symposium organised by the Faculty for Social Well-being in collaboration with the EU-funded Re.Cri.Re Project. Themed ‘Multiculturalism, integration and contact among socio-ethnic
groups in Malta’, the symposium will be held on Wednesday at 9am at the University of Malta campus in Valletta and will be discussing findings by two
international studies led by Dr Sammut.

Another study to be discussed looks into the social representations concerning the integration of Arabs among the Maltese. More information about the symposium may be obtained from lara.ellul@um.edu.mt and about the research on http://www.recrire.eu.